North Alabama Beer An Intoxicating History

North Alabama built its fi rst commercial brewery in Huntsville in 1819, three months before the state joined the Union. Before Prohibition in 1915, the region was peppered with numerous saloons, taverns and dance halls. Locals still found ways to get their booze during Prohibition using Tennessee River steamboats and secret tunnels for smuggling. Alabama re-legalized beer in 1937, but it wasn't until 2004, when the grass-roots organization Free the Hops took on the state's harsh beer laws, that the craft beer scene really began to flourish. Authors Sarah Bélanger and Kamara Bowling Davis trace the history of beer in North Alabama from the early saloon days to the craft beer explosion.

North Alabama built its fi rst commercial brewery in Huntsville in 1819, three months before the state joined the Union. Before Prohibition in 1915, the region was peppered with numerous saloons, taverns and dance halls. Locals still found ways to get their booze during Prohibition using Tennessee River steamboats and secret tunnels for smuggling. Alabama re-legalized beer in 1937, but it wasn't until 2004, when the grass-roots organization Free the Hops took on the state's harsh beer laws, that the craft beer scene really began to flourish. Authors Sarah Bélanger and Kamara Bowling Davis trace the history of beer in North Alabama from the early saloon days to the craft beer explosion.

When Thomas Banister fought for the British during the American Revolution, his farm and business were confiscated. He was exiled in far-off Nova Scotia, before he returned to a secluded life on Long Island. His older brother, John Banister married with a child, swore allegiance to the United Colonies, then witnessed the destruction of his Newport lands by the British Army. Convinced British laws supported remuneration, John left for England, where he sought justice for four years. His wife, Christian Stelle Banister, managed the family property and raised their son while the state threatened confiscation and the French Army lived in Newport. Tracing the lives of three young Americans during the Revolution, this study of the Banister family of Rhode Island contributes to an understanding of the war's effects on the lives of ordinary people.

Drinking local harks back to the founding of Asheville in 1798. Whether it be moonshine or craft beer, the culture of local hooch is deeply ingrained in the mountain dwellers of Western North Carolina. Both residents and visitors alike enjoy Asheville's wealth of breweries, brewpubs, beer festivals and dedicated retailers. That enthusiasm earned the city the coveted Beer City, USA title year after year and prompted West Coast beer giants Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Oskar Blues to establish production facilities here. Beer writer and educator Anne Fitten Glenn recounts this intoxicating history, from the suds-soaked saloons of "Hell's Half Acre" to the region's explosion into a beer Mecca.

Over the past two hundred years, Western North Carolina has evolved from a mountainous frontier known for illicit moonshine production into a renowned destination for craft beer. Follow its story from the wild days of saloons and the first breweries of the 1870s through one of the longest Prohibitions in the nation. Eventually, a few bold entrepreneurs started the first modern breweries in Asheville, and formerly dry towns and counties throughout the region started to embrace the industry. The business of beer attracts jobs, tourists and dollars, as well as mixed emotions, legal conundrums and entrepreneurial challenges. Join award-winning beer writer Anne Fitten Glenn as she narrates the storied history of brewing in Western North Carolina.

Arkansas's booze scene had a promising start, with America's biggest brewing families, Busch and Lemp, investing in Little Rock just prior to Prohibition. However, by 1915, the state had passed the Newberry Act, banning the manufacturing and selling of alcohol. It was not until sixty-nine years later that the state welcomed its first post-temperance brewery, Arkansas Brewing Company. After a few false starts, brewpubs in Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Little Rock found success. By 2000, the industry had regained momentum. An explosion of breweries around the state has since propelled Arkansas into the modern beer age.

Nevada's population boomed in the 1800s, ignited by the rush to find gold and silver. Thousands of prospectors, many German immigrants, passed through the up-and-coming mining towns, and breweries popped up in their wake. As the mining slowly wound down, whole towns disappeared, and breweries struggled to survive in the Silver State. Carson Brewing Company was closed in 1948, Reno Brewing Company shut its doors in 1957 and it would be decades before craft brewers like Great Basin, Big Dog's and Revision brought local beer back into the spotlight. Join author Pat Evans as he dives into the rough-and-tumble history of beer making in the Battle Born State and looks ahead to its bright future.