The World of Beer: Brewed in Japan, Brewed in Canada

A talk by Dr. Jeffrey Alexander and Nicholas Pashley

The popularity of beer transcends borders, languages and culture. But how have beer industries developed in Japan and here at home in Canada? Dr. Jeffrey Alexander and Nicholas Pashley will examine this question as we look deeper into the world of beer.

Nicholas Pashley, the author of Cheers: An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada will discuss the development of brewing in Canada from the early days of European settlement to the present. He will discuss four main periods: the growth of brewing (as well as taverns and inns) up to the Prohibition era; the dismal impact of Prohibition; the aftermath of Prohibition and the consolidation of the brewing industry into three, then two, major national – and subsequently multinational – breweries by the 1970s; and the welcome appearance of a fledgling craft brewing movement that began in the 1980s and is thriving today.

Dr. Alexander reveals how Japanese consumers adopted and domesticated beer in just a few generations, despite its entirely foreign origins. His book, Brewed in Japan, spans the earliest attempts at beer brewing in the 1870s to the recent popularity of local craft brews, charting beer’s steady rise to become the “beverage of the masses.” The fortunes and fumbles of Japan’s major brewers shed light on a variety of issues, including technology, modernization, women, war, consumer preferences, and popular culture. This presentation will further illustrate how post-war marketing campaigns and shifting consumer preferences made beer Japan’s leading alcoholic beverage by the 1960s. Dr. Alexander will also discuss his ongoing project on Japan’s postwar whisky trade.

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About the Speakers

Nicholas Pashley is the author of Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It’s Necessary and Cheers: An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada and writes a regular column on drinking for Men’s Fashion magazine. He is a founding board member of Toronto Beer Week and CASK! Toronto, an organization bent on promoting cask-conditioned ale. Pashley lives in Toronto and can be found in fine pubs everywhere. He is stalked by a handful of cognoscenti on Twitter at @NotesOnABeermat. 2015 will mark the 50^th anniversary of his first visit to a tavern.

Dr. Jeffrey Alexander is Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of British Columbia in 2005, and he researches Japan’s industrial and commercial progress, as well as shifting patterns of consumption since 1870. Jeffrey is also the author of Japan’s Motorcycle Wars: An Industry History, and has given invited lectures at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the International House of Japan in Tokyo. Last year, he delivered the 2014 Mitsui Distinguished Lecture at John Carroll University in Ohio. Further information and excerpts are available at: www.brewedinjapan.com

This event is presented in cooperation with the Japan Studies Association of Canada and with support from UBC Press and Sleeman Breweries Ltd., a member of Sapporo Group.