Sure the West's the best, but where the heck is it?

It’s January 4, 2010, I’m stuck at Beer Rant HQ waiting for a UPS delivery and, with voting in the gimmick poll leaning somewhat toward my covering only beers from the western United States, I find myself wrestling with the notion of what constitutes the true “American West.”

For years, in my mind, the American West had as its eastern border the eastern borders of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. (For the record, I never much bought into the old “west of the Mississippi” chestnut and when queried by an Army coworker if Arizona was located north or south of the Mason Dixon Line, I replied that it was WEST of the Mason Dixon Line.) In college, the American West was more rightly defined as the region “beyond the 100th meridian,” but that notion is as much a meteorological construct as a geographical construct, and as much as I’d like to use the 100th meridian as my demarcation, the line splits 6 states roughly in half! What to do?

Well, if I stick to my childhood notion of “the West”, then I freeze out the Dakota’s, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. If I use the 100th Meridian as my demarcation, then I’ll be forced to sort out all the brewers who ply their trade east of a line that runs roughly north to south through Pierre, South Dakota southward through a point just east of San Angelo, Texas. Hell, I’ll need a detailed map every time I visit the liquor store or a bar!

Now, I don’t know of any craft brews coming out of North or South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas or Oklahoma but perhaps they might turn up in this new year. On the other hand, I do know that there are some tasty beers originating in Texas. So, since I’m a beer drinker and lazy by nature, I figure that it might be best for me if I set the definition of “Western United States” as: Anything lying west of the eastern borders of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. This definition removes the need for me to sort out brewers who work west of the 100th line of longitude.

For sentimentality’s sake, I like the notion of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, as being the eastern edge of the “American West,” but gosh that has the potential for freezing out a lot of craft brewers – I think. Already, I’ve discovered that, regardless of what definition I choose, I won’t be blogging about the likes of Boston Brewing or Shipyard or Abita, or Lakefront. Ahhh, it’s a tough choice. Well, as Jim Morrison said, “The west is the best. Get here, and we’ll do the rest.”

Any thoughts out there? What constitutes “the West” in your mind? Perhaps you think more in terms of the Rocky Mountain West, in which case I’d guess that Kansas is off your map. I’m still rasslin’ with this so input will be helpful.

Meanwhile, while we’re talking about “the West” and at the risk of turning you on to a blog that’s infinitely better and cooler than this one, I’ll point you over to my cousin’s (infinitely better and cooler) site at The Field Lab. You won’t find too many specific references to beer but I know for a fact that John has tried Shiner Smokehaus – but of course, he’s in Texas!