Indiana: One Pint at a Time

by Douglas Wissing

One Pint at a Time explores the history and living artisanal culture of the state s long, vibrant brewing tradition. Using regional, ethnic, and commercial lens, the book, written by Douglas A. Wissing, depicts the early nineteenth-century origins of Indiana s commercial breweries, through the early twentieth-century heyday when forty-one Hoosier breweries hustled beer, to the mid-twentieth-century consolidation and decline. The book focuses on Indiana brewing s remarkable post-1989 renaissance. Today more than thirty breweries produce award-winning craft microbrews across the state. One Pint at a Time provides a travel guide to these craft breweries, interweaving their stories with Indiana architecture, ethnicity, and regional specificity, connecting the dynamics of today with the luster of the past.

245 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2010

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has three sections to it, and I wish each section had been given more room to breath.

Section 1: the history of beer in Indiana. This sometimes devolves into “this guy bought/started this brewery, which produced this many barrels, and then had trouble and closed.” But the personal stories of these pioneers and then the impassioned views leading to and away from Prohibition made for good reading. I wanted more of the personal stories as I find that to be the compelling aspect of history.

Section 2: Brewery info and short reviews. This section is a good travelogue of where to get craft brew in Indiana, circa 2009 when the book was written. Again, I am teased by some of the personal details - I want more stories. What are these brewmasters’ favorite styles to drink? To brew? Why? There was more of a personal connection here, but not enough.

Section 3: Brewpubs and recipes. Needs more of each, especially the recipes.

An interesting read on this niche topic, but fell short of the promise I had when I first took the volume off the shelf.