Beer Terroir

<p><em>Beer Terroir </em>seeks to understand how applying the concept of <em>terroir</em>-a term typically applied to wines-to beer can help further our understanding not only of the beverage but also of the social and economic factors affecting those who first began to brew drink brand and market it in a region now famous for its beer culture and its spectacular and agriculturally challenging terrain. </p><p></p><p>It covers the main aspects of terroir-ingredients soils landscapes history culture-and shows that approaching beer history conceptually rather than strictly stylistically by brand or by region opens up new avenues of research and illumination.</p><p></p><p>The book focuses on the Rocky Mountains takes a deep dive into the settlement of the region and explores a number of questions. How did the human organic geographical and economic landscape of the Rocky Mountains impact beer production and the notion of terroir? Was there always a shared sense of the importance of terroir between disparate parts of the Rockies? Did different regions believe their beer to vary from other mountainous regions? What evidence is there that the beer brewed in this region is indeed palpably different from other places in the US?</p><p></p><p>Each chapter looks at a particular aspect of beer terroir in the Rocky Mountain region while charting the emergence of its application to beer up to and during the pre-Prohibition period. This was a time when many brewers were restricted to using local ingredients with the exception of hops which had to be imported. It was also the beginning of a local beer culture that now attracts a global following. </p><p></p><p><em>Beer Terroir</em> is aimed at those interested in the history of American beer and brewing as well as in the culture and history of foodways.</p>