History

Although Pittsburgh is best known for the many steel mills that have dotted its landscape, it has also been a major center for the brewing of beer and ale throughout its history.

Since 1765, when common beer was first brewed for British soldiers at Fort Pitt, the city has produced a tremendous amount of beer to quench the thirst of steelworkers who toiled in the city's mills. Brands like Iron City, Duquesne (or ""Duke""), Rolling Rock, and Stoney's are still known in the area today, while old-timers might remember names like Fort Pitt, E&O, Carnegie, and Dutch Club, among others. Many towns surrounding Pittsburgh, such as McKeesport, Latrobe, and Aliquippa, were also home to breweries that thrived for many years. Through more than 220 historic images, Brewing in Greater Pittsburgh looks at the most prominent brewers in the Greater Pittsburgh area, covering Allegheny, Beaver, Westmoreland, and other neighboring counties.

Drink up the history of one of the most famous beer towns in the world.

Milwaukee is most famous for its booming brewing industry, which is directly tied to a surge in German immigration in the 1840s. These new citizens brought along their work ethic, culture, and a love for their native beverage. Not all immigrants arrived from Europe; many, like Richard Owens, came from Britain. Owens has been credited with establishing the first commercial brewery in the area in 1840. Other men followed, many of whom were already experienced in brewing, and seized the opportunity to start new businesses. Brand names were carved on the front of brewery buildings, deals were made with a handshake, partnerships were cultivated, and factory cities were raised. By 1860, nearly 200 breweries were in operation in Wisconsin, with more than 40 in Milwaukee alone. Of the original 40, four have stood the test of time: Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller are still brewed in Milwaukee, right where they were born.

Discover and celebrate the untapped history of Philadelphia beer.

The finely aged history of Philadelphia brewing has been fermenting since before the crack appeared in the Liberty Bell.

By the time thirsty immigrants made the city the birthplace of the American lager in the nineteenth century, Philadelphia was already on the leading edge of the country's brewing technology and production. Today, the City of Brotherly Love continues to foster that enterprising spirit of innovation with an enviable community of bold new brewers, beer aficionados and brewing festivals. Pennsylvania brewery historian Rich Wagner takes readers on a satisfying journey from the earliest ale brewers and the heyday of lager beer through the dismally dry years of Prohibition and into the current craft-brewing renaissance

Milwaukee, the Beer Capital of the World, has a long and ""spirited"" history.

Crack open the first complete history of Brew City booze. Discover how Milwaukee's ""rum holes"" weathered Prohibition and which Jones Island barkeep owned the longest mustaches. Copy down the best recipe involving Sprecher Special Amber, Rainbow Trout and sauerkraut. Sample the rich heritage of Pabst, Schlitz, Gettleman and Miller: the folk who turned Milwaukee into the Beer Capital of the World. And save some room for the more recent contributions of distillers and craft-brewers that continue to make the city an exciting place for the thoughtful drinker.

It started flowing during the gold rush, when saloons were much more than just a place to grab a drink. They were post offices, restaurants, hotels, social clubs, union halls, and more. But then, Colorado banned alcohol—four years before Prohibition hit the rest of the country—and a state born in a saloon ran dry for almost twenty years. Beer led the way back, and by the 1970s, brewing was big business again—really big business. Now, homebrewers have gone pro, and Colorado is one of the best places in the world to grab a brew. Join historians Sam Bock and Jason Hanson on a tour of Colorado history as seen through a pint glass. More than just a tale of ale, this is Colorado’s story—told over a few beers.

“This isn’t just a book about beer. It's a book about us. The beauty of beer is that it intertwines with so many other aspects of life—history, cultural significance, and economic impact. Bock and Hanson explore those threads offering a unique understanding as to why Colorado has become a thriving hub for beer culture! The stories, insights, as well as the connection to present day and the future of brewing is the perfect read for anyone. Bonus—you have permission to enjoy a cold brew while reading!” —Karen Hertz, Chief Brewista and Founder, Holidaily Brewing Company

Through vintage photographs, Narragansett Brewing Company chronicles the fascinating history, tragic fall, and exciting rebirth of this local icon.

Narragansett Brewing Company was developed in 1890 by German American descendants in Cranston. Taking advantage of an underground aquifer, the company also made ice for thousands of customers. During Prohibition, the brewery continued to make and deliver ice, as well as a type of soda. After the repeal of Prohibition, the Haffenreffer family purchased the brewery and began recalling previous workers to help restore the brewery and bring it to the highest production rate ever. After World War II, advertising manager Jack Haley shifted the company focus to hospitality with the now famous slogan, ""Hi Neighbor, Have a 'Gansett!"" Before long, Narragansett was the number one beer in New England. Through vintage photographs, Narragansett Brewing Company chronicles the fascinating history, tragic fall, and exciting rebirth of this local icon.

For most, beer is a beverage. To a brave few, it’s a lifestyle.

In Tanked in Cincinnati, Mike Morgan and Bret Kollmann Baker drink a few brews with the region’s most legendary brewers, beer reps, and bar owners and take a soul-searching look at why some great ideas succeed wildly, and others ignite a dumpster fire. Along the way, they embrace the nostalgia for the early days in craft beer, answer what it’s like to be the number one enemy of Anheuser-Busch, and ask hard hitting questions like, “Why are there so many kids in this tap room?”

With interviews from Jim Koch of Boston Beer Co., “Mr. Cincinnati” Jim Tarbell, “Beer Dave” Gausepohl, Scott LaFollette of the late Blank Slate, Bryant Goulding of Rhinegeist Brewing Co., and more, Morgan and Kollmann Baker discover how a city once synonymous with America’s best beer lost its beer identity and then reclaimed it with a vengeance.

Despite a brewing pedigree richer than that of Milwaukee or St. Louis, Cincinnati’s role in American beer history is quite often underappreciated.

Drawing on years of research, Michael D. Morgan, author of the award-winning Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King, tackles this subject with a fresh perspective. Complete with new findings, the true story of the city’s first brewer comes to light, as do the oft-heralded deeds - and overlooked misdeeds - of the beer barons who built empires their progeny drove to ruins. From the story of the Scottish brewery that made Cincy famous for English ales, through forgotten Prohibition political scandals, to the birth and rise of the modern craft beer movement, Cincinnati Beer explores previously untold stories of our beer-soaked past.

Over-the-Rhine is a place where a building owner can stumble upon huge caverns underneath a basement floor or find long-forgotten tunnels that travel far below city streets.

ts present mysteries are attributable to a past that transcends the common story of how cities change over time: it is the story of how a clash between immigrants and real Americans helped rob Cincinnati of its image, its soul and its economy. In the 1870s, OTR was comparable to the cultural hearts of Paris and Vienna. By the turn of the last century, the neighborhood was home to roughly three hundred saloons and had over a dozen breweries within or adjacent to its borders. It was beloved by countless citizens and travelers for the exact reasons that others successfully sought to destroy it. This is the story of how the heart of the Paris of America became a time capsule.

Pittsburgh's drinking culture is a story of its people: vibrant, hardworking and innovative. During Prohibition, the Hill District became a center of jazz, speakeasies and creative cocktails.

In the following decades, a group of Cuban bartenders brought the nightlife of Havana to a robust café culture along Diamond Street. Disco clubs gripped the city in the 1970s, and a music-centered nightlife began to grow in Oakland with such clubs as the Electric Banana. Today, pioneering mixologists are forging a new and exciting bar revival in the South Side and throughout the city. Pull up a stool and join Cody McDevitt and Sean Enright as they trace the history of Steel City drinking, along with a host of delicious cocktail recipes.

Asheville, North Carolina has a long history with beer, one that is still easily seen in this city today, from moonshine to craft beers and breweries.

Drinking local harks back to the founding of Asheville in 1798. Whether it be moonshine or craft beer, the culture of local hooch is deeply ingrained in the mountain dwellers of Western North Carolina. Both residents and visitors alike enjoy Asheville's wealth of breweries, brewpubs, beer festivals and dedicated retailers. That enthusiasm earned the city the coveted Beer City, USA title year after year and prompted West Coast beer giants Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Oskar Blues to establish production facilities here. Beer writer and educator Anne Fitten Glenn recounts this intoxicating history, from the suds-soaked saloons of ""Hell's Half Acre"" to the region's explosion into a beer Mecca.

Winnebago County has long been a bellwether of Wisconsin beer making.

In the mid-1800s, German immigrants launched small breweries in Butte des Morts, Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh and Winneconne. By the 1950s, breweries such as Walter Brothers, Peoples and the Oshkosh Brewing Company had a combined output of more than 100,000 barrels of beer annually, and iconic brands like Gem Pilsener and Chief Oshkosh were known across the state. This rich tradition continues today with the rise of modern craft breweries in Omro, Oshkosh and Neenah. Local author and founder of the Oshkosh Beer website Lee Reiherzer reveals stories behind the breweries, past and present, that fostered an enduring beer culture.

Dating all the way back to 1812, the history of brewing in Cincinnati is a long and illustrious narrative. These days, Cincinnati's brewing culture is experiencing a multifaceted renaissance with a promising outlook.

In the mid-19th century, the Queen City's rapidly expanding German population definitively transformed the industry, making Cincinnati one of the nation's foremost brewing centers. Principally based in the vibrant Over-the-Rhine district, the golden age of brewing in Cincinnati saw the creation of architecturally spectacular brewery structures, a proliferation of related industries, as well as an abundance of saloons and beer gardens. The enactment of Prohibition crippled this formerly booming industry, however, and although local brewers returned to revive their tradefollowing the repeal of Prohibition, the industry would never regain its former prominence. Cincinnati's Brewing History offers a concise overview of the history of brewing and beer culture in the region through vintage and contemporary images, as well as brewing collectibles.

Throughout its rich history, Baltimore has been known by many names: Mobtown, the Land of Pleasant Living, or Charm City to name a few.

Perhaps ""Beer Town"" would have been more appropriate. Several pivotal events in Maryland's history involved the brewing industry. Baltimore brewers were vital to building the fledgling town into the bustling city it is today. These brewers established some of the earliest churches in Baltimore. Eagle Brewery's Harry Von der Horst helped build the Orioles into a pennant-winning team in the 1890s. Mary Pickersgill sewed the stars upon the Star Spangled Banner on the floor of Brown's Brewery during the War of 1812.

Charlotte has entered a golden age of craft brewing. Join author Daniel Hartis for a journey into the center of this of the Queen City's beer scene.

While the fermented frenzy of Charlotte's craft brewing fans may feel altogether new, it evokes a forgotten heritage that dates back to colonial days. Beginning with Captain James Jack, whose tavern was a Patriot haven burned by the British during the American Revolution.

Local beer writer, and founder of charlottebeer.com, author Daniel Hartis follows a frothy trail through the highs and lows of this sudsy story. Grab a pint and discover how Prohibition took hold of Charlotteans. Ruminate over odes to beer by the Brew Pub Poets Society, and sample the personality and spirit on tap today around this North Carolina city. Charlotte Beer includes photos and a foreword by the Executive Director of the North American Guild of Beer Writers, Win Bassett.

Indianapolis Beer Stories is a time capsule of tales from the city's early taverns, to a pre-Prohibition golden era, to today's modern craft beer scene.

Meet the ghosts of Indy's brewing past. Discover the very beginning of beer in Indiana's new capital and the pioneers who carved a path for a future industry. Uncover the legacy of a bygone brewing giant. Learn how one spontaneous decision to cross the treacherous Rocky Mountains led to a booming craft beer scene in Indiana.

Indiana native Amy Beers, a Certified Cicerone® and owner/operator of Drinking with Beers, leads a heady tour of yesterday and today in Circle City brewing.

More than three hundred breweries have churned out the good stuff for thirsty Hoosiers, and this city-by-city guide gives readers a sample of every spot, allowing time to savor the flavor while sharing the hidden aspects, like the brave and hearty brewers who assisted the Underground Railroad and survived Prohibition. The unmistakable Hoosier personality and spirit shine in the classic labels and advertisements, many of which are displayed here in vibrant color. Join Indiana beer enthusiasts Bob Ostrander and Derrick Morris of hoosierbeerstory.com on a pub crawl through this state's proud beer history.

Celebrate the life and libations of Pierre Celis, the Hoegaargarden legend who resurrected witbier and established Austin's first craft brewery.

A former milkman in the small village of Hoegaargarden, Pierre Celis opened a brewery that brought back the extinct witbier style of Belgium and rejuvenated an Old World tradition throughout Europe. Following a devastating fire in his native country, the godfather of witbier set up shop in Austin. Pierre's passion took fresh shape in the form of Celis Beer and influenced an entire generation of hopheads. His daughter Christine revived the brand in 2017, yet another chapter in a story full of fresh starts to venerable institutions. Jeremy Banas raises a glass to a unmatched brewmaster and his belief that beer makes friendships.

Jacksonville has always been a beer city, with its numerous saloons, bars, and taverns from the 1800s into the present-day era where breweries have now become the dominant feature of the local brewing industry. The brewing industry in Jacksonville began to take shape in the early 1900s with the Jax Brewing Company, which was founded in 1913 and brewed the Jax Beer brand. The New Orleans–based Jackson Brewing Company, which also had a Jax Beer brand, acquired the full rights to sell Jax Beer in the southeastern United States, leading to the Jax Brewing Company closing by 1960. Then the establishment of an Anheuser-Busch plant in Jacksonville in the 1960s drove the local brewing industry out of business due to the increase of more popular brands like Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch continued to fill the void that local breweries left until the advent of the microbrewery industry, which began to take shape in the 1990s with River City Brewing Company. In the 2010s, the brewing industry grew substantially in Jacksonville. By 2024, there were more than 20 breweries and still growing. Brewing in Jacksonville chronicles the history of the local brewing industry from its early days to how breweries gradually gave the Bold City its reputation as a top beer city.

Andrew R. Nicholas is a historian and native of North Florida. He graduated from University of North Florida, majoring in history, and is a member of the Jacksonville Historical Society. The photographs used for Brewing in Jacksonville come from the State Archives of Florida, Jacksonville Historical Society, Beaches Museum, and local residents of Jacksonville.

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.

Michigan's beer history is as diverse as the breweries themselves, and the stories behind them are as fascinating as their tasty concoctions.

A few enterprising women found themselves at the forefront of early brewing in the state, and several early Detroit brewers also served as mayor. Pfeiffer's mascot was designed by Walt Disney Studios. Jackson's Eberle Brewing Company took its fight against local prohibition all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Silver Foam trademark embroiled disputants in a different legal fight. Renowned modern craft brewers grew from humble beginnings, often staving off financial disaster, to establish themselves as local, or even national, juggernauts.

Grab your favorite brew and join author Patti F. Smith for a look at Michigan's distant brewing past and its recent triumphs.

Central Minnesota Beer unfolds the history of the region's bountiful beers--from its storied past to its illustrious present.

German immigrants settling in Central Minnesota in the early 1800s built a thriving brewing culture. While Prohibition destroyed these early beer empires--like the St. Cloud Brewing Company and New Munich's Pitzl Brewing--the Cold Spring Brewing Company survived various reincarnations and financial crises to brew continually at the same spot since 1874.In recent years, the craft beer boom added medals and new chapters to a saga that includes Prohibition brawls, a New Deal project, the famous Billy Beer, Elvira's personal brand and a multistate brewpub chain. The rise of taproom culture throughout the region has given new identities to St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Annandale, Big Lake and more. Beer writer Jacob Laxen presents this definitive take on the region's rich brewing history.

The story of beer in Dayton and the Miami Valley is as old as the region’s first settlers, who brought their brewing methods with them from Europe. From humble origins, the Schwind brothers founded a Dayton brewing dynasty.

Adam Schantz arrived penniless and amassed a fortune as one of the city’s early brewers. Martha Vorce, one of the region’s several unheralded woman brewers, was running the Springfield Brewery a decade before Eliza “Mother” Stewart gained fame there as a temperance leader. Although Prohibition swiftly destroyed this flourishing industry, today’s local craft brewers promise to keep good beer and good times flowing for many years to come. Join local author Tim Gaffney as he explores the Valley’s brewing heritage.

Although often overshadowed by Milwaukee's brewing reputation, Green Bay has its own rich and proud brewing heritage.

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Blesch, Rahr, Hochgreve, Hagemeister and Van Dycke pioneered the art of brewing and brought the love of beer to the city and beyond. When Prohibition struck, some breweries couldn't make it, others could and some pushed the limits of the law to bring people the beer they wanted.Today, Green Bay is a thriving beer city once more. The names are different--Titletown, Hinterland, Badger State and more--but the love and passion for tasty suds remain the same. Grab a pint and join author Cameron Teske on his beer journey from 1850 through today.

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.

Despite many challenges, Phoenix has become an oasis of beer.

Phoenix’s brewing history dates back to the mid-1800s, when small breweries had to contend with brackish water, searing desert heat and no refrigeration. By the time Prohibition arrived, the state’s breweries were tapped out. It wasn’t until the 1930s that Arizona Brewing Company left the first indelible mark on the Copper State’s thirst. When its last call came, a new force called Four Peaks rose from the ashes as majestically as the mountains for which it is named. Author Dave Clark guides you from the area’s beer icons of yesterday to the rapidly evolving brewing scene of today. Discover and appreciate Phoenix beer, from the classic, clean pilsner from Helton Brewing that rivals Germany’s best to Fate’s local taste of the Southwest, Hatch Chile Gatos.