The Smithsonian Institution’s newly named beer director declared Tuesday that “we are at…a historical point in American beer history” with a record number of craft breweries ever.
Theresa McCulla, the historian of the American Brewing History Initiative at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, told the national Craft Brewers Conference meeting in Washington that an industry that began after World War II in California now reaches every corner of the United States.
As a result, the nation’s museum is fast collecting brewing artifacts that will eventually be turned into a permanent display in the history museum.
“The public loves what you do,” she told the conference that has attracted thousands of big to small brewers to Washington.
The numbers back her up. The Brewer’s Association, which puts on the conference, revealed that there are a record 5,301 breweries in the nation, a 16 percent jump in just one year. Of those, all but 66 are considered small breweries, craft breweries or brewpubs. The 66 are big brewers like Budweiser.
And it’s an economic engine driving a $55 billion economy.
Much of that is on display at the conference. A full floor is devoted to ingredients and equipment used in brewing, even honey used in ales.
The Smithsonian project will be open to brewers seeking “inspiration,” said McCulla. She noted that as brewers seek out different, or exotic mixes, the pre-prohibition recipes are the new trend.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
