"Do I detect a hint of cage-free barley?" Local Farmers Grow Local Beer

'I'm sorry, could you tell me where and how this cucumber was grown? Can you introduce me to the craftsman who cut the parts for this Ikea bunk bed?' How comfortable was the sheep with him/herself before you sheared it to make the yarn for this sweater?'

Ah, the familiar sounds of the locavore. The attitudes towards organic and local products have dominated the past decade or so of food opinion, so it only seemed inevitable that they would intersect with the paralleled craft beer trend. Our news this week highlights the local farmers who are jumping onto the beer-wagon by producing locally grown, tenderly-cared-for malted barley and hops, for the guilty beer drinker in all of us.

Local maltsters in states like Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina are producing malted barley for their regional breweries at a minuscule level compared to their national and international counterparts. Still, their efforts have offered a glimmer of hope to local farmers looking to sustain themselves within a new niche, one that supplies the burgeoning craft beer market. And it's not just barley. Hops cultivation is also seeing a resurgence in farming communities beyond California and Oregon as farmers in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York follow the craft beer lead. These efforts are fairly new for small farmers, so workshops, trainings, kick starter funds, and economic stimulus money are all stepping in to support them as they sew those extra "organic" and "local" badges onto the craft beer sash.

It's obvious that the locavore and craft beer scene would mingle at even the most basic level. Brewers and beer drinkers (2 Brewths claim to be both) understand the importance of good ingredients in beer, so the quality standpoint of local maltsers and hop growers is a given. Also, if you are a home brewer, you might have gotten to that point in the hobby where you want to take more control over the brewing process. You might say, 'screw it, I can grow these hops all by myself.' If you've been there, you're only a step or two away from hand-blown glass bottles. Craft breweries might see their local collaboration with farmers as another step towards truly owning the brewing process.

Finally, helping local farmers is an extremely positive side-effect of the craft beer trend. If you grew up in a dwindling farming community, you understand the current situation that small farmers find themselves in. More local involvement would be a boon to those struggling farming families. Plus, adding local character and community relationships to craft beer makes it that much more craftier (that is the point after all, right?) But do we have to dig through all of our beers, food, and emotionally stable sheep's wool to feel good about what and how we drink? (Check out a great Freakonomics podcast on locavorism when you're done with our rant.)

That's the question for you today. What are your thoughts on the local breweries in and around your area? Do you feel that drinking local beer from local ingredients is important? And do you have any allegiances, blind or otherwise, to your local brews, kind of like a New Yorker just has to pull for the Giants (you poor, poor bastards)? Share your local beer experiences with us and remember to tell us where you are writing from. Now would be a great opportunity to plug your local beer scene-  let the solicitations begin!



Cutting out the middleman- From land to liver.



Excuse me sir, can I see your beer license?

Original article here: Irish council in Kerry bid to relax drink-drive limit, 22 January2013- from BBC World New Service

It is probably most appropriate for our brew news discussion to start in Ireland (sorry Ireland, you did this to yourself), where local politicians in Kerry County attempted, and failed, to pass a vote to increase the ABV limit for drivers and, yes, even issue drunk-driving licenses.

Before we get all MADD on these fellers, let’s take a look at the circumstances. The argument for the limit increase comes from Councilor Danny Healy-Rae. He says that the proposed changes would not affect the driving safety of the region, whose mainly-countryside roads wouldn’t let you “do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour… it’s not a big deal.” Healy-Rae also laments that many of the older residents do not want to risk losing their license by going out to the pub and therefore end up staying in, causing loneliness and depression. As the younger Irish drink and socialize at the pub, the older generations sit at home:

"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that <these old drunk people> had, the music and the singing, that's all being lost to the younger generation because these older people might as well be living in Japan and Jerusalem because the younger generation don't see them at all anymore.”

- Danny Healy-Rae, Councilor of Kerry County, Ireland

Of course the opposition probably aligns with most of our knee-jerk reactions when someone suggests something like a drunk-driving license. Kerry County Mayor Terry O’Brien (you were waiting for an O’Brien, weren’t you…) contended that these measures are bogus. O’Brien states, "It is incredibly dangerous. I don't know how anybody can be allowed to say: 'You've had two pints, so you're justified to drive.” Also, we don’t need to quote the beerzillion studies that link alcohol to depression and anxiety… do we? OK, maybe we do. (1)

So, my first thought on this was that it’s kind of ridiculous.  There have got to be other ways to avoid depression while living alone or secluded.  This seems like an awkward band-aid to cover up what might be a more serious mental health problem.  I realize that the drinking culture in Ireland—especially the pub culture—is a lot different than it is in the U.S.  In Ireland, they go to the pub as more of a social activity; it’s just as important to hang out with family and friends as it is about getting drunk.  I guess my question is why do these people, who live so secluded from everyone else, have to get drunk to enjoy hanging out with their friends?

Ireland has certainly paved the way for the drinking arch-stereotype, but recent laws in the country have considerably lowered the number of drinking related accidents and fatalities. But let’s try to wipe away all the shamrocks and Leprechauns and Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hoods and look at the actual issue faced by these councilmen, many of whom are actual pub owners (not an Irish joke).

What we have here is an honest concern. With younger generations becoming increasingly unavailable to the older ones, we see the disappearance of traditions, which means they miss out on some cool stories. Just remember the last time you were in a pub and had a brief conversation with an old, slightly whimsical person sitting at the bar. If the conversation wasn’t of some odd, sexual nature, then I bet that it was a fascinating discussion. These moments are actually quite interesting ones and it would be a shame to lose them. Let’s face it, these old people are going to drink whether they sit at home or are clubbing to the newest DJ Whazzhisname set. Of course, youngins don’t want grandpa hanging around the club or the bar… but maybe there is a place for younger and older people to actually drink and socialize together beyond Ruby Tuesdays.

My second thought is that that the culture of drinking in these places may need to change.  I have always been a proponent of teaching children the effects of alcohol and how to drink appropriately.  I think it causes too many problems to enforce a blanket prohibition on booze to younger people. Once they reach an ambiguous age, they are tossed into a public drinking culture, wholly unprepared to handle it properly.  As they grow they develop a personal culture of getting drunk at the pub because it’s what they believe they should do.

Third thought (this might be a record) is that these people knew the risks of driving drunk and decided to take them anyway.  They made a conscious decision to live in secluded areas.  They knew that they had to drive to the pub, and they knew that drunk driving was illegal and dangerous.  They chose to drink and drive anyway.  I’m not hating on them. We’ve all had to make those decisions, too, but we have to constantly remind ourselves of the consequences.  We’ve got to be more conscious of our own personal limits. No amount of fun is worth making a mistake and seriously hurting someone else in an accident. 

So what can Kerry County do? Should there be licenses? Should rural Ireland change their drinking habits and culture? Should they just suck it up and deal with the reality of the law? 

How about organizing a volunteer Designated Driver program? Have younger people take one night a month off so they can bring the older residents to the pub. I can guarantee you that if the stories aren’t very interesting on the ride there, they’ll be more interesting driving back home. It would be a positive solution that connects people while keeping them safe. It’s a win-win, if you can stand a group of old Irishmen singing jigs in the back of your paddy wagon (I had to get couple more in there.)

I guess that my final reaction (for now, anyway) is that the law to make driving drunk legal is fucking stupid.  People who drink and drive know the consequences.  There have been plenty of anti-drinking and driving campaigns, enough that a reasonable person would understand the risks.  So, if you get caught, tough shit, take it like a man.  

2 Brewths has TWO questions for you this time around: First, how do you think Kerry County should solve their issue- Keep trying for the drunk-driving license, or can they do something else? Secondly, what are your experiences with drinking with another generation; whether it is older or younger, how do you think these situations shape both our drinking habits and traditions in general?

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(1) So we only have a handful of sources, but we will pick up this topic in another 2 Brewths post:

Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists, UK- Alcohol and Depression
  
The JED Foundation: ULifeline Project

The Better Health Channel: The Rural Issue- Alcohol and Depression

The Oxford Journal: Alcohol and Depression

We could always just visit Mee Maw at home...