According to Doug Hoverson, it’s The Drink That Made Wisconsin Famous, as he calls his latest book—and he doesn’t mean milk. The Minnesota author must have taken half a lifetime researching his thoroughly documented (and lavishly illustrated) history of Dairy State beer. Topping 700 pages and weighing as much as a brick, the lively tome is nothing less than comprehensive. The Drink That Made Wisconsin Famous covers not just Milwaukee but the entire state, and it spans the centuries from the copper kettles of the early German settlers through today’s burgeoning craft scene with stops on the way for the beer barons and the corporate sludge that nearly killed domestic beer in the 1970s.
Hoverson investigates local legends and finds that some of them fall short of the facts. During the days when Captain Pabst strode the Earth, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio had more breweries than Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s statewide production didn’t exceed New York’s until 1949, Hoverson reports. He’s also skeptical of some of the founding tales told by local brewmasters. And yet, Hoverson is left with great respect for the “consistent quality” of Wisconsin beer and its breweries for “jealously defending their local markets and building a sense of place for their products.”
The history Hoverson unearths is fascinating. In the early days, beer was hand-made, literally; lacking pumps or hoses, it was drawn from fermenting tubs in pails and poured into casks. The product was farm-to-keg, brewed from locally sourced ingredients. Barley thrived in Wisconsin’s climate and the state’s geology played a role. Primeval caves provided ideal cold storage before the advent of refrigerators. Geography was favorable too. Wisconsin’s rivers and Lake Michigan played a role in rolling out the barrels to other states.
Hoverson devotes a chunk of his book to a town-by-town history of breweries. Milwaukee gets a lion’s share, but neighboring burgs like Mequon boasted breweries in the past, as did obscure places such as Wequiot in Brown County and Oakfield Township in Fond du Lac County. Breweriana collectors will enjoy the many illustrations, including labels, bottles, cans, caps, trays, steins, signage and other memorabilia.
Hoverson admits it was a “daunting task,” writing “about the heritage of a state identified with beer like few other places on Earth.” His work on The Drink That Made Wisconsin Famous will provide hours of pleasure for beer fanatics.
Doug Hoverson will be on hand 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sept. 28-29, at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave.
