Like it or not, when it comes to your beer, politics comes with the pour.
“Politics, you know, gets mixed with beer. There’s no way to separate it.” Brian Albertsbeer historian and writer, he said.
And what he says is not an understatement. It’s a relationship that has literally been brewing for centuries. So how did the two come together? Well, let’s back up a bit.
“Beer was considered a staple, you know, in the early days of colonialism in North America. One of the first industries that colonial Massachusetts tried to foster was a local brewing industry,” Alberts said. “And it actually failed. It couldn’t take off. But when that happened, it was actually the women who preserved the knowledge and the practice of brewing in the colony. And they did it in their kitchens domestic, and they had to maintain that for about 20 years before the colony was able to reassert a vibrant tavern culture that could take over some of that domestic production.”
As these taverns sprang up along the East Coast, they quickly became a meeting point for community conversations, many of which had to do with English rule, sparking political debate and calls for independence. During this time, beer was available, but historians say it wasn’t exactly everyone’s drink of choice, often playing third fiddle to drinks like rum and whiskey. However, some founding fathers liked him.
“George Washington was a fan of Porter. I don’t think he brewed it himself, but he was a fan of having it imported, which was common practice at the time,” Alberts said.
As time went on and brewing processes became more efficient, interest in the drink grew in the US, with much credit due to German immigrants and their background in beer culture.
“German drinking culture is about sociability. It’s about being outdoors and spending time with family and community and all that. And because it fits so well with the Industrial Revolution and this tendency to the low and other alcohol that becomes like the drink of choice in the United States,” Alberts said.
But with this rise in popularity came a social and political backlash from the Temperance and Prohibition Movement, which saw alcohol as a threat to the nation’s moral fabric. And this was not the only concern that politicians had about alcohol consumption.
“All this time, you know, beer is wrapped up in all these political changes in America. There are questions about whether or not immigrants deserve full citizenship. Questions about who can drink,” Alberts said. “A good example is, you know, the southern states before slavery was obviously and legitimately outlawed, there were questions about whether black residents and enslaved blacks could drink. And there were many attempts to ensure “if they could” because it was a way of denying citizenship. It was a way of denying full access and participation in the American experience.”
SEE MORE: Dylan Mulvaney returns to social media after Bud Light backlash
In 1933, Congress adopted the 21st Amendment, which replaced Prohibition, which had prevented the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the US for more than a decade. With taps back on tap, the beer industry began to play a more prominent role in American culture. The beer industry began to be strategic with its advertisements, the aim was to attract consumers as a product related to everyday life. Breweries began popping up across the country and the drink became closely associated with America’s favorite pastime, baseball.
“There’s nothing more American than baseball and apple pie. But you put beer in it because beer has been in all these baseball stadiums since the beginning,” said Liz Garibay, executive director of The Chicago Brewseumsaid
These days, while not all politicians choose to drink alcohol, it is not uncommon for lawmakers, including presidents, to be seen having a pint, either with colleagues and leaders of other countries while catching up or working in negotiations
In 2011, former President Barack Obama became the first president to brew beer in the White House and was known for hosting “beer summits” as a way to bring people together. Beer has even become a tool used by political candidates during election cycles as a way to increase their “likeability” among voters by having a cold one with them to talk about life and politics.
“This whole narrative, the idea that, you know, oh, we want a presidential candidate that we can have a beer with, I mean, that’s something that was activated. I mean it was actually used during the George W . Bush campaign,” Alberts said. “I don’t know if it was his campaign that set it up. But, you know, this was something that came up in fairly recent political history, you know. And it’s become this kind of comeback that he wants symbolize, you know, accessibility in politics.”
Like many industries in the United States, beer companies are known to support political candidates and legislation with campaign donations. One of the largest donors is Anheuser-Busch. There have even been studies done on what your choice of beer says about your political affiliations. For example, Bloomberg notes a 2019 study by National Media, a political ad-buying firm, notes that Democrats seem to have a taste for Guinness, Corona, Modelo, Miller High Life and Heineken, while Republicans seem to gravitate toward Samuel Adams, Busch Light and Michelob. Ultra, Yuengling and Bud Light.
SEE MORE: Reports: Bud Light marketing exec fired after boycott calls
So what’s the beer scene like on Capitol Hill today? We caught up with our congressional correspondent, Nate Reed, to get some insight.
“I have personally witnessed senators who have spoken, here on Capitol Hill, even in the Senate chamber, of drinking as a method of negotiation,” Reed said. “You could think of some of the major pieces of legislation that have passed in the last few years. There have been times when I even saw, and I reported on it, I think I tweeted at the time, Senator Ben Sasse , Republican. of Nebraska, bragged on the Senate floor about how much moonshine he had to drink. And so sometimes negotiations are best served with a glass of wine, a moonshine cocktail, even an ice cold beer.”
Like many relationships, it’s not always perfect, as evidenced by the backlash Bud Light has received from some consumers for its association with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, at a time when transgender health care has become in a major political battleground in states across the country. At one end of the spectrum, some beer drinkers began boycotting Bud Light as a show of resistance over its association with the transgender community. At the other end of the spectrum, some Chicago gay bars have stopped selling Anheuser-Busch beer and other products to avoid their association with Mulvaney amid falling sales and calls for a boycott. Anheuser-Busch placed two executives on leave and cut ties with an outside agency responsible for Instagram post that started the debate to begin with.
As the company tries to distance itself from the matter, it raises questions about how the policy could affect future marketing campaigns for brands in the future.
“The one thing I keep telling people is that we’re never going to stop drinking. It’s true. It’s just a part of who we are. It’s always been a catalyst for the growth of humanity, of civilization. It just changes over the way”. Garibay said.
So the next time you take a sip, beer experts would like you to remember…
“Beer has been legal and illegal. It’s been moral and immoral. It’s been healthy. It’s been a sinful poison. We’ve done a very good job of using beer to navigate the rest of society, and it just flows with us. “, Alberts. said
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