With their varying flavor intensities and alcohol contents, microbrews are here because beer distributors noticed a market demand and took a gamble on imports like Corona in the 70s. This type of flavorful beer sold to a limited yet very enthusiastic crowd.

Beer manufacturers create what sells, therefore they didn’t believe there would be a significant market with those types of beers. Consumer studies and sales showed that the biggest part of the American audiences enjoyed watery brew.

Then, out of nowhere, microbrews popped up after the first successful brew, Samuel Adams, fought with import distributors to try and convince them that a flavorful American beer would sell. Now, we have more microbrews than ever before with more coming out each and every day.

Microbrews really hit when distributors really believed that at least some people would buy them. On the other hand, home brewers and brewpubs had legal wars. In 1968, home brewing was legalized and home brewers now had the support and assistance of supply and advice stores.

Until 1983, brewpubs were illegal in all states. Late in 1983, California first began to allow brewpubs to brew and distribute their brands of beer on site. These charming, yet small batch breweries experienced high sales, especially in restaurants.

Around a century ago, the United States had more than 2,000 breweries making many different styles and variations. By the 80′s, there were only 40 brewing companies that offered a brand of American Pilsner.

Today, there are over 500 microbreweries and brewpubs in the United States. Over the past few years, brewpubs have been popping up all over th e place, even in bars that used to only carry the top beers.

Here is a guide to some of the best Microbrews around:

Long Trail Brewery – Bridgewater, Vermont This brewery offers several brews that will easily quench your thirst. The long trail ale is a very good choice, as it’s very tasty and not too heavy, just right. The hibernator is also good, although it’s winter seasonal and high in alcohol. With a pinch of honey, the pollinator provides a thirst quenching solution to a hot summer haze.

Catamount Brewery – White River Junction – Vermont
The best seller here is the Catamount amber, as it is very tasty. The Catamount gold is also good, as it is lighter than the amber and offers plenty of refreshment on a hot day. For winter months, the Catamount Christmas ale offers a crisp taste for the cold.

7 Barrel Brewery – New Hampshire
The 7 Barrel Brewery is a restaurant as well as a brewery. The best brews here are the Dublin brown ale and the red 7 ale, although you really can’t go wrong with any of their offerings. They also offer live music every Friday night with many great bands.

Vermont Pub – Burlington, Vermont
This pub is the sister brewery of the 7 Barrel Brewery. They offer a great bar that serves two rooms, with plenty of fresh and tasty beer. The brown ale and dog bite bitter are the best, as they are both very tasty.

Magic Hat Brewery – Burlington, Vermont This brewery offers some of the best in the state of Vermont – as well as the entire United States! Their well known popular number 9 can be found on taps around the state. When you visit, don’t forget to look under the cap, as they call it “Magic Hat” for a reason!

Over the years, keg beers have gotten a lot better. If a cask beer is in poor condition, it’s actually possible for a fresh keg beer to be much better tasting. Even though this may sound absurd, it’s very common for someone who’s unfamiliar with cask ale to not be able to taste the difference between keg and cask beer.

The warm temperature that cask beer is famous for doesn’t apply in the summer months all that often these days, as temperature control units in pubs have beer run through coolers. The fact is, some pubs will run cask ale lines through lager chillers in order to get the beer below the maximum temperature required, so cask ale may very well end up just as cold as a keg lager.

This isn’t really a good thing, as ale requires a cool rather than very cold temperature to bring out all of its flavors. In a well run pub however, the cask ale will be served at the right temperature – cool but not too cold.

The smell of cask ale is much fresher and more wholesome than keg beer. Keep in mind, the aroma of cask ale doesn’t have the stored up impact of bottled type beers, as this beer has already been exposed to the air for a couple of days – meaning there is no impact when you transfer it to your beer glass.

Normally, the aroma will be released into the air when it has been warmed up, which will probably happen when you get near the bottom of the glass.

The flavor of cask ale is very similar to the aroma in it, which is very fresh and delicate. Unlike other bottled beers, the flavor of cask ale is even more noticeable than the aroma. At first, the aroma is very slight, although the flavor more than makes up for it.

The intensity of the flavor will depend on the style of beer. The CO2 bubbles themselves will have very little flavor, therefore a mass of bursting bubbles against your tongue will prevent the actual beer from making contact.

With cask ale, there is little to no carbonation, so more of the flavor will connect with your taste buds. You should be able to note the fruity taste up front, with balance in the middle and bitterness in the end. The flavor of a cask ale is much more noticed than keg or even bottled beer.

Bottle conditioned beers will also have this type of flavor profile, although they’ll need to be prepared and conditioned well in advance, meaning that the bottle will need to be opened and allowed to settle for a while. Cask ales offer the conditioning being done fro you, so you won’t need to do it.

The most important aspect of cask ale is how it feels in your mouth. It shouldn’t be fizzy. If it is, it’s either a keg beer or a cask ale that’s been put on too soon. There will be a natural feel in the beer, a life that makes you want to drink it.

The main ingredients found in beer are water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. There are other ingredients such as flavoring, sugar, and other ingredients that are commonly used. Starches are used as well, as they convert in the mashing process to easily fermentable sugars that will help to increase the alcohol content of beer while adding body and flavor.

Water
Seeing as how beer is mainly composed of water, the source of water and its characteristics have a very important effect on the character of the beer. A lot of beer styles were influenced by the characteristics of water in the region. Although the effect of minerals in brewing water is complex, hard water is more suited to dark styles, while soft ware is more suited to light styles.

Malt
Among malts, barley is the most widely used due to its high amylase content, and a digestive enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of starch into sugars. Depending on what can be cultivated locally, other malts and un-malted grains can be used, such as wheat, rice, oats, and rye.

Malt is obtained by soaking grain in water, allowing it to germinate, then drying the germinated grain in a kiln. By malting the grain, enzymes will eventually convert the starches in the grain into fermentable sugars.

Hops
Since the seventeenth century, hops have been commonly used as a bittering agent in beer. Hops help to contribute a bitterness that will balance the sweetness of the malts. They also contribute aromas which range from citrus to herbal.

Hops also provide an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over the less desirable microorganisms. The bitterness in beer is normally measured on the International Bitterness Units scale.

Yeast
Yeast is a microorganism that’s responsible for fermentation. Specific strains of yeast are chosen depending on the type of beer produced, as the two main strains are ale yeast and lager yeast, with other variations available as well.

Yeast helps to metabolize the sugars that are extracted from the grains, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide as a result. Before the functions of yeast were understood, all fermentations were done using wild or airborne yeasts.

Clarifying agent
A lot of brewers prefer to add one or more clarifying agents to beer that aren’t required to be published as ingredients. Examples include Isinglas finings, which are obtained from swim bladders of fish and Irish moss, which is a type of red alga.

Since these ingredients can be obtained from animals, those who are concerned with either the use or consumption of animal products should obtain detailed information from the brewer.

The Alaskan brewing company is the oldest operating brewery in Alaska, with their amber beer being their most popular brand. They produce two other brands as well, pale ale and Alaskan frontier amber. If you enjoy fresh amber beer, Alaskan brewing is what you want.

As you may already know, brewing beer in Alaska is very hard to do. The coastal community of Juneau doesn’t have road connections to the lower 48 states, so everything arrives and leaves by water or air, with weather always having the final say.

In 1986, the Alaskan brewing company became the 67th brewery to operate in the United States and the only one to operate in Alaska. Since that time, Alaskan brewery has received more than 30 major medals and awards, including the best beer in the nation award during the 1988 Great American Beer Festival.

The popularity of their beers has led to a great amount of efforts to keep up with the demand from consumers. They also hold the unofficial record for the production on a 10 barrel brewing system, which produces an amazing 42 batches a week.

The Alaskan Brewery offers several different styles of brew as well, which are listed below:

1. Amber – This is the company’s flagship beer, based on a turn of the century recipe that was used to quench the thirst of the miners during the Gold Rush era. It provides a smooth, malty, rich taste that goes well with meals – or friends.

2. Pale – Pale is fresh, crips, and inviting. Alaskan pale is great with crab, pawns, and salads. The floral aroma of the hops is derived from dry hopping the tanks during the entire fermentation process.

3. Stout – The oatmeal style beer of stout doesn’t have the harshness of other stouts. Great with chocolate and hearty meals, stout is also ideal to enjoy while walking in the snow.

4. ESB – If you like hops, the infusion of hops in this delight will amaze your nose while the refreshing cascade hops will provide a wonderful crispness to both the flavor and the finish. This beer is great with spicy food, wild game, and other winter-like food.

5. Smoked porter – Very exclusive, Alaskan smoked porter has a world class reputation for its excellence. Brewed in the fall, this beer is ideal for storing in the cellar for later enjoyment.

6. Winter ale – This tender brew of spruce trees has been used for brewing in Alaska since the late 1700s.