The history of our beloved beer is as long and varied as the human story itself, in fact you'll have a tough time tracing its origins to any specific time period. It seems that the ability to find a use for fermented beverages is part of the beautiful mess we've come to call human nature. Wether it's consumption was part of a religious ceremony to bring you closer to your god or for the dressing of wounds received during the bloody battles of ancient Sumeria it seems wherever we have been there has been booze. If there was life on mars surely we would've found the empty cans already. But what role does beer have in the modern world? A world where responsible drinking and teetotalism is now very much encouraged, a world where scientific developments and research have refined the antiseptic qualities of alcohol as well as educate us on its actual impact on our health. Lets not forget there was once a time beer was considered by many as more nutritious than a glass of water. In modern times alcohol has become exclusively recreational and as a result embedded itself within recreational culture, the most prevalent to my mind being music and sport.
Between the late 20th and early 21st century beer had become synonymous with football violence and mindless binge drinking at music festivals, this however is much less the case in 2022. The popularisation of craft beers and clever marketing from breweries has completely shifted the negative stereotypes surrounding the consumption of beer on it's head so much so that as of the last decade beer is now being used as a tool for marketing. First of all lets look at the music industry. If you haven't crammed yourself into a sweaty beer tent at the height of British summer, spent 2 hours queuing for a flat pint only to miss that band you was planning on seeing before some oblivious idiot knock's half of it out of your hand. Then you're doing festivals wrong, but I digress. The fact remains, if you really like music you are very likely to really enjoy beer. Back in 2011 the English rock band Elbow brewed their own beer Build a Rocket Boys in collaboration with Robinsons Brewery as part of the promotion for their album of the same name. This was the first time I had seen a beer brewed for such a reason and in my opinion its much more creative and effective than the the usual promotional tools. The album sold well and was only kept off the number one spot by Adele's 21.
Since then I have seen this trend amongst bands become increasingly common. A quick google of "bands with beers" will present you with a list longer than your arm. It's a brilliant idea, much more personable than a t-shirt or a poster. How many of us have wanted to share a beer with our favorite artists? Add to that the clear symbiotic advantages of introducing loyal music fans to a brewery that their idols have chosen to work with and loyal beer drinkers to a new band their favorite brewery are collaborating with. Kerching on both sides. As for sport, football clubs had tried to release their own beer products in the 80's and 90's but because of the negative affiliations between the two they were canned almost instantly for encouraging hooliganism. The cultural landscape wasn't right.
Fast forward to 2022 and you find plenty of professional football clubs have teamed up with their local brewery's to create their own collaborative beers. Tottenham Hotspur FC have gone as far to install a micro brewery in their new stadium for North London brewers Beavertown. Modern marketing has changed attitudes, attitudes have changed ideas. Beer consumption is an important part of our culture and history and we are now seeing its relevance being embraced and used as a vessel to promote the things it is so closely related to in the modern world in a much more positive light. Time to get on the bandwagon and pick up a brewers handbook.