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Are You the Beer Historian the Smithsonian Is Looking to Hire?

Do you think there’s room in between Archie Bunker's chair and Fonzie’s jacket for some beer bongs and a mini-keg or two?
Photo via Flickr user BC Gov Photos

Do you think there's room in between Archie Bunker's chair and Fonzie's jacket for some beer bongs and a mini-keg or two?

This is just one of the many questions we are left asking ourselves after catching word of the Smithsonian Institution's newfound quest to hire a beer historian. As reported by the Washington City Paper, the National Museum of American History is currently seeking a beer historian or scholar to appoint to a newly created three-year-long position at the museum.

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The job, which is being funded by the Brewers Association, requires a beer aficionado ready and willing to "focus and dedicate efforts towards research, documentation, and collecting American brewing history." Paula Johnson, one of the museum's curators who specializes in "American food and wine history," told the Washington City Paper, "We have collected food history for many years, so when we were doing the research for the exhibition, which is all about big changes in the post-World War II" era in how and what we eat, one thing we were curious about is the craft beer movement,"

Johnson and other staff members at the museum came to be focused primarily on the craft beer movement after delving into other aspects of artisanal food and drink: "We were looking at wine, coffee, cheese, artisanal bread, and farmers markets. Well, this movement with small-scale, local regional beer is part of the ethos."

As pointed out by Time's Money, there's been a massive surge in craft brewing in recent years, with the number of American craft breweries expanding 15 percent in 2015 alone, although that may likely be in part due to the ever-expanding legal parameters of what actually constitutes a beer as being "craft."

READ MORE: You Can Now Go to College and Major in Craft Beer Brewing

Whatever the case, the Smithsonian hopes that their new beer historian will skillfully catalog the current craft beer movement and will develop a wide-spanning collection to be housed in the museum. Ideally, the candidate should have an advanced degree in American food, culture, or business.

We somehow have the feeling that the National Museum of American History is about to get a hell of a lot more busy.