The east and west coasts have always led American fashion trends. The coasts have more in common than ever now and some coastal fashions are quietly becoming "American." Sourdough has become part of the national bread selection, and virtually every east Oregon desert gas station offers drivers a shot of expresso for the road. Starbucks have sprouted on every other Manhattan corner. And now, microbrews are sold in hip bars and delis across the land.
The designer brews own 1% of the $49 billion U.S. beer market today and will take an estimated 10% of the beer market by the end of the next decade. "We're going through the same revolution with beer that wine and coffee have gone through. But U.S. annual beer consumption is 24 gallons per capita," says Bill Owens, publisher of Beer the Magazine and American Brewer Magazine. Beer is not only one of the biggest beverage industries, but specialty beer is the only growing segment in the alcohol market today.
Contrary to popular myth, beer (depending on what U.S. state you are in and what you call the brew), can have any alcohol content the brewer desires. It is not true that there are laws limiting alcohol content in beer. "You can't make double and triple strength beers like the Belgians make and sell it as beer. You have to call it ale," explains Andrew Klein, the owner of the Spring Street Brewing Company, which produces Wit and Amber. Our laws regulate how alcohol is classified, but they don't limit the amount of alcohol that can be in liquor sold in this country. Klein also makes a point about the perceived taste of "weak" vs. "strong" beers. "You can drink a beer that has very high alcohol content but very low hop taste and so it doesn't have much taste. Grain alcohol tastes like water."
