Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/664168
Local is a word that we use to describe anything from farms and food to restaurants and business. The word brings a sense of support and sustainability to everyday culture. Local is an anti-corporate product made by everyday people who live basic lives in a world surrounded by structure and technology. Supporting "local" couldn't be more popular in our current time, as it is viewed as cool, free and liberating. Think about the last party you attended. Undoubtedly, someone brought local cheese or locally made vegetables as an appetizer. Supporting local breweries and purchasing their beer isn't a new trend by any means, but it's growing at an undeniable speed that has caught the eye of the biggest corporate brewing juggernauts. To define the word local may be an act in futility to some, but I challenge you to ask yourself how you view it, how you support it and IF you drink it. New England breweries are often referred to as local brewers due to their geographical range. Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine could be viewed as "local" to a bar in Northern Massachusetts, while Smuttynose Brewing in Hampton, New Hampshire could be considered "local" to a bar owner in Providence. When asked to define the term, Cambridge Brewing Company Brewmaster Will Meyers says that, "Local has a pretty flexible definition to many people, but I see local as being defined pretty clearly. Local means Cambridge, Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. It can extend to cover all of New England (we are still only a few short hour's drive end-to- end). But it is really about relationships as much as it is distance, as well as the quality of the product and the care that goes into creating something – chickens, cows, barley, honey – that deserves respect for the land and for the person charged with stewarding that land." A new brewery is being created every 12 hours here in the United States and in the fall of 2015, we surpassed 4,000 operating breweries. The sense of competition is high and finding a point of differentiation is crucial. As Meyers points out, "Using local ingredients in almost every beer, or occasionally making a single special batch of 100% local ingredient beer is a challenge, especially for larger breweries. We smaller breweries can be a lot more flexible and, thanks to our smaller size, can also be more focused on local supplies as well as our local customers." A brewer (usually small in production) that sources local ingredients with a small distribution footprint See What You Can Do When You Support Your Local Brew by Jean Marc Aubuchon, Certified Cicerone "A new brewery is being created every 12 hours here in the United States and in the fall of 2015, we surpassed 4,000 operating breweries." 38