All posts by The Beer Professor

Neil Reid is Professor of Geography and Planning and Director of the Jack Ford Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo. He studies and writes about the beer industry.

International, International Trade, Ownership

Una Cerveza, Por Favor.

September 11, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

Thanks to President Trump the topic of international trade has been on the minds of a lot of folks recently. Per his campaign promise, the President has hiked tariffs on goods imported from countries near and far. This includes our southern neighbor, Mexico. At the time of writing, imports from Mexico are subject to a 25% tariff. Beer, of course, is a major Mexican export to the United States. I am not an international trade expert, however, so I am not going to use this blog entry to examine the impact of the President’s tariffs on the price and sales of Mexican beer imported into the United States. Besides, per this piece in the Mexico News Daily, the whole issue of beer tariffs is more nuanced than meets the eye. Rather, I want to use it to talk a little about the history and current status of the Mexican brewing industry. It is a topic that I actually became interested in and was working on quite some time before the November 2024 elections in the United States.

While barley and wheat-based beers were introduced into Mexico by the Spanish in the 16th century, indigenous Mayans and Aztecs were already making a type of beer using corn, water, and occasionally honey. Despite this early beer production, the indigenous inhabitants exhibited a preference for drinks such as pulque, mezcal, and tequila which were derived from the native agave plant, and it would be several centuries before beer became a mainstream beverage.

Indeed, it was not until the late 19th century, beer can be said to start on its path to popularity as wealthier segments of society discovered the beverage. An 1890 report published by the U.S. Department of State described beer in Mexico as an “aristocratic drink” consumed primarily by wealthy Mexicans, Americans, and Europeans living in large cities and northern states bordering the U.S. According to Steven B. Bunker in a paper published in the journal Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos the late 19th century was a period of modernization in Mexico, and beer was one of a number of products marketed as delivering an “ideal lifestyle” and being indicative of “social success”. During this period much of the beer consumed in Mexico was imported from Germany and the United States, with domestic production limited to a handful of small-scale breweries owned and operated primarily by German immigrants.

Concerned about the volume of imported beer, the Mexican government imposed high duties on bottled beer imported from the United States. These import duties added 75% to the price of a bottle of American beer. As a result, between 1890 and 1910 beer imports into Mexico fell by 70% and imported beer soon accounted for only 5% of Mexican beer consumption. While there was a drop-off in demand for imported beer, the demand for beer in general continued to rise. This necessitated the construction of new domestic breweries. In effect, the Mexican government had pursued an import substitution policy, which had its desired effect (replacing imported beer with domestically-produced beer). If you are unfamiliar with the practice of import substitution, it refers to local production and consumption of goods and services, rather than importing them from other places.

By 1900, six firms dominated Mexican beer production. All served regional markets, It was not until technological advancements such as the growth and evolution of the country’s rail system that brewers were able to distribute their beer nationally. Further consolidation occurred in the Mexican brewing industry and by 1930, three firms dominated – Cervecería Cuauhtémoc, Cervecería Moctezuma, and Cervecería Modelo.

The popularity of Mexican beer received a significant boost during Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933), as Americans crossed the border to legally enjoy alcoholic beverages, including Mexican beer. As a result, new breweries were built near Mexico’s border with the United States. As noted in a recent paper I co-authored on this topic “as Mexico entered the second half of the 20th century, beer emerged as the country’s most popular alcoholic beverage, and Mexico could be accurately characterized as a country of beer drinkers.”

Fast forward a hundred years and today, three firms dominate Mexican beer production – Grupo Modelo, Constellation Brands, and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma. All three are owned by companies located outside of Mexico. Grupo Modelo is owned by Belgium-based AB InBev as a result of an acquisition by the latter in 2013. It owns and operates eight industrial breweries and two craft breweries in Mexico. Included among its most recognized brands are Corona, Pacifico, and Modelo. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc is owned by the Dutch brewing giant Heineken, who acquired it in 2010. It owns and operates seven industrial breweries in Mexico with an eighth scheduled to become operational in 2026. Its brands include Dos Equis, Tecate, and Sol.

Now we come to Constellation brands who are based in Rochester, NY. Originally a wine and spirits company, Constellation entered the world of beer following the 2013 acquisition of Grupo Modelo by AB InBev. An antitrust decision by the US Department of Justice, prohibited AB InBev from distributing and selling Grupo Model beer brands in the United States. The Justice Department felt that the acquisition “would substantially lessen competition in the market for beer in the United States as a whole and in at least 26 metropolitan areas across the United States” alleging that “the transaction would result in consumers paying more for beer and would limit innovation in the beer market.” Enter Constellation brands who purchased the right to do distribute Grupo Modelo brands in the United States. Constellation own two breweries in Mexico, with a third under construction. So if you purchase a Corona in Mexico it was produced in a brewery owned by AB InBev; purchase a Corona in the United States and it was produced in a brewery owned by Constellation Brands.

Mexico is a major player in the global beer market. In 2023, the country produced 152 million hectoliters of beer. This represented 7.6% of all the beer produced worldwide, making it one of world’s largest producers of this much enjoyed beverage. Only China, the United States, and Brazil produced more. Much of the beer produced by Mexico is exported. Indeed, Mexico exports more beer than any other country. The United States is a critical market for beer produced in Mexico. In fact, eighty percent of the beer it exports is sent to the United States.

Mexican beer is very popular in the United States. Five of top ten most popular imported beers among American consumers are Mexican brands – Modelo, Corona, Dos Equis XX, Pacifico, and Tecate. Indeed Modelo is the most popular beer in the United States, having ousted that honor from Bud Light in May 2023. While this ousting coincided with conservative consumers boycotting Bud Light following the latter’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, it should be noted that Modelo was already well on its way to eclipsing Bud Light. The Mulvaney incident simply sped it up by a few months.

Modelo is the best selling beer in the United States

The popularity of Mexican beer is driven by several trends. One has been the growth of America’s Hispanic/Latino population. Between 1980 and 2020, the share of the U.S. population who identified as Hispanic increased from 7% to 19%. Today, Hispanic consumers account for about half of Constellation’s beer sales. Th fact that the other half is made up of non-Hispanic Americans suggests that Mexican beer has broad appeal. Indeed, recent on-premises sales of Mexican beer have been growing in states bordering Canada, which have smaller Hispanic populations.

The premiumization trend, which has impacted all segments of the American alcohol market, has also aided sales of Mexican beer. Premiumization refers to the growing preference of American consumers to purchase alcohol that has a higher price point and is perceived to be of higher quality. Premiumization is not a new trend with respect to beer. Indeed, Bart Watson, President and CEO of the Brewers Association, points out that the American beer market has experienced different waves of premiumization going as far back as the 1950s, with the emergence of craft beer being the most recent example. It is a trend that has drawn consumers to imported beers, “which are often perceived to be of higher quality“, notes Grace Wood, senior analyst at market research firm IBISWorld. This includes Mexican beers such as Corona and Modelo.

While Mexican beer is very popular in the United States it does face some challenges. Earlier this month, Constellation Brands noted falling demand among U.S. consumers. A multitude of factors are contributing to this downturn. These include reduced alcohol consumption among health conscious younger age-groups who are increasingly eschewing alcohol, general economic uncertainty, and higher grocery bills (a particular concern among Hispanic consumers). Some of these concerns are related to President Trump’s tariff policies, while others are not. This is a challenging time for the beer industry. However, evidence suggests that large brewing companies are sufficiently flexible and creative to respond to such challenges.

Further Reading:

Wang, Haoying, Rafael Garduño-Rivera, and Neil Reid. 2025. Economic geography of beer production in the context of trade liberalization and economic nationalism: The Mexican experience. Applied Geography https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103589.

Craft Beer, Craft Breweries, International

One Afternoon in Košice

August 8, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

Earlier this summer I spent five days in Košice, Slovakia. I was there as a guest of the Technical University of Košice (TUKE) participating in a summer institute for PhD students. The focus of the institute was identifying and discussing those factors that can make cities more resilient in the face of challenges such as climate change, global health pandemics, geo-political conflicts etc. This was my second visit to Kosice in as many years, having participated in the same event last year.

Returning to Košice gave me the opportunity to catch up with Peter Škripko who owns Pivovar Hostinec, one of two breweries in the city. Pivovar, incidentally, is the Slovak word for brewery. Last year, I had spent a wonderful afternoon with Peter cycling around Košice with stop-offs at some of his favorite places to drink beer. This year, Peter picked me up from hotel in his beautiful Porsche. The first stop was Ovečka KE.CY Kiosk and beer garden, located in the Čermeľská Valley just outside the city. Starting just north of the city, the valley stretches 16km into forested hills. The 150-seater beer garden is popular with families who want to escape the city easily, as well as hikers who want some fresh air and exercise. The valley has been a destination for Košice residents since the 19th century.

According to its website, “the attraction of the kiosk are special draft beers”. The special draft beers in this case are brewed by Pivovar Hostinec. Indeed, the only beer sold at Ovečka is from Hostinec. Ovečka, in fact, is one of only two places, apart from the brewery, that sells Hostinec’s beer. The reason is simple – quality control. Based on past experience Peter is concerned about bars and restaurants handling his beer in such a way as to ensure it tastes as it should. This is an industry-wide concern. Issues that craft breweries face when others serve their beer include improperly maintained draft systems (i.e. dirty beer lines), dirty glassware, warm storage etc. The more bars and restaurants that sell a brewery’s beer the harder it is to maintain quality control. According to Julia Herz, Executive Director of the American Homebrewers Association, when the integrity of a beer is compromised “it’s very difficult to enjoy a beer as the brewer intended“. Peter wants everyone to enjoy his beer as he intended it to be enjoyed.

After a beer at Ovečka, we headed to Peter’s apartment where we had a light snack and a beer while enjoying a panoramic view of Košice from the comfort of his patio. The beer we had was a collaboration between Hostinec and Sibeeria Brewery in Prague in the Czech Republic. Called, “We Are From Exit” it was a delicious Double New England IPA, with an ABV of 8.2%. An interesting feature of this beer is its label, which was designed using AI. I wonder how common using AI to design labels is in the craft brewing industry. And will it become increasingly common in the future?

A panoramic view of Košice from the patio of Peter’s apartment

The label on this collaboration beer between Pivovar Hostinec and Sibeeria Brewery was designed using AI.

Following a beer at Peter’s apartment we headed, by foot, into the center of Kosice. The remainder of the afternoon was spent visiting some of the city’s best drinking establishments. As we walked around the city center, I was impressed with how many people Peter knew. He is clearly a well-established and well-liked member of Košice culinary scene.

Enjoying a beer with Eric, a bartender at one of Peter’s favorite beer spots

One of the places we visited was the other craft brewery in Kosice, Pivovar Golem. This was my first visit to this brewery. Curious about the name of the brewery, I learned that a golem is an anthropomorphic creature in Jewish folklore. It is often made from clay or mud. Perhaps the most famous golem narrative was written by the revered Yiddish writer I. L. Peretz in 1890. The setting for Peretz’s short story is the city of Prague in what today is called the Czech Republic. In the story, a rabbi (Rabbi Loew) brings a golem to life by placing a magic word in its mouth. At first, the golem protects the Jewish ghetto. One day, however, it flies into a rage and causes all sorts of physical damage, including the smashing of buildings. To put an end to the destruction, Rabbi Loew removes the word from the golem’s mouth, and it dissolves into dust. Shaken by the turn of events, Rabbi Loew promises himself never to bring a golem to life again. Today, it is said that the dusty remains of that particular golem are to be found in a closed-off attic of the Old New Synagogue in Prague.

Peter at Pivovar Golem, with a golem in the background

It wonderful to be in the city of Košice again and to have the opportunity to spend an afternoon and catch-up with Peter Škripko. As always, Peter was amazingly generous with his time and treated to a wonderful tour of some of his favorite drinking places in the city. Walking is always a wonderful way to see a city and doing that walk with a native makes it even better. So, thank you to Peter for a wonderful afternoon. I hope we get the opportunity to do it again.

Advocacy, Craft Beer, Local Beer, Philanthropy, Toledo

Craft Breweries: Social and Environmental Advocacy

June 25, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

One of the things that I like about craft breweries are the myriad ways they are embedded within and engage with their communities. This can range from naming a beer after a local event of historical significance to hosting a weekly yoga class to raising money for a local non-profit. As noted on the website of the Brewers Association a defining characteristic of craft brewers is that they “tend to be very involved in their communities through philanthropy, product donations, volunteerism and sponsorship of events”. In a 2023 paper published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Colleen Myles and colleagues at Texas State University examined the different ways in which craft breweries across the United States engage in what they term advocacy. Their findings reveal breweries engage with their communities in a wide variety of ways, with environmental and social issues being particularly important to them. Indeed, 43% of the breweries sampled engaged in some form of social advocacy, while nearly a third engaged in environmental advocacy.

Examples of both types of advocacies abound. Brewability, a brewery in Englewood, CO hire employees with a disability, while Metazoa Brewing Company in Indianapolis, IN donate 5% of their profits to animal and wildlife organizations. With respect to environmental advocacy, SaltWater Brewery in Deray, FL use edible, biodegradable six-pack rings made from barley and wheat remnants — an innovation that helps combat the pernicious impacts of plastic pollution on both oceans and marine life. Meanwhile, Portico Brewing in Somerville, MA have a comprehensive environmental stewardship program that includes a reduce, reuse, recycle initiative, adding pollinator plants to their patio, and, in 2024, collaborating with the Massachusetts River Alliance to raise awareness of river restoration initiatives by hosting a trivia night.

I recently had the opportunity to experience firsthand an event where a craft brewery’s support for both social and environmental advocacy overlapped. The event was a collaboration between one of my local breweries, Quenched & Tempered Brewing Co and Metroparks Toledo, in support of the latter’s Good Natured Membership Program. The mission of the Good Natured Program is “to help break down the barriers that prevent historically underserved individuals, groups, and communities from experiencing, engaging with and benefiting from our area’s natural resources”. Funds raised in support of the Good Natured Program are used to support programing which provides fun ways for underserved communities to connect with nature and the outdoors. The Metroparks system is one of the Toledo region’s greatest assets. It comprises nineteen parks that encompass ~12,000 acres of protected natural land. Its vision is the “conservation of natural resources; strengthening of community; and the activation and promotion of spaces that enhance physical and mental health”.

The evening was billed as a “Paddle and Pint” event. The “paddle” part of the evening (in which I did not participate) involved kayaking on the Maumee River from Middlegrounds Metropark to Glass City Metropark – a distance of under a mile. The second part of the evening (which I did attend) was the release of Quenched & Tempered’s Saw-Whet Sangria Ale, a portion of the sale of which will go towards support of the Good Natured Program. The beer release took place in “The Garden” section of Glass City Metropark, where entertainment was provided by one of my favorite local bands, Chloe and the Chloe and the Steel Strings.

Quenched & Tempered’s Saw-Whet Sangria Ale, a portion of the sale of which will go towards support of the Good Natured Program.

Saw-Whet Sangria Ale by Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company was released at the Paddle and Pints event

Local band Chloe and the Steel Strings provided entertainment at the Paddle and Pints event

The Glass City Metropark provided a spectacular setting for the beer release. Opened in 2023, on a former brownfield site, the park provides a multifunctional space which includes a mini waterpark, a nature-based playscape an adventure playground, a kayak cove, an ice-skating/roller skating ribbon, and a locally owned restaurant. The park is located on the east side of the Maumee River just across from downtown Toledo.

Located on the east side of the Maumee River, the Glass City Metropark provided a spectacular setting for the Paddles and Pint event

What I really enjoyed about this evening is that it was happening in a beautiful new Metropark that has, since its opening, made a considerable contribution to enhancing the quality of life for Toledo residents. The beer being celebrated was made by a locally owned brewery, the food available was from a locally owned restaurant, and the entertainment was provided by a local band. And all of these came together in support of a local charitable non-profit whose primary mission was to create fun and educational opportunities for underserved communities to access, enjoy, and learn about the natural environment. The evening proved to be a resounding success – a good time was had by all and, more importantly, a local charitable cause was showcased and supported.

Further Reading

Myles, Colleen C., Delorean Wiley, Walter W. Furness, and Katherine Sturdivant. 2023. Brewing change: Advocacy in craft brewing in the United States. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Volume 113, Issue 4, Pages 996-1019.

Brewers, Craft Breweries, Small Breweries

Seeking Great Beer in San Diego

May 23, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

I was in San Diego last week giving a guest lecture to students in the Craft Beer and Urban Economies class at the University of California-San Diego. The course is taught by my friend and colleague, Julie Wartell. As part of the class, students get the opportunity to visit and tour a local brewery. I was fortunate enough that my trip to San Diego coincided with a visit the class made to Seek Beer Co.

Julie, myself, and about 25 students descended on Seek Brewery early on a Sunday afternoon. Established in 2022, the brewery is located in the city’s North Park neighborhood, described by some locals as “the best beer neighborhood in the nation,” Like most craft breweries, it is relatively small. According to data provided to the Brewers Association, Seek produced 411 barrels of beer in 2023. It does have capacity for growth, however.

Our group was met at the brewery by founder and owner, Dave Ohmer. As with any brewery tour I go on, what interests me the most is hearing the owner talk about their background, their passion for brewing, and the opportunities and challenges that they see for their brewery and the industry more broadly.

Dave grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. His emotional ties to this marvelous Midwest city are still evident in the Bengals banner that has pride of place in his production space. A interesting feature of Dave’s journey to brewer and brewery owner is that he never home brewed. This is highly unusual in the brewing industry. Data show that approximately 90% of today’s commercial craft brewers started on their professional journey as home homebrewers. During college, where he studied music, Dave waited tables at Downtown Grill and Brewery in Knoxville, TN. One day he asked the owners if he could volunteer in the brewhouse. His volunteer position transitioned to a paid position and from scrubbing floors and cleaning kegs he worked his way up to full-time brewer. Additional positions at Saw Works Brewing in Knoxville and Whole Foods Brewing Co. and Urban South Brewery in Houston, TX allowed Dave to expand his knowledge base and hone his brewing skills.

With a Bengals bag in the background, Dave Ohmer tells us about the brewing process

Seek has a relatively small taproom. A sign on the wall indicates that the space, legally, play host to 43 people. There is, however, an outdoor space, share with a neighboring brewery. This is vital to Seek’s success as it allows the brewery to serve more customers from its taproom. Currently, the taproom is responsible for 70% of Seek’s sales. The other 30% is self-distributed to local bars and restaurants. Going forward, Dave would like to increase the percentage of his sales that come from the taproom. Simply put, the profit margins on a taproom keg are just so much more generous than one that is distributed. During our visit, Dave mentioned that there had been rumblings of the outdoor space being converted to half-a-dozen parking spaces – this would not be a good development from Seek’s perspective.

When I was there Seek had about a dozen different beers on offer, including a Vienna Lager, a Coffee Stout, a Fruited Sour, a West Coast IPA, and a Hazy IPA. One thing that I noticed about the beers available was that all but one (an Imperial Coffee Stout) had ABS of under 7%. I asked Dave about this, and he said that this simply reflected market demand. Higher ABV beers had not been selling fast enough. This preference for lower ABV beers (although many would consider 6.9% to be quite high; its relative guess) is consistent with a broad market shift towards lower alcohol beers that has been observed. As a beer drinker who prefers beer to be under 7% ABV, I appreciated the wide choice of such brews on offer at Seek.

While a relative newcome to the San Diego beer scene, Seek has made a big impact. At the 2025 San Diego Beer News Awards (SDBNA), Seek won in six categories (Best Customer Service, Best Hazy IPA, Best Imperial IPA, Best Pilsner, Best Collaboration Beer and the inaugural Best Alternative Beverage award). What struck me about this list of awards was that not only does Seek produce great beer, but they also provide fantastic customer service. Behind the bar at Seek when I visited was Taproom Manager, Tyler Hamman. Along with Beertender, Savanah Marshall, Hamman is key to the great service that Seek’s customer’s experience. This was not the first time Seek had won the Best Customer Service Award – they had previously done so in 2023.

As Dave Ohlmer builds his brewery’s brand, and hopefully its taproom sales, providing good customer service is critical. In a research paper published in 2023 in the journal Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, researchers from Cornell University examined the relationship between various taproom characteristics and customer satisfaction. They found that the two most important contributors to customer satisfaction were the taproom’s interior ambience and the friendliness and knowledge of servers. And, perhaps not surprisingly, customers who were more satisfied with their taproom experience tended to stay longer, buy more beer, and spend more money.

Seek is also a brewery that is very engaged with its community. I experienced this on a previous visit in 2024. On that trip, Julie took me to Seek on a Monday evening. This happened to coincide with the weekly meeting of the Seek Run Club. Every Monday at 6pm, a group of folks meet up and have an at-your-own-pace walk/jog/run around the North Park neighborhood, at the end ow which everyone meets back at Seek for a beer (or two) and an opportunity to socialize. This activity is an indicative of a larger trend of breweries becoming the focus of what is generally known as Leisure Time Physical Activity (LPTA). The LPTA can be yoga, running, cycling, or any other activity that involves some level of physical exertion. The Run Club has become such a part of the identity of the brewery that one of the beer’s produced by Seek is called “On a Monday” a Light Lager with an ABV of 4.2% and has been dubbed as the “official beer of the Seek Run Club”.

Seek Beer Run Club members enjoy a post-run beer

“On a Monday” – the official beer of the Seek Run Club

Further Reading:

Li, Jie, Sara M. WagneR, Miguel I. Gomez, and Anna Katharine Mansfield. 2023. Customer satisfaction and sale performance in New York State brewery tasting rooms. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Volume 52, Pages 132–150.

Seaman, Alana N, Lindsey Schroeder, Laura Morris, Kayla Hines, and Michele Abee. 2024. “Ten bucks for yoga and a beer in a cool vibey spot”: Exploring motivations for LTPA at craft breweries. Leisure Studies.

Beer Styles, International

Bottle Conditioned: The Story of Lambic

April 29, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to preview the documentary film, Bottle Conditioned, a few weeks before its public release by Bullfrog Fims. Directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Jerry Franck, the documentary explores the world of lambic beer.

Before discussing the film, let me say something about lambic beer. Lambic is one of the world’s most iconic beer styles. It is a sour wheat beer, brewed by using spontaneous fermentation. In other words, unlike most beers which are brewed using yeast selected by the brewer, lambic uses wild yeast that is naturally present in the environment. Authentic lambic is brewed in one small geographic region – Pajottenland and the adjacent Zenne Valley, which lie southwest of Belgium’s capital city Brussels.

Exactly how long lambic has been around is unclear – some sources suggest it was first brewed in the 13th century, while others date its origins to the 15th and 18^th centuries respectively. The weight of evidence suggests an 18^th century origin to be the most likely. In addition to Lambic, there are several derivatives. These include fruit lambic, faro, and gueuze. Of these gueuze is considered the “most noble”, being often “likened to champagne”.

Gueuze, is made by blending a young Lambic (one year old) with older (two and three years old) lambics. As the young lambic is not fully fermented, a secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. No two batches of gueuze are the same as the yeast used in their production comes from the natural environment, making it “impossible to produce a standardised product”. Following fermentation, lambic is aged in wooden barrels (usually wine) for several years. Because of seasonal variations in the microflora in the Pajottenland and Zenne Valley lambic can only be brewed between October and May.

Bottle Conditioned, tells the story of three lambic producers/blenders (Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, and Bokke), the people who own and run them, and their visions of the future. As we learn in the film, after a period of decline, lambic today is experiencing something of a renaissance. In the early 1950s, there were several hundred producers/blenders of lambic in the region, with each village having two or three. In the subsequent four decades, however, consumer demand for lambic went into free fall. Jean-Pierre Van Roy (Co-Owner of Cantillon) lays part of the blame at the feet of Coca Cola, which was introduced into Europe after World War II. Coca Cola’s arrival was part of a larger trend in which standardization of tastes became a dominant force. Van Roy likens Coca Cola to a drug that arrived “violently” in Europe. As Coca Cola became more popular, people developed a taste for sweeter drinks. Changing consumer tastes were also reflected in the growing popularity of less-expensive mass-produced Lagers, against which lambic producers found it impossible to compete. Faced with this reality, one response by some lambic producers was to add saccharine to their blends, thus making it sweeter and more appealing to consumers. As a result, product quality and authenticity were compromised, although it did allow some lambic producers to survive. In a paper published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Arie Stoffelen, interviewed some 1980s lambic/gueuze drinkers. According to one of them:

“I drank old gueuzes in the 80s. You had to have a lot of courage and sacrifice to empty the glass . . . There was a lot of bad stuff on the market”

During this period, a small number of lambic producers, whose practices remained loyal to the beer’s authenticity, refused to add sweeteners. To survive, some leveraged lambic’s cultural heritage to generate customers and boost sales. In 1979 Jean-Pierre Van Roy established the Brussels Museum of Gueuze, with the goal of generating income to help keep the brewery alive. It was a resounding success. Cantillon is still in business and today, the brewery attracts over 30,000 visitors per year.

As recently as the 1990s, consumer interest in lambic remained at a very low ebb. The industry was moribund and the few brewers/blenders who were still in business faced a bleak and uncertain future. However, beginning in the early 2000s, lambic started receiving more attention, particularly in international markets. This renewed interest in lambic coincided with the growth of craft beer and a spurning, among a growing number of beer drinkers, of the bland-tasting, homogeneous, mass-produced Lagers.

This resurgence in lambic’s popularity brought with it both challenges and opportunities, each of which presented questions that had to be answered and decisions that had to be made. Many of these questions and decisions revolved around the future of the industry. As we weave our way through the film it becomes quite clear that there are competing visions about that future, competing visions within families and competing visions between producers.

On the one hand, there are producers like Cantillon’s Jean-Pierre Van Roy for whom tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important. Van Roy bemoans the emphasis that the younger generation of brewers’ place on “production, turnover, and profits”. According to him, “the beauty and aesthetics” of producing authentic lambic “doesn’t interest them”. In a recent interview with The Brussels Times, Van Roy bemoans the use of lactic acid by some lambic brewers. Lactic acid, with its attendant sourness, is produced naturally during the fermentation process. However, Van Roy notes that some lambic brewers add lactic acid to the coolship, thus reducing the length of time it takes to produce a lambic from several years to 4-5 months.

When it comes to producing lambic, Jean-Pierre Van Roy of Cantillon is protective of traditional values and practices

Van Roy is also dismissive of the modern beer drinker – “When I see people drink beer nowadays, I’m horrified”, he says. He dislikes the way many of them analyze beer as they drink it, taking notes, lining up bottles and taking photographs. This, Van Roy says, is “atrocious”. At one point in the film, Van Roy laments that “I am simply from a different time”.

The viewer is left in no doubt that tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important to Jean-Pierre Van Roy. At the same he realizes that it is perhaps time for him to acquiesce and let the next generation implement their ideas and fulfill their visions. In the case of Cantillon, the next generation is represented by his son Jean. Jean has a more holistic, and some might argue, more realistic vision of the future. He recognizes that the world is changing, and that competition is escalating. For example, he observes there are a lot of good fruit beers being produced using secondary fermentation.

Jean’s observation is supported by the Tour De Geuze, a biennial celebration of lambic held in Pajottenland and the Zenne Valley where new products are often unveiled. For example, at the 2024 iteration of the event, Brewery Kestermont unveiled two new lambics, one brewed with blood orange and one brewed with bergamot. A visit to the website of Cantillon displays a wide range of lambics, including variations containing blue honeysuckle, raspberries, and rhubarb.

At one point in the film, Jean-Pierre outlines his desire to use some of Cantillon’s production space for the purpose of extending the brewery’s museum displays. His son objects on the grounds that valuable brewing capacity would be lost. Jean-Pierre accuses his son of only wanting to “produce, produce, produce”. In the end, it is the son who prevails, and the new museum space is built (at a cost of 1.6 million Euros).

Another lambic producer we meet in the film is Armand Debelder of 3 Forteinen Brewery. Debelder took over the running of 3 Forteinen from his parents in the early 1980s. As noted above, this was a tough time for lambic. But he persevered, continuing to produce authentic lambic. Shortly after appearing in the film, Debelder pased away from prostate cancer. By then, however, Debelder had passed the reins of 3 Forteinen to his business partners Michaël Blancquaert and Werner Van Obberghen.

In the film we learn that 3 Forteinen is receiving a 25 million Euro investment from a private equity firm. When news of this investment broke, some of the responses (particularly online) bordered on vitriolic. One online posting asked whether 3 Forteinen was more interested in generating shareholder profits than in producing good beer. Others accused them of selling their soul, of becoming a factory. Critics felt that there are dangers associated with becoming “too big”. Responding to the criticism, Werner Van Obberghen, Managing Director of 3 Forteinen points out that the volume of lambic produce is irrelevant if quality standards are maintained. 3 Forteinen, he insists, will always privilege quality. He accuses detractors of missing the point in their call to “make lambic rare again”.

Raf Souvereyns, who we also meet in the film, has progressive ideas. Souvereyns is the owner of Bokke Blendery (~100 km outside of Pajottenland). Souvereyns is not a brewer. He buys wort from lambic breweries, putting it in a coolship for spontaneous fermentation. A producer of mainly fruit beers, Souvereyns likes to push the limits of what can be done. He is quite happy to jettison a traditional technique if he feels it is not delivering for him. He uses the terms “deconstructing” and “reconstructing” to describe much of what he does. He talks about the infinite combinations of different fruits, and the experimentation that this involves.

Raf Souvereyns of Bokke Blendery is not beholden to tradition when blending lambics

Bottle Conditioned is film that pits tradition and heritage against non-conformity and innovation. On the one hand, we have Jean-Pierre Van Roy who values tradition and heritage; on the other we have Raf Souvereyns who is forging ahead with new and creative ideas. As I watched the film, I found myself sympathizing with both perspectives. Yes, I want to be able to drink lambic produced using traditional methods and recipes. At the same time, I am not opposed to tasting something new and experimental.

When Bullfrog Films invited me to preview the film, they asked that I provide a short blurb that they could use for promotional purposes. So, I will end this blog entry with my blurb:

“Bottle Conditioned is a must-see love story for anyone interested in the resurgence of one of the world’s most iconic styles of beer – lambic. As with most love stories there are hopes and dreams, anxieties and fears, tensions and conflicts. Bottle Conditioned has all of these, and more, as director Jerry Franck takes us deep into the world of lambic and the people who produce it; a world where competing visions of the future are discussed and debated. If you only watch one beer film this year, make sure it’s this one.”

Further Viewing and Reading:

Franck, Jerry. 2022. Bottle Conditioned. Reading, PA: Bullfrog Films.

Mulder, Roel. 2018. Lambic: The need for a new historical narrative. Journal of the Brewery History Society, Volume 175: Pages 2-13.

Stoffelen, Arie. 2022. Revitalising place-based commercial heritage: A cultural political economy approach to the renaissance of lambic beers in Belgium. International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 16-29.

History, International, Scholarship

Guinness and the Student’s t-test

March 29, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

Well, that’s another St. Patrick’s Day behind us. I am not really a green beer person, and don’t care much for corned beef (although I am partial to cabbage). So, I usually don’t participate in the celebrations that occur on the famous saint’s feast day. This year, however, I did make a presentation on St. Patrick and the history of Guinness as part of the monthly Pint Talk series at one of my local breweries, Quenched and Tempered.

Speaking about St. Patrick and the history of Gunnesss at Quenched & Tempered Brewing Company (Photo Credit: Beth Schlemper)

As I was preparing my talk, my oldest daughter sent me a text asking if I knew that the student t-test was developed by an employee of Guinness. My daughter is a nurse and is working on her Master of Science degree in Nursing at Ohio University. In one of her classes, the instructor was covering some basic statistical techniques. This is where the student’s t-test came up. I responded to her text, telling her that I was indeed familiar with both the test itself and the fact that it had been developed by a Guinness employee, and that both would be mentioned in my presentation.

William Sealy Gosset was born in Canterbury, England in 1876. As a student at Oxford University, Gosset studied mathematics and chemistry. Soon after graduating from Oxford, in 1899, Gosset joined the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland, as a master brewer and experimental scientist. As it was to turn out, all of Gosset’s working days (1899-1937) were spent as a Guinness employee. When he joined Guinness, it was the largest brewery in the world, producing close to 1.2 million barrels of beer. And it was on a growth trajectory. By 1914, it was producing almost 2.4 million barrels.

The arrival of Gosset at Guinness signaled something of a scientific revolution for the Irish brewery – from that day forward, scientific rigor would underpin all of the brewery’s activities. As noted by Stephen T. Ziliak, “all factors of production, from barley breeding to taste testing” would be “controlled, improved, and confirmed by experimental science”. A degree in science from Oxford or Cambridge would be required of anyone hoping to become a Guinness brewer. By applying scientific principles to brewing, Guinness hoped to improve both the quality and consistency of its beer, while minimizing production costs. One observer likens being a brewer at Guinness in the early 1900s to “being a computer scientist at Bell Labs in the 1970s or an artificial intelligence researcher at Google today“.

Quality and consistency of the final product was highly dependent upon the quality and consistency of the barley and hops used in the brewing process. In the case of hops, Guinness’ traditional method of choosing which to use was based on looks and/or fragrance – a highly unreliable technique. A more reliable method would have been knowledge of the degree of soft resins in the hops. This was problematic, however. The vicissitudes of agriculture meant that there could be considerable variation in the soft resin content of hops, both from field to field and year to year.

Measuring the soft resin content in every hop cone was not feasible. By 1886, Guinness was using ~5 million pounds of hops. An alternative was to take a sample of hops and measure their soft resin content. But this raised some important questions? For example, how many hop cones did you have to sample? And how could you tell if your samples were representative of the larger batch of hops you were considering using in the brewing process. This was one of the tasks to which Gosset set his mind. In 1906 Guinness granted Gosset a sabbatical to work on this problem, so he spent a year at the Biometrics Laboratory of mathematician Karl Pearson at University College London.

Gosset was particularly interested in the problem of small samples. In other words, by measuring the soft resin content of a small sample of hops, can you infer that the entire crop has an acceptable soft resin content? Up until that point, all methods for extrapolating from a sample relied on having at least 30 observations. It was during his year at Pearson’s laboratory that Gosset figured out how characteristics of larger populations could be inferred from a very small number of samples. In his initial work he did not focus on hops. but malt extract. By taking just four samples of malt extract Gosset found that he could be sure with more than 92% certainty that the “degrees saccharine” of the extract was within 0.5 degrees of the required amount which was 133 degrees.

In 1908 Goset published the results of his research in the journal Biometrika. He did so under the pseudonym “Student”. While Guinness was happy for Gosset to share his work, they preferred that competitors not know for whom the author worked and the manner in which the brewery was applying his research. Indeed, Gosset used the same pseudonym in 19 of the 21 scientific papers he published.

As a result of Gosset using the pseudonym in his paper, the statistical technique that he presented became known as Student’s t-test. Today the Student t-test is taught in every introductory statistics course in the world (I don’t know that for sure, but I can’t imagine an introductory statistic’s course without it).

It is also widely used by both academic and non-academic researchers. For example, in medical research it can be used to compare the effectiveness of two drugs (or a placebo and a drug) in a clinical trial, while Psychologists might use it to assess the impact of therapy on an individual (before and after therapy scenarios). A manufacturer may use it to assess whether average customer satisfaction rating for a new product differs significantly from a pre-determined benchmark.

In a letter published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, Younis Skaij described the Student’s t-test as the ‘bread and butter” of statistical analysis. Writing in the Scientific American, Jack Murtagh, called the Student’s t-test as “one of the most important statistical techniques in all of science“. As Gosset’s research was published under the pseudonym of Student, he probably does not get the recognition he deserves among the scientific community. But next time you raise a glass of Guinness to your lips, give a thought to this “gentleman scientist“.

Further Reading:

Ziliak, Stephen T. 2008. Guinnessometrics: The economic
foundation of “Student’s” t. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 22, Issue 4, Pages 199–216.

Craft Breweries, Education, Experiential Drinking

Brewery Talk

February 14, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

As an academic who researches and writes about the brewing industry, I give a lot of presentations at academic conferences. The vast majority of these take place either in a hotel (common in North America) or on a university campus (common in Asia, Europe, and Latin America). Occasionally, however, I give a presentation about the brewing industry in a brewery. Last year was a good one in that respect. I gave four presentations in three different breweries – Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co. in Toledo, OH (two presentations), Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia, and Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia.

Talking about the brewing industry while standing in a brewery has a number of advantages over giving a presentation in a non-brewery setting. For example, it is not uncommon for the fermentation tanks to be in full view, transforming what otherwise might be a fairly standard presentation into an experiential occasion. Also, there is always a member of the brewery staff (often the owner and/or master brewer) on hand to provide his/her insights on the industry, to tell the story of his/her brewery, and/or to lead the audience through a tasting of some of the brewery’s beers.

Those working in the craft brewing industry are amazingly passionate and generous individuals. They love to talk about the industry and to share their own personal journey from home brewer to the proud owner of a commercial brewery. Their passion is most apparent when they are leading the audience through a tasting of their beer. About a week before Christmas, I gave a presentation on the history of Christmas Ales at Quenched and Tempered (Q&T) Brewing Co. in my home city, Toledo. After my presentation, audience members were given a sample of the beer Q&T had brewed for the holiday season – a Belgian Quad, which weighed in at an impressive 11.2% ABV. As the samples were being distributed and enjoyed, brewery owner and brewmaster, Alex Drozdowicz, shared his inspiration for the brew and talked about the brewing process and the beer’s ingredients, which included cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cranberry, and orange peel. There is no question that my presentation was enhanced by the brewery setting , the opportunity to sample the brewery’s beer, and to hear Alex share his passion and knowledge.

Quenched and Tempered Winter Holiday Ale (Photo credit: Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co.)

In 2024, I also gave presentations at Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia, and Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia. Both of these presentations were given as part of conferences I was attending. The idea was to combine an evening of local beer and food with a short educational program about some aspect of the brewing industry.

At Hostinec Brewery, I spoke about the origins of the craft beer revolution, after which brewery owner Peter Škripko talked about the history of the brewery and led attendees through a tasting of four of his beers. After the tasting, we were given a tour of Hostinec’s production space and the opportunity to sample more beer straight from the fermentation tanks.

Talking about the evolution of the craft beer movement at Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia

*Peter Škripko* led our group through a tasting of some of his brewery’s beers

Owner *Peter Škripko* gave conference attendees a tour of Hostinec’s production space

At Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia I gave a short presentation on the globalization and fragmentation trends that had been sweeping through and changing the face of the global brewing industry since the mid-1980s. After my presentation, Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewery spoke about Dargett and its emergence as a major player in the Armenian craft beer market. Inna fielded a number of questions from conference attendees, providing them with a unique insider’s view of the craft brewing industry in Armenia.

Talking about the popularity of craft beer at Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia

Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewpub tells the audience about Dargett Brewery

Craft breweries are examples of what Conrad Kickert of the School of Architecture and Planning at the State University of New York in Buffalo refers to as “maker ecosystems”, which are characterized by “shared production, education, distribution and sales facilities”. In other words, craft breweries are so much more than just places where beer is produced and where people go to drink beer. They are often multi-functonal community spaces where everything from yoga classes to book clubs, to educational programing takes place. This makes them invaluable assets to the communities within which they are embedded

Next month, I’ll be back at Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co., here in Toledo where I will be talking about St. Patrick and the history of Irish brewing. The brewmaster, Alex, will have his Irish Red Ale on tap and I am sure that folks will enjoy learning about the brewing process and the malts and hops that give it its unique aroma and flavor.

Beer Styles, Lager

I’ll Have a Lager Please

January 7, 2025 The Beer Professor Leave a comment

Lager is the most popular type of beer in the world. Walk into any bar in any country and the chances of Lager not being available is almost zero. This includes the United States, where Lager accounts for approximately 87% of beer sales. Almost all of the world’s best-known beers are Lagers – think Budwesier, Modelo, Heineken, Molson, and Stella Artois. A noteworthy exception is Guinness. This highly popular brew is an Ale.

The popularity of Lager in the United States can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century when large numbers of German immigrants arrived in the United States. It was these immigrants who introduced Lager to the American beer drinker. Prior to their arrival, Ales, brought here by the British, had dominated the American brewing landscape.

But what is the difference between an Ale and a Lager? Well, to start with, they are brewed using different types of yeast. Generally speaking, Lagers are brewed using ‘bottom-fermenting’ yeasts (Saccharomyces pastorianus), while Ales are brewed using ‘top-fermenting’ yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). They are also fermented at different temperatures, with Ale yeast’s fermenting between 60°F to 75°F and Lager yeasts fermenting between 45°F to 55°F. Lagers also take longer to produce. It can take 7-8 weeks to brew a Lager, compared with 2-3 weeks for an Ale. Indeed, the word “Lager” is derived from the German word lagern, which means “to store” and refers to the long cold-conditioning phase that follows primary fermentation. Not surprisingly, the final products tend to have different characteristics. Lagers are more carbonated and can be best described as crisp, smooth, and mellow. Ales, in comparison, are more robust, fruity, and aromatic. If they are IPAs, they can also be quite bitter.

In discussing Lagers and Ales, it important to distinguish between types and styles of beer. Lagers and Ales are types of beer. Think of Lagers and Ales as an umbrella, beneath which exist dozens of different styles and sub-styles. Indeed, the Brewers Association recognizes over a hundred different styles/sub-styles of beer. Examples of Ale styles include India Pale Ale, Scotch Ale, and Oatmeal Stout, while examples of Lagers include American Light Lager, Vienna Lager, and Munich-style Dunkel.

While Lager is the most popular type of beer among beer drinkers generally, this is not the case when it comes to craft beer drinkers. In the world of craft beer India Pale Ale (IPA) is king. A recent report published by the Brewers Association looked at regional variations in the popularity of different craft beer styles. It reported that sales of IPA ranged from 45% of all craft beer sold in the Midwest to 62% in the Northeast. Furthermore, the same report showed that the popularity of IPA has been growing since 2020. At some craft breweries, IPAs may account for 90% of the beer they produce.

According to Matt Westfall owner and brewer of Counter Weight Brewing Co. in Cheshire, CT, in the early days of the craft brewing movement, IPAs allowed craft breweries to really differentiate themselves from mass producers such as Anheuser-Busch. Craft Lagers were frequently “disparaged by craft beer aficionados for being too akin to mainstream beers”.

In recent years, there have been a number of stories in the media suggesting that Lagers are becoming more popular among craft beer drinkers. Jamal Robinson, Sales and Marketing Director at New England Brewing Co. in Woodbridge, CT credits this to the fact that many craft beer drinkers have palate fatigue. An over-indulgence in big, bold, hoppy, IPAs has left some craft beer drinkers seeking something more crisp, more mellow, and more sessionable (i.e., lower ABVs) beers. Jim Vorel, writing for Paste Magazine, believes that the increasing availability of craft lager “represents a desperately needed (and much appreciated) alternative to the other styles that command peak popularity at most taprooms”. According to Malika Wichner, writing for Backbar Academy, Lagers “are not only easy to drink but also retain a depth of flavor that appeals to a wide range of palates, making them ideal for both casual settings and larger social gatherings where a more approachable beer is desired.” Wichner, identifies the growing popularity of craft Lagers as one of eight beer industry trends to look out for in 2025. And it’s not just in the United States that craft Lager is gaining popularity. A similar trend has been identified in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Craft Lagers can also serve as gateway beer for people who typically drink mass produced Lagers. Justin Jacobson of Whitchcraft Beer Store in Austin, TX suggests that craft Lagers, “serve as a good launching pad into craft beer” for drinkers of mainstream beers (which are predominantly Lagers).

I was reminded of the growing popularity of craft Lagers on a recent trip to New Orleans, LA. While there I paid a visit to Brewery Saint X. As I perused their beer menu, I was struck by the number of Lagers on offer. Of the sixteen beers on their menu, six were Lagers. In addition to two different Helles Lagers, there was a Schankbier Lager, a Rice Lager, a Kellerbier Lager, and a Märzen Lager. I opted for one of the Helles Lagers (Struttin’) and a Rice Lager. While it is not uncommon to see a Helles Lager on the menu at craft breweries, Rice Lagers are somewhat rarer, but there is certainly a market for them. According to Jim Vorel, the range of Lagers that I found at Brewery Saint X is a relatively recent phenomenon. How recent? Walk into most breweries as recently as 2019 and Vorel suggests that the choice of Lagers was quite limited.

The beer menu at Brewery Saint X in New Orleans, LA

Brewery Saint X (established in 2023) is part of Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG), based in Alexandria, VA. NRG, is a collective of hospitality venues. Greg Engert is NRG’s Beer Director. As someone who works in the brewing industry Engert says that he is “drawn not only to the innovative spirit of brewing, but also to its history. While we’re excited to showcase a wide array of styles at Saint X, it’s the classics that we’re most interested in honoring.” And when it comes to beer, there is nothing more classic than German Lagers. Indeed, on their website, the brewery mentions they have “a particular reverence for the classics, from German and Czech-inspired lagers to British cask-style beers.”

I enjoyed a Rice Lager at Brewery Saint X

There are, of course, some disincentives to brewing Lagers. Due to the length of time it takes to brew them (6-8 weeks), they take up valuable fermentation tank space that could be used for producing Ales. Thus, brewing a Lager comes with high opportunity costs. Lagers are also more challenging to brew. When brewing an Ale, it is much easier to hide imperfections thanks to the heavy use of hops and other ingredients such as coffee, peanut butter etc. In the case of Lagers, any imperfections are easily detectable. As noted by Aaron Baker, Senior Marketing manager at Oskar Blues Brewery, Lagers are “the hardest to perfect” as there are “a lot more things that can go wrong during the brewing process.”

There are also some hurdles with respect to consumer perception that have to be overcome. Much of the impetus for the craft beer movement was its opposition to the mass producers and their homogeneous, uninspiring, Lagers. Rightly or wrongly, Lagers were associated with low-quality, bland tasting beer. And while they were more time-consuming and, in many ways, more challenging to produce, some consumers balked at the idea of paying premium price for a beer style that Anheuser-Busch were offering at half the price. While brewing craft Lagers may sound mundane to some, there is still room for pushing the envelope when it comes to experimentation and creativity. For example, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham. MA produce Hoponious Union, a West Coast Style Hoppy Lager, while Providence Brewing Co. of Providence, RI brew a hazy New England India Pale Lager. At the same time, some breweries go to considerable lengths to brew an authentic Lager. For example, as highlighted on the website of Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers:

“To create authentic German-style flavors, Jack’s Abby brews with traditional ingredients and techniques. The Jack’s Abby brewing team travels to Germany every year to procure German hops and malt from small family run operations in Bavaria. The brewers use old-world brewing techniques of decoction and spunding to recreate historical lagers.”

My early beer drinking days in my native Scotland were dominated by Lagers. Lagers made by breweries such as Tennant’s were ubiquitous and the beer of choice of many beer drinkers in Scotland. Today, thanks in large extent to the craft beer revolution, my palate has evolved, and I enjoy a wide variety of beer styles – Brown Ales, Hazy IPAs, Sours etc. I do still enjoy Lagers, however, especially during the warmer months of summer. So, I am pleased to see more breweries brewing more Lager.

Further Reading:

Casey, Gregory Paul. 2022. The Inspiring and Surprising History and Legacy of American Lager Beer. Master Brewers Association Technical Quarterly, Volume 57, Issue 1, Pages 9-18.

Breweries, Craft Breweries, International

2024 Year in Review

December 31, 2024 The Beer Professor 2 Comments

Between 2017 and 2021, at the end of each year, I posted a blog entry documenting all the breweries I had visited during the calendar year. Included was one photograph from each brewery. In 2022, I did not post such an entry. I can’t quite remember why this was the case. However, I also failed to make an end-of- year posting in 2023. Anyway, 2024 is almost over and I thought I’d get back into the habit of documenting the breweries I visited.

During 2024, I visited a total of forty-five breweries. Before going any further, I should define what I am counting as a brewery. Any establishment owned by a brewery, whether beer is brewed on-site or not, is included in my list. For example, Inside The Five Brewing Company has three locations in northwest Ohio. At only one of those locations is beer brewed. However, all three locations are included in the list of breweries I visited in 2024.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited in 2024, eighteen were in my home state of Ohio, seventeen were located elsewhere in the United States, and ten were outside of the United States. Of the seventeen breweries I visited elsewhere in the United States, four were in the neighboring state of Michigan. Toledo, where I live, is located just south of the Ohio/Michigan border, so visits to Michigan breweries are fairly routine. Trips to California, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania afforded me the opportunity to visit breweries in those states. In terms of breweries outside of the United States, two trips to Canada, as well as trips to Armenia and Slovakia, meant that I visited more non-US breweries than I normally do.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited, sixteen were repeat visits. This meant there were twenty-nine breweries that I visited for the first time (indicated in bold font in the list below).

I hope you enjoy the photographs below. I wish every one a Happy New Year and hope that 2025 is a wonderful year for you.

OHIO (18)

60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH
Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
Brewing Green, Bowling Green, OH
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)
Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
HEAVY Beer Co., Toledo, OH
Inside the Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg, OH
Inside the Five Brewing Co., Sylvania, OH
Inside the Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OH
Maumee Bay Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
Oncore Brewing, Swanton, OH
Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
Upside Brewing, Sylvania, OH
Wild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH

REST OF UNITED STATES (17)

Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
Blake’s Brewing Company, Almont, MI
Blake’s Brewing Company, Armada, MI
Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
Gordon Biersch Brewery, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant , Phoenixville, PA
Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
Red Hook Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN
TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA

INTERNATIONAL (10)

379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON
Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
Hostinec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
The Beerded Dog, Harrow, ON, Canada
The Grove Brewing Company, Kinsgville, ON, Canada
The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)

Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON

Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA

Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)

Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)

Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN

Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Gordon Biersch Brewimg, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)

Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada

Inside The Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg OH

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Phoenixville, PA

Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location))

Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company,Toledo, OH

Red Rock Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)

Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)

TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)

The Grove Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada

Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV

The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada

International

Four Days in Armenia

December 20, 2024 The Beer Professor

I recently returned from a four day visit to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. I was there as one of the keynote speakers at a conference on “The Transformative Economy: Digital Technology, Spatial Disparities and Quality of Life”, The conference was one of a number of events celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Yerevan State University.

For those of you unfamiliar with Armenia, it is a landlocked country, which shares borders with Georgia to the north, Türkiye to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. While it considers itself to be part of Europe, from a geographic perspective an argument can be made that it is part of Western Asia. While Armenia has a long and interesting geopolitical history, most recently it was part of the USSR, from which it gained independence in 1991. It is a relatively small country, with a population of ~3 million, a third of which live in Yerevan.

Armenia’s Geographic Location (Source: BBC.com)

Armenian beer traces its roots at least as far back as the 4th century BC. It was then that it is mentioned in the travel diary of the ancient Greek mercenary, Xenophon. Traveling through eastern Anatolia, Xenephon makes mention of Armenians enjoying a tasty, but potent, drink he called “barley wine”. As was fairly common during this period, beer was served in a large bowl and consumed communally using straws.

In the late 19th century, when Armenia was part of the Russian Empire, beer was brewed in both Alexandrapol and Yerevan. The former was later renamed Gyumri and today is Armenia’s second largest city. In 1926, by which time, Armenia was part of the USSR, the last Armenian brewery was closed.

Beer production would not return to Armenia until the 1950s. As alcoholism was a significant problem in the USSR, the Russians prohibited the import of foreign beer, most of which was of higher quality than that brewed locally. As a result, according to Karine Vann, writing in The Smithsonian, “a network of subversive beer drinkers emerged, gathering in Soviet Armenia’s watering holes. The good stuff [such as imported Czech Lager] was possible to find – for the right price – if you had the right acquaintances.”

Today, Armenia, like many other countries in the region, has a small, but dynamic craft brewing industry. During my recent visit, I had the opportunity to visit two of the country’s craft breweries.

On a sunny Monday afternoon, I walked the twenty minutes from my hotel, to 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant which is owned and operated by 379 Brewing Company. Opened in 2021, the restaurant is located in the heart of Yerevan. The restaurant has a delightful courtyard where I spent a wonderful couple of hours enjoying some of 379’s beers.

The courtyard at 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant

As is common in many European craft breweries 379 had a relatively small number of beers available – an American Wheat Ale, a Weizen, a Pilsner, a Dunkel, and a Barley Wine. I tried three of the five beers on offer – American Wheat Ale, Weizen, and Pilsner. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. If you are ever in Yerevan, 379 Torch and Brew is a delightful place to kick back and relax for a couple of hours

Details about four of 379’s beer were available on this creative menu

I enjoyed this American Wheat Ale at 379 Torch and Brew

The second craft brewery I had the opportunity to visit while in Yerevan was Dargett Brewery. My visit to Dargett was somewhat more formal than it had been to 379 Torch and Brew. As part of the evening events associated with the conference, I had agreed to make a short presentation on the globalization and fragmentation trends that had been sweeping through and changing the face of the global brewing industry since the mid-1980s. So, I spoke about the consolidation that had been taking place among the global behemoths such as AB InBev and SAB Miller at the same time as the craft beer segment was gaining an increasing share of the beer market in a growing number of countries. After my brief presentation, Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewery spoke about Dargett and its emergence as a major player in the Armenian craft beer market.

Discussing changes in the global brewing industry at Dargett Brewery

Established in 2016, Dargett is the first modern-day Armenian craft brewery. Its mission is simple – “to bring unfiltered and unpasteurized beer to the consumer and keep it fresh.” Founded by two brothers, Aren and Hovhannes Durgarian, Dargett is both an innovator and a leader. For example, it was the first Armenian brewery to produce an IPA, the first to make cider (using Armenian apples), and the first to produce a fruit beer.

The fruit beer was an Apricot Ale, made with local apricots. Archaeological evidence suggests that apricots have been grown in Armenia for at least six thousand years. Today, Armenia is one of world’s leading apricot producers, and the fruit is popular among locals and tourists alike. For many, the apricot is a symbol of Armenia. As I was chatting with Inna Khostikyan after my presentation, she asked me if I would like a glass of the brewery’s Apricot Ale. I said yes of course, and have to say it was outstanding.

This was my first visit to Armenia. It was a short, but highly enjoyable, one. Since my first overseas trip (to Malta) when I was sixteen years old, I have always enjoyed international travel. Seeing new places and learning about different cultures have always fascinated me. In recent years, my travel has become, I believe, more enjoyable because of my interest in craft beer. Visiting craft breweries in countries such as Armenia, Italy, Slovakia, and Japan has expanded my appreciation of the industry. I look forward to more international travel in 2025 and the opportunity to visit more breweries.

TheBeerProfessor

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