Ambitious Brew by Maureen Ogle

ISBN:9780156033596

About the book:
Ambitious Brew, the first-ever history of American beer, tells an epic story of
American ingenuity and the beverage that became a national standard. Not
always Americas drink of choice, beer finally took its top spot in the nations
glasses when a wave of German immigrants arrived in the mid-nineteenth
century and settled in to re-create the beloved biergartens they had left
behind. Fifty years later, the American-style lager beer they invented was the
nations most popular beverageand brewing was the nations fifth-largest
industry, ruled over by titans Frederick Pabst and Adolphus Busch. Anti-
German sentiments aroused by World War I fed the flames of the temperance
movement and brought on Prohibition. After its repeal, brewers replaced
flavor with innovations such as flashy marketing and lite beer, setting the stage
for the generation of microbrewers whose ambitions would reshape the brew
once again.
Grab a glass and a stool as Maureen Ogle pours out the surprising story behind your favorite pint.
About the author:
MAUREEN OGLE is a historian whose previous books include All the Modern Conveniences and Key
West. She lives in Ames, Iowa.
Discussion Questions:
1. The setting for chapter onethe United States in the 1840s and 1850salmost feels like a character
in the story. How much do you think that era affected the German immigrants? Would they have been
as successful if they had come earlier or later? Do you think Americans had more opportunity then than
they do now?

2. During the colonial and Puritan eras, Americans accepted drink as a natural part of life. But that
changed after the colonies became independent. Why do you think Americans are less comfortable with
alcohol than people in other countries? In the 1850s, did Americans use drink as a way to attack
immigrants or because they were uncomfortable with drink and thats what they noticed about the Irish
and Germans?

3. Theres no way to prove or disprove the story that Phillip and Jacob Best rolled dice for ownership of
the brewery. Do you think its true?

4. Busch, Pabst, and the Uihleins seized the momentor did they? Do you think they became successful
because they were exceptional men or because of the extraordinary times in which they lived?

5. In chapter two, the author argues that Americans wanted a lighter, less filling beer than Europeans
did. Do you agree with that argument? If so, why do you think American tastes are so different from
those of European beer drinkers?

6. Alls fair in love and warbut is that also the case in business? Was the jury right in finding Otto
Lademan guilty of deception?

7. Saloons clearly played an important role in the lives of working Americans in the 1880s and 1890s. Do
Americans have a similar social institution today?

8. In the 1880s and 1890s, Americans praised manufacturing and treasured the huge factories that
dominated the nations landscape. Do Americans feel the same way about large-scale manufacturing
now?

9. Theres no way to prove or disprove the rumors that circulated about the great brewers at the
Worlds Columbian Exposition. What do you believe is the truth about that contest?
10. In chapter four, temperance and prohibition re-enter the story. How sympathetic do you find the
prohibitionists cause? Do you think their goal of eradicating alcohol was realistic?

11. In the early twentieth century, many anti-prohibitionists argued that the federal government ought
to compensate brewers for their lost property. Do you agree? How does a nation balance the greater
good against private property?

12. Americans themselves never voted directly for or against constitutional Prohibition. What do you
think the outcome would have been if they had been given the chance to vote?

13. Do you think the history of late-twentieth-century brewing would have turned out differently if Fred
Miller had not died in a plane crash? Can the life or death of one man alter history?

14. Many people argue that after World War II, brewers ruined beer by making it weaker and blander.
Do you agree with the authors argument that brewers had to do this in order to survive? Or do you
think brewers acted first and rationalized their actions later?

15. Assess the actions of the Uihlein and Busch families in the 1950s and 1960s. Did their bank accounts
give them an unfair advantage over others or did they simply make better business decisions than other
beer makers?

16. Why do you think American food and drink underwent such a dramatic transformation in the 1970s?
Was it due to affluence, education, or some other factor?

17. In what ways do men like Maytag, McAuliffe, Grossman, and Koch resemble or differ from their
brewing ancestors such as Busch and Pabst? Do you think the craft brewers had advantages over the
brewers of the 1860s? Or did the microbrewers have a harder time creating new businesses?

18. What does the brewing renaissance of the 1980s tell you about the United States? Can you find
similarities between the U.S. in the 1870s and 1880s, and the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s? In what ways
are those eras different?