Cooking

Less than fifteen years after the birth of Birmingham, its brewing history began, and soon saloons dotted nearly every corner. Prohibition, however, decimated the brewing scene for eighty-five years. Although national Prohibition began in 1920, Jefferson County voted to go dry in 1907. Alabama beer saw a brief resurgence after the Brewpub Act of 1992, as craft beer's popularity grew nationwide. But the brewpubs and breweries that emerged struggled against the state's restrictive laws, which included such stipulations as locating brewpubs in historic districts and limiting beer bottle sizes to sixteen ounces. By the time grass-roots lobbying organization Free the Hops formed in 2004 to fight those restrictive laws, every Birmingham brewery had closed. Join author Carla Jean Whitley as she uncovers the struggle to make local beer a Birmingham staple.

Join Rob Kasper as he uses interviews, stunning vintage images and a few recipes to pop the cap on Charm City's brewing history.

Since Mary Pickersgill sewed Old Glory on the floor of a local brewery, Baltimore has been a beer-drinking town. At the turn of the nineteenth century, German immigrants erected elaborate breweries and leafy beer gardens, and the thirteen awful years of Prohibition only whetted the city's thirst for frosty pints. By the 1950s, Gunther and National Bohemian had joined advertising forces with the Orioles and the Colts in a spirited battle with American, Free State and Arrow for the palates and wallets of the Chesapeake Bay's burgeoning beer-drinking population. Baltimore beer scholar and journalist Rob Kasper traces the sudsy story from the days when alehouses lined the Jones Falls to the tales behind the current crop of local brewers who are fermenting a craft brew revival.

Vermonters love all things local, so it is no surprise that the Green Mountain State has had a thriving craft beer scene for more than 20 years.

Early Vermont brewers faced a strong uphill struggle however, as a state-imposed alcohol prohibition began in 1852, and continued well after the ending of federal prohibition. Conditions remained unfavorable until Greg Noonan, founder of Vermont Pub & Brewery, championed brewing legislation that opened the door for all breweries and pubs in the 1980s. About the same time, the now beloved Catamount also began brewing, and Vermont’s craft beer scene exploded. Years ahead of the rest of the country, local favorites like Hill Farmstead, Long Trail, and Rock Art Brewing have provided world-class beer to grateful patrons. From small upstarts to well-recognized national brands like Magic Hat and Harpoon, Vermont boasts more breweries per capita than any other state in the country. With brewer interviews and historic recipes included, discover the sudsy story of beer in Vermont.

North Jersey residents have enjoyed frothy pints since the first brewhouse opened in Hoboken in 1641. Brewing was big in the Garden State prior to Prohibition, and by 1900, more than fifty breweries were in operation. Nearly half of them—like Krueger—were located in Newark. The dry reign of Prohibition and the region's proximity to major cities made it a hub for bootleggers and gangsters like Longy Zwillman and Waxey Gordon. Even after the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, North Jersey brewing sputtered. Some independent breweries like Ballantine restarted operation, but it wasn't until the 1990s that the region saw a craft brewing renaissance. Today, Jerseyans enjoy premium ales and lagers from breweries like Climax, River Horse and New Jersey Beer Company. Beer writer Chris Morris explores the origins and the new revolution of brewing in North Jersey.

It's no secret that Louisville is one of America's bourbon capitals, but the Derby City once thrived as a brewing mecca as well, rivaling even St. Louis and Milwaukee with its crisp lagers and Kentucky Common Ale. German settlers arrived with centuries-old brewing traditions and beer gardens, cementing beer and barrooms in Louisville's culture. Following Prohibition, the big three--Falls City, Fehr's and Oertel's--kept traditions alive while ingraining iconic brands into the city's fabric and heritage. More recently, craft brewers like BBC, Apocalypse Brew Works and New Albanian Brewing Company have drawn on this rich history. Kick back with Louisville food and beverage journalist Kevin Gibson as he traces Louisville's beer history with stories from the past, interviews and plenty of photos that bring this intoxicating story to life.

Imagine the jubilation of thirsty citizens in 1796 when the Washington Brewery--the city's first brewery--opened. Yet the English-style ales produced by the early breweries in the capital and in nearby Arlington and Alexandria sat heavy on the tongue in the oppressive Potomac summers. By the 1850s, an influx of German immigrants gave a frosty reprieve to their new home in the form of light but flavorful lagers. Brewer barons like Christian Heurich and Albert Carry dominated the taps of city saloons until production ground to a halt with the dry days of Prohibition. Only Heurich survived, and when the venerable institution closed in 1956, Washington, D.C., was without a brewery for fifty-five years. Author and beer scholar Garrett Peck taps this high-gravity history while introducing readers to the bold new brewers leading the capital's recent craft beer revival.

Montana's brewing history stretches back more than 150 years to the state's days as a territory. But the art of brewing in Montana has come a long way since the frontier era. Today, nearly forty craft breweries span the Treasure State, and the quality of their output rivals the best craft beer produced anywhere in the country. Maybe it's because there's also a little piece of Montana in every glass, as the state's brewers pride themselves on using cold mountain water and locally sourced barley harvested from Montana's ample fields. From grain to glass,  Montana Beer: A Guide to Breweries in Big Sky Country tells the story of the brewers and breweries that make the Treasure State's brew so special.