For years craft beer enthusiasts have been burden by the past, living under the misconception that the golden age of beer in America took place in some utopian 19th century world, where in pre-prohibition bliss small brewers produced God’s personal nectar, pumping out gallons of artisanally crafted ales and lagers to a thirsty local public who appreciated their wares. Still others evoke some colonial past where various of our founding fathers found succor and comfort from the magical elixir that saved the colonies from certain death, prompted revolutionary thought, and gave birth to an independent nation of small brewers.