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Letter from Boston

Local Beers All Over Boston

By MASAKO YAMADA


ボストンの地ビール事情

雅子さんはビール党ではありませんが、今回はボストンの地ビールを紹介してくれます。ボストンでは、大量生産のビールより地ビールを好むことに誇りを感じる傾向があります。町には小さなの醸造所がここかしこにあって、工夫をして特徴を出そうとしています。

The man in charge of the continuing education (adult education) program at New England Conservatory is named Samuel Adams. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who has chuckled upon hearing his name.

Sure, Samuel Adams is a fairly famous New England patriot, but the immediate image that comes to mind when I hear this name is that of a tall, frosty mug of beer. Samuel Adams is a locally brewed beer that is popular in Boston as well as the rest of the country.

I don't know whether "the king of beers," Budweiser, is actually the best-selling beer in America, but I do know that admitting a fondness for this brand is like committing social suicide among young professionals. Even among poor graduate students, it's considered gauche to serve mass-produced Midwestern beers to guests.

There's something unrefined but noble about being a beer aficionado: It's not as snobby and expensive as being a wine buff, but there are hundreds of varieties out there, so there's plenty of knowledge to absorb.

Many of my college classmates seemed to favor the sophistication of the wine and cheese crowd, but most of my current friends avoid situations for which ties are mandatory.

I'm not much of a beer drinker and I don't keep beer in my fridge. However, whenever I have a glass of beer at a bar or a restaurant, I try to select something creative. It's fun to select famous local brands like Samuel Adams, Harpoon and Tremont, since they come in many varieties, many of them seasonal.

I like the feeling that I'm supporting a local industry that not many outsiders know about. These companies all have factory tours for tourists, but my feeling is that they cater to the Boston clientele. At least, this is the feeling I got when I visited the Tremont factory. The beer was made and bottled in a very small factory, and there didn't seem to be many employees. Although I've seen Tremont beer in many restaurants in Boston, the tour guide told us that the farthest the beer has been shipped is Worcester, Mass.

I know that the larger local breweries host beer festivals during the summer. The companies line up dozens of kegs of beer for patrons to sample. Simple food is often served as well.

One of my friends told me about his crazy HarpoonFest experience. He said that it was so crowded that he couldn't even get in. But he had a blast anyway, since the people on the shuttle bus to and from the convention center were acting so strangely. Apparently, some of them had prepared for the event by getting drunk before even boarding the bus.

Some beers are so local that they never leave the door of the building in which they are made. Such microbreweries abound in Boston. There is one a five-minute walk from my apartment, and there are more just a few minutes more away.

Even nondescript bars often serve homemade beers alongside their more common offerings. Sometimes these beers are named after local landmarks. Even very casual bars often serve fancy beers, but I've noticed that most microbreweries seem to aim for a more sophisticated look.

Northeast Brewery near my apartment is not too expensive, but it is quite stylish. The bar is made of dark wood, and there is a wood-burning fireplace with a sofa in front of it. There are gleaming copper beer-making kettles in the middle of the room. There is even a jazz brunch on Sundays (I wasn't too impressed with the jazz, but the idea is nice).

Although these places are called breweries, they usually serve pretty good food. Sometimes I go to microbreweries just to eat. I've noticed that these places often try to push the beer image too far by serving pizza made with beer-grain dough or cake with a sauce made with stout. Or, they may go to the other extreme by putting sweet berries or watermelon in the beer. It's a bit crazy, but it exemplifies the creative spirit of a typical microbrewery.

Not too surprisingly, not all of the combinations are successful. However, the good thing about these beers is that one can try them without worrying about what the neighbors will say with regards to one's beer-selecting skill (they've probably never even heard of the beer).

An open mind and a little bit of money is all that one needs to try a local beer. But try to find it again at some later date and it might already be extinct!


Shukan ST: March 12, 1999

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