{"id":13722,"date":"2017-02-07T10:30:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T17:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/?p=13722"},"modified":"2017-02-07T10:53:41","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T17:53:41","slug":"whats-brewing-somis-craft-beer-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/whats-brewing-somis-craft-beer-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT’S BREWING? SOMI’S CRAFT BEER SCENE"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a>

\"\"The last few decades have been an exciting time for taste buds in America. Sophistication in food and beverage has led to sophistication in tastes, fueling a cycle that has made available ingredients, dishes and drinks that were\u00a0unheard of just a decade or two ago.<\/b><\/p>\n

It is no longer odd to see people taking pictures of their food and drink at restaurants and sending those images out to fellow \u2018foodies\u2019 (and drinkies?) on social media who also share their excitement for the latest and greatest in flavor and craft. When it comes to drinks, wine definitely paved the way. Starting in the late \u201890s the level of variety, information and the subsequent rise in consumer knowledge of wine skyrocketed, so that today even the casual drinker can confidently state their preference between cab and pinot, or their distaste for oaky chardonnay. Beer is in the throes of a similar burgeoning in specialization and an explosion in variety. In the US, this change started at the grassroots, often led by home brewers turning into craft brewers and working to elevate American beer\u2019s profile among the world\u2019s great libations. The initial stirrings of the craft brewing revival are generally dated back to 1965, when Fritz Maytag purchased the Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, and worked to reintroduce styles of beer that had faded over the decades of homogenization and standardization by large brewing conglomerates. At the time, beer in the US was well on its way to becoming the light, limp, lager archetype mostly associated with thirst-quenching and regrettable decisions. Besides Maytag, a few pioneering brewers, writers and scientists started to lay down the groundwork for the coming generation of craft brewers by sticking to their principles and producing beers of character and purity that often emulated the characteristics of old-world styles but with new-world twists. Among his other accolades, Maytag is credited with brewing the first American IPA, a beer style that is now ubiquitous and easily identified.<\/p>\n\n\t\t