Wells, Ken. Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America.

New York: Free

Press, 2004.

Ken Wells Travels with Barley is an ambitious project travelling the country to examine

not only the variety of breweries from coast-to-coast, but also the culture of the industry deeply

ingrained within America society. The argument for this claim is created early by Wells, citing

beers extended contribution to the US economy at $144 billion due to the 6.35 billion gallons of

beer, averaging 31.3 gallons for each legal-age member of the population, that is consumed

annually (4). He makes the claim early-on that he is not a beer person writing a book that

covers the spectrum of beer, but instead, he approaches the topic as the experienced Wall Street

Journal reporter, incorporating his interview and research skills to understand the beer culture of

America through the industry operators, as well as the individual beer drinker. Though his

writing on the topic of beer can leave a bitter taste, his takes on the culture and the national unity

of beer drinkers is an excellent tool when studying the place of beer in America.

Wells journey through America in search of the story of beer starts in Perdido Key, FL,

not known for its attachment to the craft beer scene that sees so much attention in literature

today. The location is Flora-bama, the event is the Interstate Mullet Toss where 20,000 beer

drinkers gather over a three-day weekend to witness the fish flung from Florida into Alabama.

The target audience here is described by Wells as:

an appealingly mixed and slightly feral crowd: conversant, attractive, beer-chugging

women in bikinis ; bikers who, because the Bama [Flora-bama] is Bama, mostly leave
any bad attitudes at the door; blue-collar types and mildly dissipated local characters ;
and a goodly number of the courthouse and banking crowd, who like the idea of being
able to hang out for a while with all of the above in a kind of socially egalitarian
demilitarized zone. (12-13)
This mix of people, coming from far and wide to the dive bar at the intersection of Florida and

Alabama on the Gulf Coast, provides ample opportunity early on for a deep look at the many

faces of beer drinker. In the crowd, his conversations with partiers revolve around the endless

supply of Bud Light, Bud, Miller Lite, Miller, Coors, and a few imports, but Wells can do little

more than experience the visual and auditory scene, just one view of American beer culture, that

is the Interstate Mullet Toss festival. The estimated beer consumed for the three-day event

stands at approximately 96,000 beers.

Wells trades the beachfront party scene for Minnesota, specifically heading to Stillwater

to Gasthaus Bavarian, where German food and beer were served exclusively. In conversation

with his bartender for the evening, Mike, he finds that even a German lager, Becks (made in

Germany since 1533), has been removed as it is considered an American beer (37). Speaking

with the crowd at Gasthaus revealed another aspect of the American beer drinker, the ethnic

backgrounds of different regions and their impact on choice. In speaking with one customer, he

is recommended to attend the Gasthaus Oktoberfest, where nearly 2,000 people will attend and

the highlight, according to this customer, was the availability of deer stew (38). These two

stops do not stand alone, as Wells continues through Wisconsin, Texas, and Oregon, among

many other places, but they do show the wide variety of beer drinkers, and beer culture, that

exists.

Another perspective on the beer culture approached by Wells is its ties to the growing

culinary movement in America. He touches on the history of microbreweries in America, and

the resurgence of breweries in the 1970s, to place the introduction of the brewpub, where food

and beer intersect. Speaking with Daniel Bradford and John DeLucie, executive chef of

Manhattans Tribeca Grand Hotel, Wells is surprised to be served Michelob and Corona, paired
with various dishes, as part of the ten selected brews for the meal. It was Bradfords description

of Corona, in a place that Wells had expected no charity to be given to the product of a macro-

brewery, as refreshing and tasty with a hint of citrus easy to drink, just like a zinfandel (50).

This is confirmed with Jim Koch, head of Sam Adams Boston Beer, who states that it does

have its own unique flavor you wouldnt mistake Corona for a Miller or Bud. Its somewhere

between a Bud and a Heineken (50). Wells uses these examples to show that the stereotypical

images of beer snobs or biker swill dont stand alone, and that the complexities of different beer

styles, even strictly American beers, can cross lines of income, status, and regional identity.

The other angle of Wells writing on his travels exploring beer is that of the business end

of the industry. Here he attends the annual meeting of the National Beer Wholesalers

Association (NBWA) to observe the dealings of those in the distribution network, a complex,

three-tier system in America, a method set up post-prohibition to keep heavy regulation on the

distribution of the product. Attendants include various beer economists, prognosticators, and

consultants on arcane matter such as beer warehouse design to parse beers economic, technical,

and political climate at daily seminars (166). Wells explains the impact beyond the simple

figure given early of beers $144 billion economic contribution, with wholesaling employing

92,000 workers, generating $27.6 billion in taxes, and the creation of a further 800,000 indirect

jobs in retail, advertising, and suppliers of hops and barley. Beyond its economic impacts as

described by Wells, he also provides an in depth look at the political dealings of the beer

industry, as well as those who oppose it.

Opposing the dealings of the NBWA and the alcohol industry in America are three major

groups, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the National Center on Addiction and

Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), and the Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI). Among the chief conflicts between the different factions include the federal

mandate withholding highway funding to states without a .08 blood alcohol level -- itself the

result of backroom deals with the liquor industry to increase excise taxes on beer (168-69) -- and

unfavorable taxes on alcohol producers for their health cost to society pushed by Democrat

politicians, and urged along by MADD, CASA, and CSPI. Wells creates a dramatic portrayal,

backed by solid evidence, to show the excess to which these groups seek to curb the actions of

brewers, including CSPIs efforts to reclassify alcohol as a drug on the level of cocaine and link

it to acts of terrorism (175). Despite the efforts of these groups to impact the growth of the beer

industry, Wells acknowledges that the beer industry continues strong growth despite these

political pressures.

Ken Wells lives in New Orleans, where he recalls sharing his first beer with his father

many years ago. The journey throughout the novel is well researched and his interview methods

are evident with his many years as a journalist for The Wall Street Journal. In the Epilogue, he

recalls with his brother that first taste of beer with his dad and the long journey it has led him on

through the work on Travels with Barley. Floating on a boat with his brother, they each drink a

Pabst, which he states, tasted perfectly fine, and finds that it was about being out under the

open sky in the wild places you loved in the company of family or friends who shared that love

(269).

And, who, Pa would hasten to add, also shared their beer (269).