WITH THIS BRIEF chapter, I conclude my foray into the lives and legends of craft beer and the ways in which medievalism and masculinity have shaped the industry. As I do so, I must acknowledge a question that haunted me when I first conceived of this project: does it matter that this book is about beer? Could my analysis of contemporary medievalism apply equally to any other food or beverage, or any other artisanal product? Perhaps I could have discussed independent coffee roasters or soap makers instead. Perhaps the beer is immaterial; it is the crafted nature of the product that lends itself so readily to medievalism and anti-corporatism.

Of course, I decided that the beer is certainly not immaterial; the beer, indeed, is the point. In response to a question about his long-standing connection to the brewing industry, Fritz Maytag, founder of Anchor Steam Brewing, responded by focusing on the nature of beer itself: “Ultimately, it stems from the alcohol. Alcohol changes people's state of consciousness. Even one beer can make a person a little mellower […] and that is a bit magical.” The “magical” quality of beer, which has long undergirded its appeal and cultural resiliency over the centuries, is the focus of this concluding chapter. In addition to its social and economic centrality in a wide range of cultures over the centuries, beer is also an intoxicant and a product that emerges through the metamorphic power of fermentation. It is, in part, because of the inebriating and transformative qualities of alcoholic beverages that alcohol has such a long history with us; it is “embedded in social relations and sociocultural systems” of societies across the globe, from villages in developing nations with limited infrastructure and technology, to the most technologically advanced cities. In the epigraph that opens this chapter, philosopher and psychologist William James, brother to the writer Henry James, suggests how alcohol's properties may expand our intellectual horizons and open up the possibility for deeper contemplation, introspection, and awareness.