Drink Locally, Act Anti-Globally

Alexander Nazaryan says that "just as the cocktail captured the delusions of the Jazz Age, so does the rise of the microbrew capture this curious moment in American history," asking, "in the wake of the financial crisis (so long, four-figure bottles of Cristal) in the aftermath of two towers and two wars (goodbye, cosmopolitan), in the damp penumbra of China’s ascent, what kind of patriot can think of drinking a Bud Light, brewed by the intra-national conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev?" — Something Brewing.

"Whereas Prohibition left the United States with just a handful of brewers, many of which were swallowed by postwar corporatization," Mr. Nazaryan happily reports, "there are now some 1,700 breweries across the land."

I support two of them, and they support me. Well known to readers is this blogger's love of Genessee Beer, the choice of locals trying to live within their means. But when I get the taste for something a bit craftier, but which will still not put me in debt, I'll go a bit further afield to Utica, NY for a Saranac. Between Genessee Cream Ale and Saranac Pale Ale, I don't see the need ever to leave Upstate New York again, and that's not even mentioning some of the pricier in-state beers. I have not bought a foreign beer since returning home and pledge never to do so.