Beer: A History of Brewing in Chicago

by Bob Skilnik

Skilnik takes readers back in time to the beginnings of an industry that once wielded tremendous influence, wealth, and power over Chicago. He goes on to describe a contemporary Chicago, where some of the biggest national breweries battle to fill the void left by the closing of the last local old-time brewery. Serving up a heady dose of brewing history, BEER takes you back to the Great Chicago Fire and the Roaring Twenties, the days of Al Capone and Prohibition. It chronicles the invasion of Chicago by Milwaukee breweries and the eventual supremacy of national beer brands in the Windy City. Much more than a timeline, BEER is a definitive but fun-to-read volume that offers a rich history of Chicago against the backdrop of its booming and ultimately doomed brewing industry. Filled with anecdotes and little-known facts, it1s a treasure for history buffs, Chicago fans, beer connoisseurs, and collectors of brewerania.

Genres: History, Beer, American

416 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2006

Reviews

[Viral · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and informative history of the complex and fascinating history of beer brewing in Chicago! There's a lot of history here, and while this book was written at the nadir of quality beer in America (before the craft beer explosion in the late 2000s/early 2010s), there's still so much here that's worth learning about! Cheers!

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read examining the culture, history, and politics surrounding the Chicago beer industry. I found the parts touching on the relationship between economics and taste the most fascinating, like how lager beers were initially seen as foreign but gradually became the working class drink of choice. For a city like Chicago, beer isn't just a niche or pet topic, either. It played a profoundly important role in defining the saloon culture, in making Chicago the center of the ice industry, and in funding the city through liquor taxes. It is surprising that more historians haven't taken beer history more seriously, choosing to focus primarily on the repercussions of prohibition. Skilnik makes a really interesting case for thinking about some aspects of corruption in Chicago politics stemming from these industries as more part of ethnic conflict and economic necessity forced on brewers through international competition in the early days. Certainly, as a graduate of one of Chicago scientific brewing schools (Siebel Institute), Skilnik maintains a very sympathetic perspective on the brewers, which may not always have been warranted (for example, the US Brewers Association funneled money to German organizations in WWI, etc). If you keep this potential bias in mind, it's still a very interesting book.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The near north and near south sides of Chicago used to be packed with breweries who supplied local bars and even provided home delivery. Now, nearly none exist. So what happened?

That was the driving question behind Skilnik's decision to write this book. He provides a number of interesting ideas that go beyond the usual "prohibition destroyed the brewing industry."

Beyond that, the book also takes an interesting look at the ways in which brewing and politics have been intertwined throughout the city's history, and the influence on architecture made by the distinctive style of Chicago breweries.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed a good amount of this - there is far more information on brewery sales figures and mergers than I'm really interested in. But it's also full of interesting history, entertainingly told (and I learned which fancy industrial condos near my house are a former brewery!). I'll look forward to reading his account of all the fun new craft breweries starting up in the last decade or so...

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating history of the brewing industry in Chicago from it's origins with the beginning of the city to the collapse of the local beet industry. A very interesting read interlaced with gang history, prohibition and local cultural history

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Chicago History it's OK. The best part is the story is the prohibition-era brewing and it's effect on the years shortly thereafter. After that, it's a bit of a disappointing list of old breweries long gone written in a style that is not too captivating.

[Radish]

in progress