Once the beer capital of the U.S., Milwaukee lost many of its big breweries in the '80s but rebounded with Sprecher, Lakefront and a host of craft firms. In the latest Milwaukee installment of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, local writer Brenda Magee traces the story of local beer from the city's first brewery (established in the 1840s by Welshmen) through the massive German immigration that gave rise to the Beer Barons, the dark years of Prohibition and the contemporary world of brew pubs and micro-breweries. Photographs fill the pages. Magee collected the expected shots of brewing tycoons along with more unusual features such as a photo of the Brooks Stevens-designed Art Deco Miller delivery truck and advertisements for Gettleman and Miller's "Verifine" lemon soda produced during Prohibition as the brewery bided its time.
Brenda Magee will sign Brewing in Milwaukee 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Feb. 15 at Costco, 950 Port Washington Road, Grafton; 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Feb. 22 at Costco, 443 Pewaukee Road, Pewaukee; and 4-6:45 p.m., Feb. 22 at the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Food & Froth Festival.
