The Session No. 89 Round-Up

The 89th edition of The Session has now come and gone. The topic I posed for this month's series of posts was Beer In History.

• Derrick at Ramblings of a Beer Runner took quite an interesting stab at this by delving into the world of politics. He examined Democrats and Republicans that served in the Oval Office and discovered that Democratic Presidents were more likely to take up the bottle or mug than their Republican Counterparts. As a Republican myself, I found this intriguing.
• Liam hailing from Drunken Speculation chose to continue a small series of his by telling more about a local brewery in Brisbane. This post featured a ton of great historical photographs. Be sure to check them out if you're into photography.
• Glen over at Beer is Your Friend took the route of taking a peak at a national beer controversy over in Australia. Have we ever wondered or known who the first American brewer is/was? Maybe I'm just a dolt, but Glen provides the case for both parties.
• Breandan from Belgian Smaak tells the story of how a Belgian brewery developed a "Champagne-Style Beer." We all know that mishaps are a part of the brewing process. Thus, the brewery that Breandan visited is named Malheur which is the work for misfortune in French. This beer sounded like something Dogfish Head here in the States would try.
• The Beer Nut told a quick little tale of the transition of Porter to Lager in Ireland. I got the feeling that he'd rather have it still be Porter ruling the pubs of the land. Even in the heat of July here in America, I can honestly say a pint of Porter hits the spot. Still, the glass of lager he described still sounded appetizing despite his displeasure with it!
• Phirx over at Beer in Nashville detailed the first-ever commercial brewery in the city of Nashville. The only thing missing in this post was a ribs pairing!
• Sean Inman's post at Beer Search Party found a way to incorporate beer cans into this topic! He dug up some tidbits on the history and role of aluminum in the brewing process.. It wasn't always just for cans!
• Thomas Cizauskas from Yours For Good Fermentables took one of the more in-depth looks in terms of going way back and filling in a lot of the blanks up until his ending. This post even included some quotes from a Baltimore area historian. Nice!
• Jon Jefferson hailing from Misadventures in Strange Places remembered an older post when hearing of this topic. So, he tied it in with the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps and how it might have started over a few colonial brews.
• Alan's post from A Good Beer Blog can best be summed up with a quote - "Beer is neither benign or neutral but a powerful tool. That is what history teaches us. It can trace empires for us. Fortify a frontier. Collapse a region. Give hope. And bring despair."
• Our friends Boak and Bailey examined an issue on a hop substitute when it came to Napoleon and beer for his troops. A very good question lies within.
• Craig from Drink Drank took up my challenge and awoke from his Session slumber to participate in this series of posts. He tells us that beer has become a great measuring stick of how far society has come in a variety of factors.

I think that about wraps it up. I'm pretty sure I got everyone that sent me their link via the comment section on this blog of through Twitter. I sincerely thank everyone for their posts! I rarely admit I learned something new when it comes to history, but I can say that I my attention was held by all of these blog posts this month!

The next edition of the Session is the topic of Beer Fight Club and will be hosted by Jake aka Hipster Brewfus on August 1.

The Session No. 89: Beer in History

The Session is a monthly blogging project among the beer bloggers where the host chooses the topic in which the rest of the participants can write about. I took the load of hosting the July Session post here on my blog. I chose to involve one of my favorite topics, that being history, for this month's topic. I figured that it was quite fitting for many of us as the first Friday of this month is the Fourth of July.

Pennsylvania has a deep alcohol history. A lot of it dates back to the days of the American Revolution in the late 1700's. Some of it liquor and some of it beer. There have been many places I've been to to enjoy a festival, a meal as well as a beer with both of those great things! One of the things that attracted me to some of the places is the historical allure each of them have. Most importantly, each of them are in buildings that hold some form of a historical significance!

Part of my start into craft beer was while attending school in Slippery Rock, PA. Right on Main Street was North Country Brewing Company. This was back before we even used the term "craft" or "craft beer." If you didn't want to stoop low as to drink the usual American swill you went to North Country or as we called it, The Brewery. I still have many memories of downing pint after pint of Blue Bear E Fruit Ale and Squirrel Nut Brown.

What was the building prior to North Country brewing in it? It used to be a morgue! That made it fitting for that annual Halloween party. You knew I was getting to Gettysburg at some point in this post. That's where I'll be for the next few places.

Battlefield Brew Works just up the York Road outside of Gettysburg proper is one of my favorite brewpubs in the entire Commonwealth. The bar inside is crafted from trees that were grown on the farm's property when it actually used to be a farm. The establishment itself is completely inside an 1860's style Pennsylvania Dutch barn.

The Brew Works sits on what once was (or kind of still is) the Monfort Farm just outside of Gettysburg. At one point during and for some time after the Battle of Gettysburg the barn was used as a field hospital and is designated as such by a plate on a fireplace inside. I can honestly say that in my two plus years of doing things and recording some of them on this blog that this one was the most excited I have ever been to combine both beer and history. I can't wait to return next month.

A little closer to the heart of Gettysburg was the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. This still resides in the town square of Gettysburg which is probably the most picturesque part of the town. The building itself has been there since before the two armies ever met there. If you go a ways down Baltimore Street to the South you run into a place that's been in Gettysburg since the times of the Revolution - The Dobbin House Tavern. There you can have 1700's style fare in the dining room or downstairs in the Springhouse Tavern. It's easy to find Jack's Hard Cider from the local Hauser Estate Winery here!

The Session No. 89 Announcement

In the words of Captain Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I've fulfilled my vow. At least, I've partially fulfilled it. I've come back to help get the ball rolling on the next edition of the Session. If you haven't yet had a chance to take in any of the posts from the most recent series of Session posts there is still plenty of time to read-up on the literature that was created just last week. Boak and Bailey hosted the June edition with the topic being beer mixing. You can see the round-up post right here.

When I posted on a more consistent basis I tried to incorporate history in as many posts as I could. I love history. There's just something about it. It's fun. It's interesting. It even gives me goosebumps. So, I only saw it to be fitting that I choose the topic of Beer in History.

Even better is the fact that the summer time is the main period of the calendar year that I absolutely delve into history. We just passed the 70th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy (Many of you know it as D-Day or Operation Overlord). The latter portions of June mark the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign which culminates on July 3. The following date is obviously the Fourth of July here in the states.

At many points in history you can look back and find alcohol intertwined. A lot of times that form of alcohol is beer. Beer is something that connects us with the past, our forefathers as well as some of our ancestors. I want this topic to be a really open-ended one. So, it should be fairly easy to come up with something and participate.

If you were among any readers I had when I posted most of the time you have a very good idea of where I might be going with my post when the time comes. The same doesn't apply to you. Do you want to write about an important beer event with great historical significance? Famous figures that were brewers? Have you visited an establishment that has some awesome historic value? Maybe a historically-themed brewpub? I wouldn't be surprised to even see a few posts on Prohibition. It doesn't really matter when it comes to history!

So, we have just under a month. Friday July 4 is the date I will look forward to reading all of your posts on the topic of Beer in History. Just leave your post here in the comment section or you can hit me up on Twitter @billkostkas. I'm also aiming to have the round-up post finished by that following Monday. See you on the Fourth!