The United States of Beer: A Freewheeling History of the All-American Drink Audiobook (Free)

From the author of Bourbon, “the definitive history” (Sacramento Bee), comes the rollicking and revealing story of beer in America, in the spirit of Salt or Cod.

IN AMERICA of Ale, Dane Huckelbridge, the writer of Bourbon: A BRIEF HISTORY from the American Spirit-a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance bestseller-charts the surprisingly fascinating history of Americans’ romantic relationship using their most well-known alcoholic beverage. Huckelbridge displays how beer offers evolved along with the nation- about The United States of Ale: A Freewheeling Background of the All-American Drink from an area and regional item (a long time ago every American city has its brewery and iconic beer brand) towards the rise of global mega-brands like Budweiser and Miller that are synonymous with U.S. capitalism.

We learn of George Washington’s failed try to brew ale at Mount Vernon with molasses instead of barley, of the 19th hundred years “Beer Barons” like Captain Frederick Pabst, Adolphus Busch, and Joseph Schlitz who revolutionized commercial brewing and built profitable empires-and the American immigrant experience-and of the advances in brewing and bottling technology that allowed beer to stream in the saloons of the Wild West. Throughout, Huckelbridge pulls connections between seemingly remote fragments of the American previous, and shares his reports from the frontlines of today’s craft-brewing trend.