Regional | Photo from Austria
Image from Austria: Craft beer – the boom in artisanal barley juice
The original craft beer movement emerged in the US in the 1970s as a reaction to the country’s prevailing beer market, which was dominated by the brewing industry.
Beginning in the 1970s, amateur brewers developed a reluctance to use these beers and a tendency toward home brewing. The terms homebrewing and artisanal beer (from German craft: “to work by hand”) were used for this purpose. In Europe, this boom came from Italy, of all places, which hardly produced its own beers and where there was never a beer culture. A 20-year-old farmer from Piedmont should change that. In 1984 he built a copper kettle and brewed beer, which he served in a rudimentary pub in the small village of Piozzo, near Barolo. The “Slow Food Association” based nearby quickly took notice of Musso and began to garner a lot of publicity. The term “birra artiganale” was born, that is, craft beer. Care was taken to ensure that mainly local staples were used. Today, 30 years later, Teo Musso is considered the pioneer of craft beer par excellence throughout Europe. The cult of craft beer soon found many followers, especially in Trentino and South Tyrol. Numerous breweries emerged. Beer culture is also maintained, and creative brewers inspire the scene. The craft beer trend has completely changed consumption habits. Many smaller restaurants with their own breweries are popping up and making life difficult for international corporations. Craft beer is both a cult and an attitude towards life.
Image source: ORF/ORF-Tirol