My dad was doing homebrew more than 30 years ago. I can't vouch for his stuff; growing up he drank a 12-pack a day of silver bullets and specifically mentioned he got into homebrewing 'cuz it was cheaper. My cousin homebrews occasionally, and he brews in the Issaquah Valley. It was there that I first experienced super-bitter beer that everyone said was delicious. I learned to hate homebrew. It's a penis size thing. "It must be better it's got so much hops!" Combine that with the fact that without hops, it's "malt liquor." And if it's malt liquor, you immediately associate with: - Old English - St Ides - Zima - anything "those people" drink Grunge culture was big about shitty, hoppy beer. Craft brewing erupted from Seattle to Portland to Colorado to everywhere and took excess hops with it. I think the sampler you've got is a backlash against it, as is the article we're all discussing; the hipsters I knew in Maryland were all about Yuengling and in Michigan I saw a lot of Leinenkugel. Makes sense; all the known craft brewers are owned by InBev and its ilk.Forties are often mentioned in hip-hop and rap culture by rappers such as 2Pac, E-40, Ice Cube, N.W.A, Cypress Hill, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Wu Tang Clan, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, Hollywood Undead and many other rap stars endorsing the "40" Ounce tradition. A similar trend was common around the late 90s' and early 2000' punk scene; notably The Casualties 40.oz Casualty and Leftöver Crack's Rock the 40.0z., and the song 40oz. to Freedom by the band Sublime.