My Heart Swells with American Pirde

How can this be - wonderful news, that appeals to me, in the Mpls House Organ?

By 1870, Brooklyn was one of the great brewing capitals of the world, with 48 breweries. People bought meat from the butcher, bread from the baker, coffee from the roaster and beer from the local brewer. But by 1970, almost everyone shopped at the supermarket, frozen food and "TV dinners" were godsends, and we had about 40 breweries left in the entire country, all making the same bland beer.

Now Americans are moving away from spongy industrial bread, watery coffee, plasticized "cheese" and other wonders of modern food science. The top maker of white supermarket bread went bankrupt a few years ago.

If we truly want to restore the vibrant beer culture that flourished in this country before Prohibition, craft brewers need to retain the values and goals -- creating beers that are flavorful, interesting to drink and made from proper beer ingredients -- that put us on the map in the first place. Let's not undo American beer again.

One thing I love about Saturday, there's always time for an ESB.