The Hobby Drinker

Unlike some other countries, Spain did not have a DIY, back-to-basics homebrewing movement.  But there were students who spent time in other countries and tried other beers, even finding themselves doing some brewing of their own.  At home, they introduced their new hobby and new styles to friends and homebrewing quickly took off, as well as the interest in craft beers.  Microbreweries popped up all over and the reaction by Spain’s Big Beer was...expected, although with its own twist. Drink along?  IPA, sour, red ale. A contrario de otros países, no existía ningún movimiento DIY de cerveza casera en España.  Pero, sí había estudiantes que pasaron un año o más en otros países y probaron otras cervezas, hasta algunos llegaron a probar homebrewing  ellos mismos.  De vuelta a casa, introdujeron su nuevo hobby a amigos y la moda fue estableciéndose, y el interés en la cerveza artesana con ella.  Microcervezerías aparecieron de la nada en todo el país y...

Industrial brewing has left Spain with more or less the same tastes as the rest of Western Europe, and the same process of whittling down the multitude of brewers has happened.  The country is supplied by a handful of breweries, which do their best to achieve national distribution, although that doesn’t quite happen in the early decades of the 20th century.  Beer becomes an interesting tool of propaganda during the Civil War.  For much of the century the Franco government’s protectionism allows Spanish beers to flourish at home, although it leaves them vulnerable later on.  Eventually, foreign investors take an interest in the market and national breweries join with international ones. Drink along?  More lager and more pilsner.  Icy cold and in a tiny glass, if you can. La industrialización de la cerveza ha dejado a España con gustos iguales, más o menos, que los de los otros países de Europa Occidental, y también se ha visto el mismo descenso en el número ...

Different cities develop different ways of controlling business behavior.  Although beer becomes more and more popular, there is no invention of a Spanish style, and beer makers look to the north for inspiration - and brewmasters.  During the 19th century, the lager and especially the pilsner takes Spain’s beer market by storm as it does pretty much everywhere else.  Previous social attitudes persist, although a certain invention makes beer not only easier to make but more appetizing to peninsular palates. Drink along?  Lager or pilsner. Ciudades diferentes desarrollan maneras distintas de controlar el comportamiento de sus comerciantes.  Aunque la cerveza empieza a tener amplia audiencia entre los consumadores, no se inventa ningún estilo especialmente español, y las cervecerías buscan inspiración y maestros cerveceros en el norte.  En el siglo 19 es la lager, tipo pilsner sobre todo, que conquista el mercado de España, igual que los demás de Europa. ...

A quick rundown of beer events over quite a few centuries...since most of those centuries just don’t have that much beer.  A pre-Roman surprise, some climate factors, and a less than triumphant return of brewing to the peninsula.  We see the run-up to the Industrial Revolution and the slow but more-or-less steady rise in popularity of beer, especially from the north.  If you're familiar with attitudes in other European countries, you might be surprised by what people in Spain thought of beer during the time. Drink along?  Table or small beer, Belgian abbey, old English style ale Un corto resumen de fechas importantes cerveceras a través de los siglos, ya que la mayoría de ellos tienen poca cerveza.  Hay una sorpresa preromana, influencias climáticas, y y una vuelta algo menos que impresionante de la cerveza a la península.  Vemos los principios de la Revolución Industrial y el auge lento de la popularidad de la bebida, sobre todo en el norte.  Si conoc...

The tastes of consumers are constantly changing, at least as a whole.  Also, the economic landscape is never static.  In spite of our nostalgia for old-time family businesses, we often gravitate towards the cheaper, more available, products of less beloved companies.  Changing demographics are also a problem for small companies, which have to keep a close eye on what the local buying population is looking for.  Sure, it’s possible to ship products faster and cheaper than ever before, but is that expense, however relatively small, worth it to the small brewer?  And not to mention, will we ever truly get out from under the thumb of COVID-19?  Well, yeah, someday.  But in the meantime, what does it mean for craft beer, and what will the business turn into in the end? Drink along?  It’s back to free choice, but I encourage you to support your local breweries and beer pubs. Los gustos de los consumidores siempre están cambiando, al menos en general. ...

It’s a little romantic to think of homebrewers and craft brewers keeping to their roots, pleasing their local clientele, and not worrying about expansion and development the way other capitalist pigs do.  Romantic, and not very realistic.  Sure, some people might have started with that plan, but those who want to actually run a business sometimes have to make decisions that are not quite in line with their personal ideals.  What we see, then, is small breweries expanding or selling...selling out that is, to Big Beer, which by the end of the century was a multinational industry with plenty of money and influence to throw around.   Drink along?  Any beer that has macromoney. Es un poco romántico pensar que los homebrewers y cerveceros artesanos quedarán para siempre con sus principios, atendiendo los clientes locales, sin preocuparse por la expansión o desarrollo en la manera de otros cerdos capitalistas.  Romántico, y no muy realista.  Por supuesto, alg...