Dane Huckelbridge
The United States of Beer: A Freewheeling History of the All-American Drink
Published by William Morrow
Aug 05, 2016 Web Exclusive
Dane Huckelbridge previously has penned a history of bourbon (Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit) and for his latest work he takes on the American staple, beer.
Huckelbridge’s history is specific to the rise of beer in the United States. He breaks his text into six chapters detailing how beer was cultivated in different areas of the country: New England, New York/Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, West, and West Coast. He talks about the Mayflower, George Washington, Native Americans, Thomas Jefferson, and the early beer barons who brought their sudsy recipes from Germany and other overseas places to build a beer market in America. He discusses the effects of Prohibition and the eventual rise of the microbrew.
Throughout The United States of Beer, there is no shortage of interesting beer-related historical facts to absorb. But if one could take any issue with the book, it’s that Huckelbridge spends most of his time detailing beer’s development in early America-Plymouth Rock, the early Midwest, the California Gold Rush period, etc.—which can cause the book to bog down in spots. Prohibition is touched on and its effects on the beer industry described, but one wants for more details about this period. Similar for the rise of the microbrew.
This all said, The United States of Beer is an eminently readable account of early beer America. Huckelbridge’s telling of the major beer makers of their day, those that gave rise to the big macrobrews of today-Anheuser-Busch, Coors, Pabst, Miller, etc.-is fascinating and sheds light on the true history of the drinks most today view as watered-down swill. And that, for certain, is something to drink to.
(www.danehuckelbridge.com) (www.harpercollins.com)
Author rating: 6.5/10
Average reader rating: 10/10
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