Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: big beer, contract brewers, few brewers, United States, Adolphus Busch, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conventional wisdom has it that giant breweries, driven by corporate greed, have flooded the U.S. with inferior-tasting swill, and the only beer worth drinking is from scattered boutique microbrewers. Nonsense, says Ogle: companies like Miller and Anheuser-Busch are actually near-perfect embodiments of the American dream (in which "liberty nurtured ambition, and ambition fostered success")—and if their beers became noticeably blander 50 years ago, it's because consumers wanted it that way. Ogle (All the Modern Conveniences) looks back at the early years of brewers like Phillip Best, Frederick Pabst and Adolphus Busch as they rose to success making European-style beers for fellow immigrants, converting plenty of native palates along the way. Such men, she claims, should be heralded as captains of industry like Gilded Age icon J.P. Morgan. This material is strong, as is Ogle's analysis of the slow but steady rise of the Prohibition movement, but her narrative loses momentum as she tries to encompass the post–WWII era and add the most successful microbrewers to her list of heroes. Her exuberant musings on the American spirit become distracting, but there's more than enough drama in the family sagas to keep even the soberest of readers turning the pages. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

PRAISE FOR AMBITIOUS BREW

 

"A fascinating and well-documented social history that sheds fresh light on the bubbly sociable beverage."--Chicago Tribune

 

"From lager-making German immigrants to today's microbrew-meisters, a sudsy, briskly told survey of American beer. B+."--Entertainment Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

---

Product Details Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: Harvest Books (October 8, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0156033593 ISBN-13: 978-0156033596 Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,952 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #76 in  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Beer

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Maureen Ogle Page

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
big beer, contract brewers, few brewers, craft brewers, new brewers, other brewers, many brewers, most brewers, small brewers, craft brewing, new brewery, largest brewery

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Adolphus Busch, New York, Frederick Pabst, Phillip Best, Miller Brewing, New Albion, San Francisco, August Busch, Fritz Maytag, Lilly Busch, Charles Best, Los Angeles, Chestnut Street, Gus Busch, George Ehret, Jim Koch, Philip Morris, Wayne Wheeler, Anti-Saloon League, Lone Star, August Uihlein, Ken Grossman, Best Brewing, Schlitz Brewing

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	80% buy the item featured on this page: Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer 4.3 out of 5 stars (19) $10.20
	6% buy Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey 4.9 out of 5 stars (9) $10.17
	5% buy Beer in America: The Early Years--1587-1840: Beer's Role in the Settling of America and the Birth of a Nation 4.3 out of 5 stars (10) $11.53
	5% buy Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 4.1 out of 5 stars (61) $12.32

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  beer(9) history(4) american history(3) brewing(3) pabst(2) breweries(1) company profile(1) company profiles(1) miller(1) pilsner(1) See all 18 tags... Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

---

 

Customer Reviews

19 Reviews 5 star:  (9) 4 star:  (8) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.3 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A story for beer aficionado's, history buffs, or brewing insiders, November 10, 2006 By  Brett A. Saffell "Joe Sixpack" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Ambitious Brew : The Story of American Beer (Hardcover) Once I had penetrated the first three chapters of this book, I found it a fascinating and quick read. However, those first three chapters took about two weeks, despite a persistent interest in beer and brewing. I covered the remaining five chapters in two days. The first several chapters (and 40 or so years of chronology) cover the beginnings of American brewing by explaining the origins of the Best brewery (which would become Pabst), the Uihlein's (Schlitz), and Adolphus Busch. These chapters passed slowly, and didn't entertain the way that popular history can (like Winchester's A Crack in the Edge of the World or Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, Stephen Ambrose, etc). However, I was extremely engaged by everything that followed. I thought the explanation of the causes and context of Prohibition was excellent. The narrative of changes in brewing in post-World War II America (consolidation, the dawn of modern marketing) was also very interesting, and did a nice job integrating societal and business changes into that story. I erroneously thought I'd experienced first-hand the rise of craft beer in America, but Maureen did a very nice job educating me on the true origins of this trend. I was bogged down by the beginning of this book, but thrilled with the middle and end of it. This book would be a great resource for beer connoisseurs looking for an understanding of why American brewing is what it is, and as a cautionary tale for brewing executives. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Great history of American beer industry, May 28, 2009 By  AC (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews This is a very good book about the history of American brewing post-1850. If you're looking for a book that looks at brewing in colonial or early American history, this isn't going to help you. It's basically about the roots of the current American brewing industry and how it got its start with German immigrants. A lot of detail is spent on why pilsner was so popular, why American tastes changed for blander beer, and how microbrewing has changed the industry. The author's research shows that the industry was less to blame for light, pale, bland beer, and was instead a response to changing tastes of the American public. There's quite a bit of information about the interesting characters who ran the big breweries and the rise and fall of various brewing companies. 4.0 out of 5 stars great book, November 5, 2009 By  ReadWrite69 - See all my reviews I enjoyed this book immensely, being both a history buff and a beer reader. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. And then I sent it to a relative who will no doubt devour it as I did. Yes, it gets a bit dense at times, but only occasionally, and after all, it's history, so one has to expect at least a little of that. You can't go wrong with this one.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars book review Interesting but hard to follow and confusing with all of the names and companies. Jumped around alot. Published 1 month ago by Nurse 4.0 out of 5 stars Scattershot history of beer in America - focused on the big ones. This book offers a very scattered view of the history of beer in America. Rather than focusing solely on the A-B, Schlitz, or Pabsts of the world (all of whom could likely have... Read more Published 8 months ago by Jason Stokes 5.0 out of 5 stars Great read Bought it for my daughter who works at a local brewery. Said it was a great read! Published 11 months ago by Colorado Mom 5.0 out of 5 stars How the beer industry became industrial. . . . This is a business history of brewing in America. What is especially fascinating is the story of the rise of the great brewing families and the impact of Prohibition. Read more Published 12 months ago by Lynn Hoffman, author:The Short... 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book My wife bought this for my birthday, and I completely enjoyed it. Shortly after finishing it, I was in St. Louis and toured the Budweiser brewery. Read more Published 18 months ago by John Andree 4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting survey of American lager-brewing history This is a great book if you're looking to learn something about the history of American lager brewing, and in particular about the giants (and now-deceased giants) of the... Read more Published 20 months ago by Puck Mendelssohn 4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing history of American Brewing This book is a must have for a homebrewer or anyone interested in the history of American entrepreneurs. Read more Published 20 months ago by Knud A. Hermansen 5.0 out of 5 stars A stimulating epic of fascination, competition and passion for beer Ambitious Brew takes you on a journey through America, often peering with a European's eye at the wealth of opportunity in an unfolding land. Read more Published 21 months ago by Carolyn Smagalski 2.0 out of 5 stars Like a text book I've read a lot of books about beer and this one took me a long time to read. It was kind of like reading a text book because it was very 'factually detailed'. Read more Published 22 months ago by John Nixon 5.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious History Mauren Ogle has shown herself to be a historian of the first order with he latest book Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. Read more Published on October 20, 2007 by M. Stoughton Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post taste of beer 1 December 2006 › See all discussions...   [Start the discussion] Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post science intelligent design: hypothesis+mechanism+experi... = science 1106 2 seconds ago history Holocaust Denial Dissected 2781 1 minute ago science Book recommendation 2 1 minute ago history The FED at the Heart of Control of Our Country 268 28 minutes ago cooking The Temple of The 7th Day Twinkiests 2294 52 minutes ago cooking other top chef fans out there? 142 1 hour ago american history Reliable, unbiased History of the United States 21 1 day ago american history Was America Founded By Genocide? 164 1 day ago Search Customer Discussions Only search this product's forum

The Beer community Latest activity 1 hour ago 1,036 customers have contributed 636 products, 60 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The History community Latest activity 55 minutes ago 21,853 customers have contributed 28,869 products, 799 discussions and more... › Explore the community The American History community Latest activity 50 minutes ago 9,039 customers have contributed 9,614 products, 757 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums american... (33 discussions) beer (5 discussions) cooking (271 discussions) history (799 discussions) science (1023 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Beers!: A list by R Prieto "rp4pr"   brewing books: A list by Doc Dave "Doc Dave"   Nonfiction books to read: A list by Deborah Rice Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Business & Investing > Biography & History > Company Profiles
• Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions
• Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship
• Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Beer
• Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > History
• Books > History > Americas > United States
• Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Food Sciences
• Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences > Food Science

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Food And Beverage Industries (Economic Aspects)
United States History (Specific Aspects)
Cooking / Wine
History: American
Beverages - Beer
Business & Economics / Corporate & Business History
Business & Economics / Entrepreneurship
Business & Economics / Industries / General
Cooking / Beverages / Beer
Corporate & Business History - General
Food Science
History
History / United States / General
United States - General


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (October 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156033593
• ISBN-13: 978-0156033596
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,952 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #76 in

  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Beer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story for beer aficionado's, history buffs, or brewing insiders, November 10, 2006

By	Brett A. Saffell "Joe Sixpack" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ambitious Brew : The Story of American Beer (Hardcover)

Once I had penetrated the first three chapters of this book, I found it a fascinating and quick read. However, those first three chapters took about two weeks, despite a persistent interest in beer and brewing. I covered the remaining five chapters in two days.

The first several chapters (and 40 or so years of chronology) cover the beginnings of American brewing by explaining the origins of the Best brewery (which would become Pabst), the Uihlein's (Schlitz), and Adolphus Busch. These chapters passed slowly, and didn't entertain the way that popular history can (like Winchester's A Crack in the Edge of the World or Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, Stephen Ambrose, etc).

However, I was extremely engaged by everything that followed. I thought the explanation of the causes and context of Prohibition was excellent. The narrative of changes in brewing in post-World War II America (consolidation, the dawn of modern marketing) was also very interesting, and did a nice job integrating societal and business changes into that story. I erroneously thought I'd experienced first-hand the rise of craft beer in America, but Maureen did a very nice job educating me on the true origins of this trend.

I was bogged down by the beginning of this book, but thrilled with the middle and end of it. This book would be a great resource for beer connoisseurs looking for an understanding of why American brewing is what it is, and as a cautionary tale for brewing executives.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great history of American beer industry, May 28, 2009

By	AC (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a very good book about the history of American brewing post-1850. If you're looking for a book that looks at brewing in colonial or early American history, this isn't going to help you. It's basically about the roots of the current American brewing industry and how it got its start with German immigrants. A lot of detail is spent on why pilsner was so popular, why American tastes changed for blander beer, and how microbrewing has changed the industry. The author's research shows that the industry was less to blame for light, pale, bland beer, and was instead a response to changing tastes of the American public. There's quite a bit of information about the interesting characters who ran the big breweries and the rise and fall of various brewing companies.

4.0 out of 5 stars great book, November 5, 2009

By	ReadWrite69 - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book immensely, being both a history buff and a beer reader. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. And then I sent it to a relative who will no doubt devour it as I did. Yes, it gets a bit dense at times, but only occasionally, and after all, it's history, so one has to expect at least a little of that. You can't go wrong with this one.