Brewed in Detroit: Breweries and Beers Since 1830

Great Lakes Books Series

by Peter H. Blum

Brewed in Detroit describes the history of the brewing industry in the Detroit metropolitan area (including Ann Arbor, Mt. Clemens, Pontiac, Windsor, Wyandotte, and Ypsilanti) from its beginning in the 1830s to the present revival by microbrewers and brewpubs.

A historian and trained veteran of the brewing industry, Peter H. Blum divides Detroit brewing history into seven distinct the early Anglo-Saxon ale brewers, the German brewers who arrived after 1848, the rise of brewing dynasties in the 1880s, Prohibition, the return of beer in the era after repeal in 1933, the war years, and the postwar competition.

Each brewery's story is told in terms of the individuals and families who started the enterprise, and chronicles their fortunes and failures. The book concludes with a compilation of every brewery in Detroit of which there is a record, brand names of all beers and ales marketed in Detroit, production figures of all Detroit breweries since 1933, a glossary of technical terms, and an index.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Beer

358 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Brian Melchers]

Many breweries began at people’s homes and over time became regional. Then the big national breweries dominated the market, but microbreweries are coming back. I really enjoyed getting to see my ancestor’s beer castle in Detroit and reading stories about immigrants and their business adventures in the 1800s.

[baggyparagraphs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as the primary source for my column in DBusiness ("Detroit's Premier Business Journal"). The piece, for the March issue, is about the history of Stroh's Beer. Peter H. Blum used to work for Stroh's and had access to their archives. His writing is impeccable; this is one of the finest works of local history I've ever come across, and it does a beautiful job of tying local events to national and even international currents.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great reference and very readable, though admittedly I didn't read every chapter. Very well-researched information about Detroit-area brewing history. Peter Blum was the archivist for the Stroh Brewing Company, so naturally there's a lot more information about the Stroh brand compared to the other breweries (mostly family-owned as well) in the area.

[Gregory Tait · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. As a homebrewer it was interesting to see how many different breweries were in Detroit at the turn of the century. It very sad to read how they declined. Now with so many brewpubs in the Detroit it has come full circle. A Renaissance for sure.