Capital Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in Washington, D.C.

by Garrett Peck

Overview

Imagine the jubilation of thirsty citizens in 1796 when the Washington Brewery—the city's first brewery—opened. Yet the English—style ales produced by the early breweries in the capital and in nearby Arlington and Alexandria sat heavy on the tongue in the oppressive Potomac summers. By the 1850s, an influx of German immigrants gave a frosty reprieve to their new home in the form of light but flavorful lagers. Brewer barons like Christian Heurich and Albert Carry dominated the taps of city saloons until production ground to a halt with the dry days of Prohibition. Only Heurich survived, and when the venerable institution closed in 1956, Washington, D.C., was without a brewery for fifty—five years. Author and beer scholar Garrett Peck taps this high—gravity history while introducing readers to the bold new brewers leading the capital's recent craft beer revival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626194410
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Series:	American Palate
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Garrett Peck is a literary journalist and craft beer, drinking, wine—collecting, gin—loving, bourbon—sipping, Simpsons—quoting, early morning, rising history dork. He is the author of The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet and leads the Temperance Tour of Prohibition—related sites in Washington, D.C. Prohibition in Washington, D.C.: How Dry We Weren't is his second book. A native Californian and Virginia Military Institute graduate, he lives in lovely Arlington, Virginia. His website can be found at www.garrettpeck.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Greg Kitsock 11

Acknowledgements 13

Introduction 17

1 Beer Beginnings 21

2 The Germans Are Coming! The Germans Are Coming! 31

3 Port City Suds 51

4 Christian Heurich: Washington's Leading Brewer 69

5 The Beer War 85

6 An Open-Air City: Beer Gardens and Tied-House Saloons 91

7 The Road to Prohibition 107

8 The Fizz Falls Flat 119

9 Where Are the Brewers Buried? 181

10 The Craft Revival 141

Appendix: Breweries in Washington's History 167

Bibliography 175

Index 185

About the Author 189