this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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On top of the many excellent points raised here, the temperance movent also grew in response to the industrialization of distilled spirits. Mechanization and standardization meant high proof alcohol became easier to produce, and in larger quantities. The cost of production dropped as well, making the distilled drug (and alcohol is a drug) widely available and much more affordable. In response, alcohol consumption skyrocketed. This all happened over the course of a single lifetime, roughly from after the civil war.
...i'd apologize for posting on an old thread, but i'm not actually sorry
It's ok, I had thought about that too. Alcohol went from something distilled by your neighbor in big wooden barrels to something distributed by factories.
Mechanical refrigeration was invented in 1874 and a professor once described it to me like "Brewering ceased to be a specialized, artisal profession like a chef and became more like being a mechanic." The process became more streamlined during the 1880s and 90s, and that's right when the temperance movement was gaining steam
It's funny, back when brewing/distilling was more an artisanal craft, being able to consistently recreate a product was a mark of high achievement. Now, its the opposite. A bottle of jack is a bottle of jack, whether you bought it yesterday or last decade; now all the collectors want the 'unique' single barrel stuff that wont taste quite like the regular stuff.
My professor (a chemist with a specialization in fermentation chemistry) explained it something like it's very difficult for large scale manufacturers to produce alcohol that's exactly the same every time. Brewing is a finicky process where a slight pH imbalance or just a single cell of bacteria will ruin entire batches. So large scale breweries will produce a very consistent, very exact terrible product. Bud light always tastes the same. Whereas small scale brewers will sort of embrace the chaotic randomness that comes with it
Yeah, as I understand it, the way you make liquor taste the same is to dump all the barrels into one large vat, mix, then bottle. Takes all the minor inconsistencies and just smooths them together until it's dry, if you pardon the pun.