Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 8, 1993 TAG: 9308060020
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID GERMAIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BUFFALO, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
Brewpubs, which serve their own draft beers made on the premises, have been around in the United States since the early 1980s, when state legislatures began lifting public brewing bans left over from Prohibition.
But in the past four years, the number of brewpubs doubled to 210.
It's partly a yuppie trend, partly an outgrowth of a surge in home brewing, but mostly a backlash against the light, bland lagers that dominate the $50-billion-a-year U.S. beer market.
"It's only 1 percent of the market, but all the vitality and excitement is in that 1 percent," said Steve Johnson, author of "On Tap: Guide to North American Brewpubs."
Like German beer halls and English pubs, U.S. brewpubs provide a relaxed atmosphere. Decor ranges from lush Victorian at the Wharf Rat Camden Yards in Baltimore to the simple woodwork of the Buffalo Brewpub.
Most brewpubs place the gleaming copper brewing vats where customers can see them. For many pub owners, the business grew out of an interest in home brewing.
"Not many of these guys are looking to become the Coors family," said Lori Tullberg, spokeswoman for the Denver-based American Association of Brewers. "These guys have found a passion in what they're doing, bringing great beer to the public."
Kevin Townsell opened Buffalo Brewpub in 1986, expanding the business with a microbrewery and two other pubs in Rochester and Lackawanna in New York state.
Townsell's brews include lagers, Irish ales, stouts, bitters, German weiss beers, Oktoberfest ambers and a Christmas ale called Kringle beer.
Brewpub beer is fresh and pure, made with four ingredients - water, hops, barley and yeast - and none of the chemicals, additives or substitutes used by the big U.S. breweries.
"People are drinking less these days, so they're drinking more carefully, and they're drinking better," said Townsell. "If you drink a half-dozen Budweisers or a half dozen of our amber ales, you're going to feel a lot better the next morning if you drank amber ale."
Like many American beer connoisseurs, Townsell developed a taste for the stronger, higher-quality European beers while traveling in Ireland and Germany.
Townsell, who studied restaurant management in college, wanted to open an eatery and was looking for a concept that could help him beat the odds and stay in business.
For most brewpubs, the beer brings in the customers, while the food keeps the business afloat.
"You can't survive just pouring a good beer," said John Urlaub, who last year opened Rohrbach Brewing Co. in Rochester, N.Y.
"I think people like brewpubs because they're getting something they can't get anywhere else," he said. "The beer here is as fresh as possible, and the fact that it's a working brewery adds some ambience."
The combination of beer, ambience and assorted pub grub pays off. Five out of six brewpubs that opened in the United States since 1982 remain in business, according to the American Association of Brewers.
The first U.S. brewpubs opened in California, Oregon and Washington, which were among the first states to lift the Prohibition bans on public brewing. Brewpubs began popping up in Canada about the same time.
Seven states still prohibit brewpubs: Georgia, South Carolina, Hawaii, New Jersey, Mississippi, Indiana and Montana.
Portland, Ore., has more than 30 brewpubs, including a chain of 29 run by Hillsdale Brewery, which concocts such unique brews as Terminator Stout, Baghdad ale and a ruby ale made with raspberries.
"They're like a good wine compared to a gallon wine," said Chris Wilson, who manages one of Hillsdale's pubs. "With our beers, you learn to recognize hops and bitters without any special training. You can't pick those tastes out in mass-produced beer. Even Joe Six-Pack off the street can learn to like and appreciate good quality, handcrafted ales."
by CNB