Brewing in Milwaukee is part of the Images of America series from Arcadia Books. In a nutshell (or mash tun) it is a set of old-time photographs with a little accompanying text before each chapter detailing the history of Brewing in Milwaukee Wisconsin.
Another way to look at it is like an exhibit at a local history museum. As with the Yuengling book that I reviewed earlier. I loved the photographs and I just wish there had been more text or a timeline or something to accompany it. That is probably more a reflection of my greedy nature.
But here is what I took away from this addition to the historical beer canon….
– fire was always a menace to these breweries. No OSHA apparently.
– there was a Weissbier brewery by the name of Gipfel
– beer deliver in winter was perilous
– seems like the beer barons married into the business
– lots of clay bottles used back then
– wish some of these old buildings could have been repurposed, not razed
– Schlitz was 8 city blocks big!
And much more. If you are a fan of beer history this is great stuff about a brewing city that is not talked about much anymore sadly.
