Ladies and gentlemen, Jack McAuliffe is back.

McAuliffe, a former Navy engineer, is credited with building and running the first modern American microbrewery. Founded in 1976, New Albion produced an English style ale, stout and porter. Bottles were hand filled and labeled, distributed in wooden crates and empties would later be returned to go through the process again. It was a novel concept for the era and soon the national media descended on the small Sonoma, California brewery that McAuliffe also occasionally called home.

However he and the others involved were only able to keep it open for about five years before running out of funding. As is often the case with pioneers, McAuliffe found it difficult to convince bankers that his wild idea was worth longtime investment. They looked at him like he was from Mars, McAuliffe said.

“In my opinion, Jack started the most important failed brewery,” says Maureen Ogle, a historian and author of Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer.  “He demonstrated that the new brewing model could work and despite the fact that it didn’t last long and failed spectacularly, his influence played a significant role for the first successful batch of microbrewers.”

McAuliffe would leave the brewing industry and California and for a long time remained in relative obscurity until two years ago when the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. asked him to come and brew a collaboration barley wine. Sierra’s founder Ken Grossman was inspired by McAuliffe and wanted to pay homage to the man who started a movement. That beer, Jack and Ken’s Ale was released to commemorate Sierra Nevada’s 30^th Anniversary.

Others had done their part to keep McAuliffe’s legacy alive. Jim Koch the founder of Boston Beer Co., makers of Samuel Adams said he took ownership of the trademark for New Albion in 1993, when it was about to expire, in order to protect the integrity of the first craft beer. In addition to preserve the name of the brewery, Koch also trademarked New Albion Brewing Co. However it wasn’t until 2011 that the men met in person.

After McAuliffe’s Sierra ale was released Koch reached out and proposed reviving New Albion for a modern age. After months of negotiations and conversations, McAuliffe arrived at the Boston brewery on July 3, 2012 to mash in the first batch of New Albion Ale in 30 years.

First, he had to hash out details with Koch and brewer Dean Gianocostas. The memories came mostly easy to McAuliffe who recalled temperatures, ingredients, and processes. While the brewers had sketched out a plan in advanced, but much was changed.

“We should do it Jack’s way,” said Koch with wide eyes as he listened to McAuliffe recall the recipe.

What they settled on was New Albion Ale, a pale ale “as faithfully” as McAuliffe could recall. Malt variations that replaced strains used in the 1970s were substituted, for example.

Once the recipe was set and McAuliffe had thoroughly entertained the assembled staff and guests with stories from the old days, mash in happened at exactly 9:17 a.m. A few minutes later the public tours started at the brewery and since it was the day before Independence Day there were quite a few uniformed members of the military taking a stroll through the popular tourist attraction. When some active members of the Navy showed up, Koch and McAuliffe called them over, chatted them up a bit, posed for pictures and toasted with a beer.

It’s been a good turn of attitude for McAuliffe who long shunned the spotlight and as recent as two years ago was dismissive when asked about his brewery that helped launch a revolution. But, after an appearance at the 2011 Craft Brewers Conference in San Francisco where he received a standing ovation, a positive reception a few months later at the Great American Beer Festival and a growing number of drinkers and brewers who have expressed their appreciation for his hard work, McAuliffe is allowing himself to enjoy the experience.

Soon customers will be able to enjoy his beer. The New Albion ale will be served at special events during this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Then, additional batches of New Albion Ale will be brewed at a Sam Adams brewery (in either Pennsylvania or Ohio) and distributed nationwide in 12-ounce 6-packs starting in January 2013. This is designed to be a one-shot deal so when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Carbonation can be traced back through the centuries. There is evidence that the ancient Sumerians had foam in their beer, which would indicate the existence of carbonation. It would be a few more centuries before airtight commercial bottles allowed drinkers to have stronger carbonation one pop at a time and then a few years more before advances in molecular sciences allowed brewers to force carbonation into the beer itself.

To just think of carbonation as merely bubbles in a glass is to dismiss the science, passion and countless hours brewers and researchers have put into making sure the effervescence is all it should be.

More Than Bubbles

Carbonation occurs after carbon dioxide (CO₂) is dissolved inside a liquid. In beer natural carbonation first occurs during the fermentation process when yeast absorbs the sugar in the wort creating both alcohol and carbon dioxide. Some brewers will also add additional sugars to unpasteurized bottles of beer, allowing yeast to feast a second time, thus allowing additional CO₂ into the beer.

The band was playing a version of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” and while quite good, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. A few moments later I settled into a stein of Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weiss and surveyed the scene. It was decidedly hipster, 30-somethings wearing T-shirts with ironic sayings or vague movie references. One was alone and reading with a glass of wine—yes, wine—in front of him. Two others were engrossed in the contents on the screen of a digital camera.

Clearly this was not Bavaria.

No, this was just one of many “beer gardens” that has sprang up in recent years around the country, making it seem that bar owners are embracing a new decorating theme much in the same way that “Irish pubs” were in fashion a decade ago.

And why not? Bavaria is the fertile crescent of beer. Hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to Munich each year to drink deep from the kegs of some of the world’s best-known and beloved breweries. The styles developed over the centuries by master brewers have been enjoyed and imbibed by millions and copied and analyzed by fellow brewers around the globe. In short, so much of what people enjoy about beer found its beginnings in Germany.

Then consider how the United States is in the midst of a beer renaissance. Sure, sugary vodka-based drinks that masquerade as martinis are still popular at lounges and wine lists still rein supreme at high-end restaurants. But beer brings people together for a good time and rather than just another neighborhood dive, restaurateurs are capitalizing on the current beer trend and are offering up a place with an “authentic feel.”

Brain child of four beer bar owners in the L.A. area, the ColLAboration Craft Beer Gardens and Events brings tents, tables, chairs and, most importantly, good beer to parking lots and parks across the City of Angels.

It’s for beer geeks and beyond,” says Tony Yanow, owner of Tony’s Darts Away & Mohawk Bend. The group sells 21 oz glasses that serves as a ticket for entry and patrons can choose the pour amount, as indicated by notches on the glass. The smallest pour available is 8 oz, good for say, a barrel-aged barley wine.

Along with Yanow, ColLAboration is run by Ryan Sweeney of Verdugo Bar & The Surly Goat, Brian Lenzo of Blue Palms Brewhouse and Clay Harding of the 38° Ale House & Grill.

All are personally invested in the promotion of American craft beer and enjoy good relationships with brewers large and small. Yanow says that those relationships help get smaller breweries involved in a large gatherings that they might not otherwise be able to afford.

The pop-up gardens do not serve food but organizers work with local restaurants and post menus on tables, encouraging patrons to call for delivery. There is no music, just conversation and Yanow says that the bartender staffs from the restaurants work the gardens, ensuring that those unfamiliar with a particular beer can get an education along with a taste.

The whole point is to make it comfortable,” says Yanow. “We want to drink beer in the way we want to drink beer. This is the way we see beer drinking as it ought to be.”