Author: Tom Acitelli
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Acitelli on History -
Acitelli on HistoryCraft Beer’s First Seal of Independence
July 19, 2017 - Tom Acitelli The idea was a simple one: a seal to honor those independently owned purveyors of smaller-batch, more traditionally made beer. The seal caught on pretty quickly after it was announced, and, eventually, dozens of such purveyors proudly bore it. The Brewers Association’s recently announced Independent Craft Brewer Seal? No. It’s the Good Beer Seal that... View Article -
Acitelli on HistoryHale’s Ales: The Northwest’s Oldest Indy Brewery
July 4, 2017 - Tom Acitelli Though his brewery shares an anniversary with America’s Independence Day, it was during an extended stay in Europe that Mike Hale was inspired to launch what has become the oldest independently-owned, small-batch brewery in the Pacific Northwest. Hale’s wife was on a Fulbright teacher exchange in 1982 with an educator from England. The couple had... View Article -
HistoryWinning the Revolution, Losing the Peace
July 1, 2017 - Tom Acitelli This story was adapted from the newly published second edition of The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution by Tom Acitelli. Another book by Acitelli, Whiskey Business: How Small-Batch Distillers Are Transforming American Spirits, is also out now. The commercial commenced with scenes of one of its breweries at work, including... View Article -
Acitelli on HistoryTwenty Years Ago, A Mash Made In Heaven
May 15, 2017 - Tom Acitelli It was the summer of 1992, and Steve McCarthy and his wife were having one of those vacations. The couple had flown to Ireland all the way from Oregon, and rented a car in Dublin. From there, things started promisingly enough. They drove out into the republic’s sparsely populated western reaches, staying at delightful hotels... View Article -
Acitelli on History - Web OnlyA Brewpub’s Collapse 20 Years Ago Sounds Familiar
May 5, 2017 - Tom Acitelli On the morning of April 7, 1997, Kirby Shyer, the owner of the recently shuttered Zip City brewpub at Fifth Avenue and 18th Street in Manhattan, poured 3,100 gallons of Belgian tripel down a sewer drain. A New York Times reporter was there to witness the carnage. “Once it was over, it was over,” Shyer... View Article -
Acitelli on HistoryHow the Beer to Have with Dinner got the Ball Rolling
April 18, 2017 - Tom Acitelli Matthew Reich’s goal for his New Amsterdam amber lager in the summer of 1982 was fairly modest. Here it was in a nutshell, according to the business plan that the Hearst Magazines executive and wine aficionado drew up: “To sell 4,000 cases per month by the end of the first operating year; 6,000 cases per... View Article -
Acitelli on HistoryWas American beer brewed ‘through a horse’? In 1973, this newspaperman tried to find out.
April 11, 2017 - Tom Acitelli In early 1973, Mike Royko was at the top of his game as a newspaper columnist. Fiendishly prolific, the 40-year-old Chicago native and Air Force veteran wrote five columns a week for the Chicago Daily News. In 1972, he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary and his work often found its way into other newspapers... View Article -
Acitelli on History - Web OnlyBud Light and the Light Beer Arms Race: A-B’s Best-seller Turns 35
March 30, 2017 - Tom Acitelli In March 1982, Anheuser-Busch rolled out its new Bud Light in 40 states. It was the nation’s largest brewery’s long-awaited return salvo to Miller’s 1975 introduction of Miller Lite. That beer had propelled Miller from a relative also-ran in the increasingly consolidating American beer market to the No. 2 brewery behind Anheuser-Busch, a position it... View Article