I’m pretty sure that Anchor Liberty influenced SNPA, and of course SNPA launched 1,000 pale ales. So that’s where we start.

The riffs come off that, whether it’s a Bells beer in Michigan, Southern Tier in New York or Sweetwater in Georgia.

A few years ago Greg did a feature for All About Beer Magazine (which, the best I can tell, is not archived online). It went into much more depth, giving you a better feel for the variety of influences. Worth seeking out.

I don’t think you can overestimate the combination in the East of being closer to England and Alan Pugsley planting all those breweries on what brewers and drinkers called balanced.

So Jeff, I think you were right to point to the fact that beer generally is part of the bigger picture when it comes to what people are looking for in flavor.

California: New World wines, New World IPAs.

The article was a bit of a one-off. Obviously, many breweries on the East Coast do brew big, hoppy beers. The thing is, they’re a minor note. On the West Coast, big, hoppy ales are known as “beer.” We tend to ignore anything but.

A terrific component and history before our eyes.

If we’re talking regions, where would Sierra Nevada or Anchor’s Pale Ales fall into comparison? I tend to find Great Lakes’ Burning River and Goose’s Honkers close in character, as I do SNPA and Anchor Liberty, SNPA nodding to Cascades, of course. But I guess I’d fit Dogfish Head 60 Min (an IPA in name, I know) alongside the 2 N. California staples.

You are right. There are a lot of interesting stories about why certain styles occur at the regional level – and how approaches to them differ.

An important component of the American beer revolution has been the re-connection with local and regional beer.

There simply is not one region that is “better” than another.

I do think, however, there is a better story in the brewing tendencies of regional brewers. Up in the NW you see a lot more browns and porters than we get in California. Back east too, with the embracing of old world styles with American flare. And down in SoCal, well, you won’t find a more exciting hoppy beer scene in the world.