cover image Great American Beer: 50 Brands That Shaped the 20th Century

Great American Beer: 50 Brands That Shaped the 20th Century

Christopher B. O'Hara. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $16.95 (125pp) ISBN 978-0-307-23853-5

Low-brow food expert Christoper O'Hara (Wing It!, The Bloody Mary) turns his attention to classic American beers in this entertaining look at timeless brands. Opening with an overview of beer's place in American society, O'Hara succinctly chronicles the evolution of the industry from the first settlers to bring Bavarian yeast across the Atlantic in the mid-1800s, to the megabrands that dominate store shelves today. But it's his collection of fifty classic American beers that will keep readers misty-eyed, reminiscing about stalwarts like Olde Frothingslosh and Schaefer, or long-lost friends like Buckeye and Lowenbrau. This book doesn't cover esoteric artisan beers-these are the beers you swiped from your father's fridge and bought by the case in college, ""the beers to have when you're having more than one."" Each beer gets its own biography, complete with history, location and advertising jingles. Illustrated with product photos and original advertising, and packed with trivia (the first beer with a ""born on"" date? Lucky Lager, 60 years before Budweiser), O'Hara's book is a great read for aficionados whose tastes run more toward the Rockies than the Rhine.