caloric than they were 200 years ago Food Words: Ale and Beer; Brew The original English word for a fermented barley drink was not beer, but ale It apparently derives from the effects of alcohol; the Indo-European root of ale had to do with intoxication, magic, and sorcery, and may be related to a root meaning “to wander, to be in exile.” The alternative name, beer, comes via Latin from a much more prosaic connection: its root is the word for “to drink.” Brew is related to bread, broil, braise, and ferment; they all come from an Indo-European root meaning “to boil, to bubble, to effervesce.” Beer in America The U.S preference for light, even characterless brews would seem to be the result of climate and history Heavy beer is less refreshing when the summers get as hot as ours And the original British colonists seem to have been more interested in making whiskey than beer (p 760) We had no strong national tradition in the matter of beer, so the way was clear for later German immigrants to set the taste around 1840, when someone — perhaps one John Wagner near Philadelphia — introduced the newly available lager yeast and technique, and the distinctive brew caught on Both Milwaukee and St Louis quickly became centers of lager brewing: in the former, Pabst, Miller, and Schlitz; in the latter, Anheuser and Busch; and Stroh in Detroit all got their starts in the 1850s and 1860s, and Coors in Denver in the 1870s Several of these names and their light, Pilsner-style beers remain dominant today, while the stronger traditional brews of England and Germany appeal to a relatively small number of beer lovers The only indigenous American style of beer is “steam beer,” a rare relic of the California Gold Rush ... Several of these names and their light, Pilsner-style beers remain dominant today, while the stronger traditional brews of England and Germany appeal to a relatively small number of beer lovers The only... became centers of lager brewing: in the former, Pabst, Miller, and Schlitz; in the latter, Anheuser and Busch; and Stroh in Detroit all got their starts in the 1850s and 1860s, and Coors in Denver in the 1870s... immigrants to set the taste around 1840, when someone — perhaps one John Wagner near Philadelphia — introduced the newly available lager yeast and technique, and the distinctive brew caught on Both Milwaukee and St