Story Behind America’s Watery Beer
The usual story is that giant corporations replaced barley with cheaper alternatives like rice and corn, which added little flavor. Then, they used marketing to convince people that this is what they truly wanted to drink. Furthermore, big corporations were also able to undercut the prices of the competition and put competitors out of business. Maureen Ogle, the author of this book, says it isn’t true. Instead, big corporations simply gave Americans what they wanted.
Whether or not it’s true, it makes for an interesting theory that I’d like to read up on.
