A brief history of regional style
βMy beer story goes all the way back to when I grew up in Wisconsin,β says Rob Fullmer,Β CEO of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild.Β He grew up drinking Pabst and Schlitz in Milwaukee at a time "when the drinking age was much lower." Fullmer began homebrewing in Phoenix in 1998 or '99, and took a position with the Craft Brewers Guild three years ago.
"One thing people donβt consider is all of the existing beer styles were dictated historically by different things like access to ingredients." Fullmer says. "For example, certain kinds of hops donβt grow in certain areas, water in Dublin is different than London, in England they were taxed by alcohol content so theyβd make weaker brews, whereas in Belgium, they were taxed by the weight so they would just jam all the ingredients into a smaller container which produced different fermentation and flavor outcomes."
