Traditional ale produced by small breweries has long been a passion of mine. Years ago, when I still lived in my native England, I was a member of the Campaign for Real Ale, or CAMRA, which campaigned for traditional ales in an age of mass-produced macro-fizz. In my book, Small is Still Beautiful, in a chapter entitled “Small Beer”, I wrote about the phenomenal success of CAMRA in helping to bring about England’s microbrew revolution. Today in England dozens of small breweries are producing ales of the finest quality, the very memory of which rekindles my exiled taste buds. These days, however, it’s increasingly easy to find excellent microbrews in the United States. Indeed, my good friend Father Joseph Fessio has just sent me this highly encouraging article which shows that Americans are turning their backs on Bud in favour of real traditional ales:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/thepourfool/2011/09/14/why-i-dont-drink-budweiser-and-why-im-not-alone/
I don’t know where you live here in the States, but next time you’re in the Midwest or Mid Atlantic, you should track down some Bell’s. Little operation out of Kalamazoo, Michigan (of all places) that makes a porter (among other things) that is truly hard to beat.
Bells is one of my favourite micro-breweries. I am particularly fond of their Two Hearted Ale!
All hail Oberon Ale! My favorite Bell’s brew. I agree with the Pour Fool, small brewer’s rule. I think I’ll try brewing my own as well. Cheer’s!