Books for the Beer Lover in Your Life.

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.

California's Gold Country, known historically as the Mother Lode, is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was here that the famous goldfields of the Gold Rush were located. From 1849 onward, thousands of miners flooded into the area. These men brought with them a powerful thirst, which they sought to slake with their beverage of choice--beer. As quickly as rudimentary towns were established, breweries were erected to supply miners with their desired drink. These breweries produced regionally crafted beers for surrounding populations, and some gained national and international recognition. Many also housed saloons, which became an integral part of these foothill communities. A number of these establishments remained in operation until Prohibition, which ended most local brewing. This volume seeks to document the Gold Country breweries and the brewers who operated them.

The Straub Brewery was founded in the 1870s by German immigrant Peter Straub. At the age of 19, during the rise in German nationalism, Straub left his home and family in search of the American dream. Today, the Straub Brewery remains one of the oldest breweries in the country and is still owned and operated by its founding family, now into its sixth generation. The Straub Brewery takes great pride in producing Straub beer and the award-winning Straub Light, which are distributed throughout Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio and enjoyed by fans from around the world. Straub Brewery illustrates the evolution of this Pennsylvania landmark business, which has spanned three centuries. From the days when Straub beer was delivered in wooden kegs by horse and buggy to the newest stainless steel kegs that are delivered via semitruck, Straub Brewery takes readers on an unprecedented and thirst-quenching tour of the operation. This pictorial history unearths the Straub family legacy, the brewing process, and the events that have secured the brewery's "eternal tap" on history.

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.

Taverns, saloons, and restaurants have always played an important role in the development of large American cities like Detroit. Historically Detroiters probably regarded their neighborhood watering hole as no more than a place to drink and discuss politics. In fact, these gathering places also served as the backdrop for important social, civic, and economic events that impacted the lives of residents and affected urban development. Detroit's Historic Drinking Establishments traces the evolution of these places from the city's roots as a fur-trapping settlement to Detroit's dominance as a manufacturing giant. Using historical images from a number of sources including the Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical and Virtual Motor City Collections and the Detroit Historical Museum, this book paints a vivid picture of early Detroit as a destination highly prized for its abundant natural
resources and its incomparable hospitality.

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.

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.

Beginning in the mid-1800s, the beer-brewing industry in Cleveland experienced its most extensive growth due to the rapidly increasing immigrant population of mostly Germans,
Czechs, and Irish. The breweries enjoyed great success until the Prohibition era closed all brewing operations down for 14 dry years. In 1933, the industry started anew, and
Clevelanders were able to enjoy locally made beer for 50 more years before business conditions led to the industry's second demise. Today the industry has once again experienced a rebirth, this time on a smaller scale with the
emergence of a number of popular brewpubs and microbreweries.

Brewing in New Hampshire explores the fascinating history of the state's beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, when it was home and tavern based, to today's modern breweries. The book's many unusual and rare illustrations document the state's earliest brewers, including its most famous brewer, Frank Jones. Many lesser-known breweries that operated here are also covered, including the state's only brewery to be owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. The book concludes with a look at the craft-brewing business in New Hampshire and is a must for anyone interested in local history or for those who simply enjoy a good New Hampshire beer and wonder how it all began.

Known for country music, antebellum homes, the Parthenon, and Civil War battlefields, Nashville also has a rich brewing history that spans 100 years. Several breweries were established in the late 1800s, but the William Gerst Brewing Company alone endured into the 20th century and even survived Prohibition. Once one of the largest breweries in the South, Gerst brewed its last batch in 1954, leaving Nashvillians unable to enjoy locally brewed beer until the dawn of the recent microbrewery revolution. Nashville Brewing offers readers a pictorial account of the William Gerst Brewing Company-an important but almost forgotten part of Nashville history.

Brewing beer in Seattle can be traced back to 1864, when in the small, unincorporated town of under 1,000 people the first brewery opened and began manufacturing porter and cream ales. Over the next 50 years, innovation and entrepreneurship would take Seattle brewed beer to extraordinary heights. By the eve of Prohibition, powered by its popular Rainier Beer, the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company was the largest industrial institution in the state of Washington and the sixth-largest brewery in the world. Prohibition would wipe out the industry in 1916, but by 1933, new faces such as Emil Sick would emerge and bring Seattle back to the forefront of the brewing world. Images of America: Brewing in Seattle is the first book completely dedicated to the rich history of beer in Seattle and showcases just about every single brewery of this great city, from the mid-1800s to the recent craft-brewery boom. It offers a rare glimpse of photographs, advertisements, and interviews from some of the innovators who helped shape Seattle into the beer lover's paradise it is today.

While Delaware maintains one of the oldest beer-brewing traditions in the United States, its history has largely been lost or forgotten over the course of nearly four centuries. Beer was a main source of sustenance to Delaware's early European settlers, and its production eventually became one of the young colony's first industries. From its humble colonial beginnings, beer production grew to become one of the state's largest and most profitable industries. National Prohibition put a temporary end to the golden age of brewing in Delaware; however, the industry made a modest recovery after repeal. The state's two remaining breweries ultimately fell victim to larger, better funded regional and national concerns. There would be no brewing in Delaware for the next four decades. The remarkable popularity of craft beer in the 1990s fueled a brewing revival in the state, punctuated by Delaware's nationally recognized, award-winning breweries.

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.