American Beer

I listen to BBC Radio 4 quite a lot, but when the Food Programme comes on, I usually switch it off as I've little interest in cockle farming in Warwickshire or whatever. Today's edition was therefore a pleasant surprise, being all about American beer. The USA's brewing industry was completely wiped out by the Prohibition of the early 20th century, perhaps the most spectacular example of nanny statism in modern history, although (to look on the bright side) it did give us that great 60s TV series, The Untouchables.

In the last 30 years or so, there has been a resurgence on American brewing, and the programme's blurb on iPlayer says, "From barrel ageing beer to sourcing intensely bitter hops, Dan Saladino reports on the latest trends in American brewing that are starting to influence British beer styles."  American beer is not all Bud and Coors - their craft brewing movement has largely been inspired by British beers, and in return the experiments they are doing across the pond have influenced many British microbrewers. All to the good, I say. Definitely worth 25 minutes of your time - you can find the programme here.