Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Traditional Belgian beer like Lambic and Geuze needs up to three years to mature. Yes, that is a long time, but there is a good reason for slowing down a bit: taking good care of farmers, nature, a brewing tradition, preservation and development of cereal diversity, and a very special taste.
Atlas’ Rescue Brew is just one small example of how beer brewing may be turning into a new front in the fight against food waste. United Kingdom-based Toast Ale is leading the charge, and smaller projects are popping up around the world.
Next time you reach for a cold beer on a hot summer day, you’ll have some uninvited drinking buddies: the beer barons. Two conglomerates now control 90 percent of U.S. beer production. They use their power to raise prices, squeeze out small brewers, and limit your choices at the corner store. This comes despite a thriving craft brewery culture.
Craft beer has begun to bring back many of the most important values and characteristics of beer that were lost for so long, going far beyond just taste. This is an important theme that Rob Hopkins, the co-founder of the Transition Town movement and founder of New Lion Brewery, explores throughout the episode.
Craft beer as economic development? Absolutely. Read on.
Fermented beverages of one sort or another have played a part in every civilization. The evolution of fermentation by human hands has been a diverse one, too. From what is arguably the first fermented beverage, mead, found in ancient Greek, Egyptian and even Sumerian records, all the way to today’s micro-brewed extreme barley-based ales like Imperial India Pale Ales and 21% abv Stouts. However, the next step in this evolution comes not in the changing of flavors or styles, but the organization behind its creation: behold the grand idea of Cooperative Breweries!
