[Sca-cooks] Nasty beer! (was re: polenta)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

"Pixel, Queen of Cats" wrote:
>
> According to a beer documentary that the spouse was watching (sometime
> last year, I think), the whole cheap diluted pilsener thing started during
> Prohibition, when the bootleggers wanted to make the beer go farther, and
> thus get them more $$$. People got used to the diluted beer, so when
> Prohibition was lifted, that's what they wanted.
>
> Or so the documentary said.

FWIW, I can document at least two primary sources (my parents) who
expressed the opinion that there was nothing at all wrong with American
beer (at least compared to those of some other places) before 1941 or
so, when the larger breweries discovered that their primary market share
was suddenly in Europe or in the Pacific. In an attempt to score more of
the remaining market share (working women, many of whom didn't much care
for beer), marketing specialists discovered that the lower-gravity beers
sold better.

It does appear to be the case that the American habit of using maize,
and especially rice, in the cheaper beers (a practice I find _far_ more
obnoxious than simply making small beer with a lot of water) is mostly
post-WWII.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com