Beer and Hair - How It Begins

   Beer - Before the first European stepped foot onto this great country of ours, the Native American Indians were brewing up batches of beer made from what the land had to offer - corn, water, birch sap, as well as a variety of other things. As the early colonials began to populate the land, different styles of brewing developed and beer quickly became a mainstay in the American diet as opposed to wine like in many other countries. By the time prohibition came along there were thousands of microbreweries spread across the land offering up different styles and taste as varied as the location and craftsmen they were coming from. It was an art form as well as an inexpensive refreshing treat for the working class.  You could tell where you were by the beer in your mug.    When the 18th amendment outlawed the production, consumption and sale of beer, thousands of these micro breweries closed their doors and part of our American culture was lost forever. When prohibition ended 13 years later, the larger breweries bounced back and they are responsible for the production of the majority of the beer produced in America today.
   Prohibition brought with it organized crime, prisons filled to capacity, unemployment, and a loss of legitimate taxes. All this because the government wanted to legsilate our morality. So the government made a mistake - how does this affect you now? It has been almost 100 years and we are still feeling the ripple of prohibition. 
   We lost thousands of small businesses that shaped our country and those businesses were replaced by the larger beer companies that mass produce a lower quality product. Most of these large beer companies are not even American owned - yes they are still produced in America and provide jobs for Americans - however - the bottom line is where is the money going at the end of the day - the money is being tapped out of our economy like beer from a keg.
   As I looked at the history of beer and saw how far it had come through the years, I did note that one of the only good things that came out of the self indulgent 1980's was an interest in micro brewed beer again. Those microbreweries have grown and now offer us a choice between the 100% American beer or the "We make it here" beer that is so widely consumed today.
   And of course - as I pondered the 1980's, I thought back to my preteen years and how I was determined to have the biggest perm in school. This had me thinking of the beauty salon and how the beauty shop and barber shop employees were truly our first form of social media. I am sure that any beauty salon worth it's weight could spread any news quicker thn facebook and twitter combined.
  So my goal today was to start a discussion at the beauty shop about buying a 100% American beer instead of the regular cans of blah.  We decided that if enough people started buying the 100% American beer that it would be good for the economy as well as for a spice of flavor in our lives - but would the husbands go for this - hmmmmm. That is a whole different question - is their patriotism stronger than their desire for the mundane and bland cans of comfort they have clung to since their teenage years? Do they even realize that part of their hard earned American cash is heading overseas with every ice cold sip? Would they be willing to and be proud to sport an ice chest full of American pride to this weekend's ballgame?
We will cross our fingers and hope - God Bless America
Sincerely,
Amanda Schalau
Average American  ;-)