Happy Free Book Friday! Today’s giveaway, Baltimore Beer: A Satisfying History of Charm City Brewing, comes from beer scholar and journalist Rob Kasper, with a foreword by Boog Powell and photography by Jim Burger. You can enter to win by commenting on this post by Sunday, April 29 (12:oo a.m., EST)!
Beer cans with cone-shaped tops, which made them resemble bottles, were popular until the 1950s, when they were replaced with flat tops, which stacked easily. Photo by Jim Burger.
You may have to put down the crab mallets and break out a cold one for this heady history.
…because Beer Soup, Saengerfests and beer gardens are just a few traditions of Baltimore’s long-standing beer-centric community. The size and scope of the city’s former breweries, the civic involvement of the city’s brewers and Baltimore’s historical influence on national brands point to a passionate and thirsty local movement.
Rob Kasper’s Baltimore Beer will appeal to casual readers, Baltimore locals and beer history buffs alike:
Baltimore’s big breweries—Arrow, Gunther and National—promoted the idea of serving beer with fine food. Photo by Jim Burger.
“In this book, I strive to go beyond a dry accounting of who brewed what and when. With words and photographs, I tell the story of this city’s rich, sudsy social history.
It is a lively tale, starting back in the days of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ when alehouses lined the Jones Falls and a seamstress, Mary Pickersgill, sewed Old Glory as the flag was stretched out on a brewery floor. It tells of the turn-of-the-century Germans who erected elaborate breweries and leafy beer gardens along the Gay Street–North Avenue corridor.
In a pitch to Baltimore’s factory workers, National Bohemian Beer mascot, Mr. Boh, carries a lunch pail. Courtesy David Hoffberger.
It tells of the 1950s and ’60s, when Gunther, National, American and Arrow mounted clever advertising campaigns and tried to wrap themselves around the Orioles and the Colts as the breweries battled for the palates and wallets of the Chesapeake Bay’s burgeoning beer-drinking population.
It finishes up with the stories behind the current crop of local brewpub operators and craft brewers who are putting modern spins on the century-old routine of making beer. After studying this city’s past, there is little doubt that Baltimore is a suds city, a town that takes its beer seriously.”
Painting of Wehr-Hobelmann-Gottlieb, an 1881 malt house and brewery that later became Globe Brewing Company. Courtesy David Donovan Collection. Photo by Edward Brown.
When brewer John Bauernschmidt died in 1879, his wife, Elizabeth, brought her brother, John Marr, into the business. The west Baltimore operation became known as the Spring Garden Brewery of the Bauernschmidt and Marr Brewing Company, was sold in 1899 to a British syndicate and was later swallowed by two beer trusts. Courtesy David Donovan Collection. Photo by Edward Brown.
Join Kasper as he uses interviews, stunning vintage images and a few recipes to pop the cap on Charm City’s brewing history. We hope you’ll enjoy this fantastic excerpt and share your thoughts on Baltimore beer!
Rob Kasper is a Baltimore writer. For more than three decades, he was a reporter, columnist and editorial writer for the Baltimore Sun, often writing about the area’s food and drink. In the fall of 2011, he left the newspaper to finish writing this book. He has won numerous writing awards. The Association of Food Journalists cited his 2008 food columns as among the best in American and Canadian newspapers. This marked the fifth time in two decades that his writing has been so honored by the association. He has also won two National Headliner Awards. His interest in local history and Baltimore brewers led him in 2009 to become a founding member of Baltimore Beer Week, a not-for-profit organization that celebrates the area’s brewing culture. A native of Dodge City, Kansas, he received his undergraduate degree in American studies from the University of Kansas and a master of science in journalism from Northwestern University, graduating with honors and distinction. He was a reporter for the Hammond (IN) Times and the Louisville Times newspapers before joining the Sun. He lives with his wife, Judith, a professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in a downtown Baltimore row house.
Jim Burger has been a professional photographer for more than twenty-five years. Since his earliest days, developing pictures in his parents’ basement, he has used a camera to tell stories. He learned his craft at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and he learned his trade at the Baltimore City Paper and the Baltimore Sun. As a freelance photographer, he has taken a personal approach to any assignment. His work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times, and he has worked for clients as varied as AARP, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the Lou Gehrig’s Disease Association. The son of a Pittsburgh-area tavern owner, he has a longstanding interest in brewery artifacts and has decorated his Baltimore row home with prime examples of brewery art.
What a terrific book! I need need need a copy! My husband and step-son (born and bred Baltimorians)started brewing beer in my house about a month ago. And I’ve been reading Rob Kasper for YEARS!
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I look forward to reading this book, even if I have to buy my own copy!
This looks like a great read and tribute to Baltimore beer. I can’t wait to pick up a copy for myself!
Looks like a must have!
This is a comment all about how I want that book in my bathroom.
Very much looking forward to reading this one.
As a Baltimorean and an avid beer drinker, I am more than excited about this!
if anyone can write about baltimore beer it’s rob. can’t wait.
Yay Baltimore Beer!
Definitely one to leave on display (coffee table?) after I’m finished reading it.
I look forward to reading this!
what a unique book – looking forward to reading it
Looking forward to reading this book…miss that malt and hop aroma in Baltimore!!
If I win a copy, it becomes a giveaway prize on my blog–once I’m done reading it, of course….. (I’m supposed to get a review copy, but it has yet to materialize in my mailbox or on the doorstep.)
Hi Alexander,
Review copies went out at the end of last week–please let us know if you don’t get one soon and we’ll resend. Thanks!
Rob swung by my place and dropped off a copy as “compensation” for the photos of mine he used; if a second copy shows up, I’ll offer it as the door prize.
Can’t wait to read it!
This one will be a keeper. Would love to get it signed.
Hi Gregory,
Rob will be signing his new book at the following locations:
June 9th @ Du Claw Brewing Company from 1-4 (16 A Bel Air South Parkway, Bel Air, MD 21015)
June 10th from 3:30-5:30 @ Pratt Street Ale House *featuring Boog Powell* (206 W. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD)
June 16th from 1-3 @ Greetings and Readings (118 Shawan Road Hunt Valley, MD 21030)
Thanks!
Beer and Baltimore, two of the best things/places ever!
Sounds excellent. I definitely look forward to reading.
I love Baltimore and would really enjoy reading this book about its craft beers!
Between BBW and this book, Rob is becoming quite the craft beer authority in B’more. Can’t wait to check this one out!
We are lucky to have such quality beer in Baltimore.
I am looking forward to reading the book. It will be a great addition to my beer bookshelf.
Beer and Baltimore. What a perfect combination.
Wow! This book looks awesome!
Booking signing anywhere?
Hi Mark–yes, there are several!
Rob will be signing his new book at the following locations:
June 9th @ Du Claw Brewing Company from 1-4 (16 A Bel Air South Parkway, Bel Air, MD 21015)
June 10th from 3:30-5:30 @ Pratt Street Ale House *featuring Boog Powell* (206 W. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD)
June 16th from 1-3 @ Greetings and Readings (118 Shawan Road Hunt Valley, MD 21030)
If you have any more questions about author events, you can email katie.parry (at) historypress.net. Thanks!
Wow that looks awesome! A lot more detailed oriented then the current book that has a “postcard” look to it and you can buy one for Ocean City, Old Baltimore, etc. My dad was from Baltimore and I even have a crying Mr. Boh tattoo in his honor. Stay thirsty, my friends.
Baltimore and Beer what a great combo!
I love history, especially history of alcoholic beverages. I’m stoked now that there’s a book about local beer history.
Once I got to tour one of the many old brewery buildings in southwest Baltimore and did some research on them at the Museum of Industry. There’s some amazing history here and I’m looking forward to reading about it and hoping that some of these old breweries will be purchased for use as breweries again.
love to get this book as more i can learn about beer the better
History, Baltimore, AND beer! I’m in!!
Can’t wait to read this. Rob’s column was one of my favorite things about the Sun. Still miss reading it.
This is really interesting. I read Maureen O’Prey’s book and she talked about Mary Pickersgill and that they brewery was owned by George Brown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%27s_Brewery). Then with more research I found that somebody found Brown’s recipe, which I guess finding old recipes is fairly common. Anyway, if you want to check it out the guy’s website is http://beerof1812.com/ . Really cool all the history on beer that’s available!
I’ve always been interested in the Breweries, their ephemera and their histories in the neighborhoods and the city of Baltimore.
I read Rob for years in the Evening Sun, and felt like I was there as he dealt with his house problems and watched his kids grow up. This would be great on my coffee table for all to see.
Two books on brewing history in Baltimore in less than one year: that’s a zymurgic convergence.
http://www.yoursforgoodfermentables.com/2011/12/cool-yule-5b-beer-books-for-2011.html
I’m looking forward to Rob’s book. He’s been the scribe of Baltimore beer for many years.
A story worth telling!
My husband sure would love this!!
Hi Catherine,
Unfortunately the contest always ends at 12 a.m. EST on Sunday-so while we’d love to put your name in the hat, we already have drawn names and have a winner. Please visit us again for our next Free Book Friday, and be sure to comment by Sunday evening for your chance to win! And if you’d like a discount on Rob’s beer book, check out our “blog subscribers discount” (20% off when you subscribe and enter HPBLOG12 at checkout). Have a great Monday!
Would love to sit down with a Heavy Seas and read this on a nice spring afternoon! Loved Rob’s old beer blog.
Hi Mark,
Unfortunately the contest always ends at 12 a.m. EST on Sunday-so while we’d love to put your name in the hat, we already have drawn names and have a winner. Please visit us again for our next Free Book Friday, and be sure to comment by Sunday evening for your chance to win! And if you’d like a discount on Rob’s beer book, check out our “blog subscribers discount” (20% off when you subscribe and enter HPBLOG12 at checkout). Thanks!
Hi everyone–thanks so much for your thoughtful comments on this week’s giveaway! We hope you enjoyed the free excerpt and that you’ll subscribe for more blog-exclusive excerpts, specials and local history features. Congrats to this week’s winner Timmy Reed (picked by the robots at Random.org). Everybody else, be sure to check back on May 4 for our next Free Book Friday!
I would to read this book and also love baltimore beer
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