Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer [Perfect Paperback]

Amy Mittelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

Brewing Battles is the comprehensive story of the American brewing industry and its leading figures, from its colonial beginnings to the present. Although today s beer companies have their roots in pre-Prohibition business, historical developments since Repeal have affected industry at large, brewers, and the tastes and habits of beer-drinking consumers as well.

Brewing Battles explores the struggle of German immigrant brewers to establish themselves in America, within the context of federal taxation and a growing temperance movement, their losing battle against Prohibition, their rebirth and transformation into a corporate oligarchy, and the determination of home and micro brewers to reassert craft as the "raison d etre" of brewing.

Brewing Battles looks at beer s cultural meaning from the vantage point of the brewers and their goals for market domination. Beer consumption changed over time, beginning with an alcoholic high in the early 19th century and ending with a neo-temperance low in the early 21st. The public places where people drank also changed from colonial ordinaries in peoples homes to the saloon and back to home via the disposable six pack. The book explores this story as brewers fought to create and control these changing patterns of consumption.

Drinking alcohol has remained a favored activity in American society and while beer is ubiquitous, our country harbors a persistent ambivalence about drinking. An examination of how the industry prevailed in a sometimes unreceptive environment exemplifies how business helps shape public opinion.

Brewing Battles reveals the complicated changes in the economic clout of the industry. Prior to the institution of the income tax in 1913 the liquor industry contributed over 50% of the federal government s internal revenue; 19th century temperance advocates portrayed the liquor industry as King Alcohol. Today their tax contribution is only 1% yet brewing actually has a much more pervasive influence, touching on almost every aspect of modern American life and contributing greatly to the GNP. Brewing Battles is this story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Book release party on tap in Amherst

If news reports about the war in Iraq have got you down, let me recommend some reading about a more enjoyable set of hostilities: "Brewing Battles" by Amherst author Amy Mittelman. Mittelman, who holds a doctorate in history (with a focus on alcohol production - more on that later) from Columbia University, recently published this exhaustive tome which touches on numerous aspects of brewing history in the United States. "Brewing Battles" (published by Algora Publishing) peers through a glass brightly at the American brewing industry from colonial days to the present. From the early days of the nation, through the struggles of German immigrant brewers to establish themselves up to Prohibition and the modern craft beer movement, the book leaves no stone - or coaster - unturned in its search for how beer has affected both American culture and government. Mittelman said she decided to write the book for several reasons. "I had done earlier work on the liquor industry and I saw so many areas of change, but also of continuity," she said. "If you look at what brewers said in the 19th century, it's not that different than what they say today and I wanted to explore that. I also felt that the whole nexus of alcohol and government income before Prohibition was fascinating." This nexus to which Mittelman refers is the fact that prior to the institution of the income tax in 1913, the liquor industry taxation provided more than 50 percent of the federal government's internal revenue. It was when she learned this fact years ago, she said, that led her to focus on alcohol production in her doctoral program. With her background, Mittelman could have chosen other alcoholic beverages for the topic of her book, but she believed beer was the right choice. "When I was looking at it, I wanted something with a long historical span and the history of beer appeared more cohesive," she said. "There were also more identifiable players in the beer industry. Beer has a more indispensable everyday image." Mittelman said while she wasn't necessarily surprised by anything during her research for the book, she was amazed by several things. I was amazed how modern those 19th century brewers were in how they approached economic and government issues," she said. "And if you look at the modern period, beer has achieved the goal of those early German brewers to make it a national beverage." The book also looks at how brewers shape changing patterns of American alcohol consumption: What we drink, how we drink and even where we drink. And be forewarned, this is not light reading, nor a book to be read after more than one or two beers. There are footnotes and references that rival the most scholarly of publications. "I wanted to write a book that was easy to read but one that was also well-researched," Mittelman said. Although larger breweries continue to merge and craft brewers make inroads into the market, Mittelman sees little changing in brewing's foreseeable future. "I think we really have had a two-tiered industry for a while now and we'll probably continue to have that," she said. "Going back a long way in 1880s, when some brewers started adding corn to make a lighter beer, there was always a percentage of market that wanted hoppier beers, and that's who the microbrewers are serving today." George Lenker ---- Springfield Republican, February 21, 2008

Brewing Battles is a study of the relations between government and the beer industry, specifically on the impact of taxation and the industry s continuing struggle to keep the forces of temperance at bay. The descriptions of the cultural history of beer, featuring the barons who developed dynastic businesses, add the froth. . . Brewing Battles offers the historian and beer enthusiast alike a competent overview of an important industry. --Business History Review, Harvard University

Attention beer lovers: This one's for you Everyone knows the name Sam Adams - if not the beer then the colonial-era patriot and prominent maltster who encouraged home production and consumption of beer. But fewer are familiar with Colonel Jacob Ruppert. The George Steinbrenner of the mid-20th century, Ruppert owned the New York Yankees from 1914 until his death in 1939. He also owned the Ruppert Brewery, which had million-barrel sales prior to Prohibition and was a leader of the brewing industry during Prohibition and Repeal. Babe Ruth was at his deathbed and over 15,000 people attended his funeral including Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Lou Gehrig. Such tidbits of American breweriana are available in a new book by Amherst historian and writer Amy Mittelman. "Brewing Battles: The History of American Beer" (Algora Publishing, 2007) is a story of the American brewing industry and its leading figures, from colonial days to the present. The chronicle includes the story of the struggle of German immigrant brewers to establish themselves in America, and the more recent emergence of micro-brewers. -- Amherst Bulletin December 14, 2007

Mittelman, historian and writer, provides a detailed history of American beer in this book that spans the early Colonial days to the present. American beer has been influenced by many German and Czech immigrants who brought their brewing expertise to the US and founded many breweries. The important topics of taxation and regulation of alcoholic beverages are comprehensively described. Organizations such as the United States Brewers Organization, which enabled brewers to work cooperatively together, are a significant part of the history. Prohibition, dry geographic regions, and the legal drinking age have all impacted the brewing industry. As young adults began to drive regularly, auto accidents associated with alcohol consumption became an issue, and organizations such as Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) were established. Technology issues, such as the sterilization of beer and the development of better containers, are also part of this history. The work contains eight chapters and includes many references for those who want to read original sources. Summing up: RECOMMENDED ALL READERS. --CHOICE Magazine, May 2008

Strange Brew By Sarah Gibbons Since German brewers first attempted to institute themselves in America and effectively created the brewing industry, beer has gone from marginalized to outlawed to mass-produced. For many, the act of drinking beer is no longer in pursuit of effect, but is rather a thing of taste. Amherst writer Amy Mittelman's love of beer extends beyond taste. Inspired by the number of establishments in the area that celebrate beer and make legions of micro-brews available to more discerning imbibers, Mittelman penned Brewing Battles, a comprehensive history of American beer and its journey from humble beginnings to its current iconic status. ---- Valley Advocate February 20, 2008

About the Author

Amy Mittelman holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University, with a special focus on the politics of alcohol production, and a bachelor s degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts. She is the author of "Who Will Pay the Tax" and "A Conflict of Interest" as well as many reference articles.

Amy has taught history at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hampshire College and Mount Holyoke. She has taught nursing at Holyoke Community College, and she worked as a nurse for four years in a methadone clinic.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Algora Publishing (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875865720
• ISBN-13: 978-0875865720
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complimentary Approach To American Brewing History, December 15, 2007

By 

Robert F. Skilnik "toddlintown" (Plainfield, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer (Perfect Paperback)

It's hard to change history, so for me, a lot of Mitelman's efforts initially seemed old hat. The more I read, however, the more I began finding good examples in "Brewing Battles" that helped fill, in depth, some of the more generalized history I had relied on for some of my secondary sources for "Beer: A History of Brewing in Chicago and my latest book, Beer & Food: An American History.

Both of these books tend towards a combination of brewing history with a hearty mix of marketing, warts and all, so Mittelman's slant to U.S. brewing history, with a tax and economics approach, was a refreshing change. As an interesting example; Prior to the institution of the income tax in 1913 the liquor industry contributed over 50% of the federal government's internal revenue. Without the new tax revenues from the 1913 taxing laws, would National Prohibition have ever been considered by Congress? Seems highly unlikely. Congress had a new cash cow.

In the same sense, it was the Stock Market crash and the Depression that had FDR willingly agree to Repeal. Beer, wine and booze meant much needed tax revenues. Income taxes, after all, meant little when so many were out of work.

Brewing Battles demonstrates a more knowledgable and expansive approach to colonial and U.S. brewing histories than Maureen Ogle's "Ambitious Brew." Ogle's skipping of 250 years of colonial and early U.S. brewing efforts and the beginning of her story around 1840--because she felt there was no real brewing history prior to 1840--was a big mistake. Her countering of this 250 year deficit with a gushing 100 pages of a mere 30 years of craft beer history made little sense to me, and a good number of book and blog reviewers too.

Mittelman starts at the beginning, where any good history book should.

I highly recommended Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer.

1.0 out of 5 stars Too academic, January 4, 2012

By 

UNCguy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer (Hardcover)

Congrats to Amy for being no doubt one of the few female authors to delve into writing about beer. Unfortunately, her book is terrible. It reads like an academic thesis, full of information but dry, dry, dry. While true I can still remember some facts years later, I think I can best sum up my opinion with the lament, Amy you made beer boring.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so good, November 20, 2011

By 

David E. Axel - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer (Hardcover)

This book certainly has a lot of information but the writing style is dry and academic and has you bouncing around among seemingly unrelated facts. I did not ever bother finishing this book and must say there are better options.