Introduction
Typically, scholars reflect on history based on the most dramatic events and actions of renowned people, disregarding the lives of ordinary individuals in society and their spheres of interest. Beer might seem strange in representing historical changes in America, but people have used it for centuries, and it has been an integral part of their lives. This paper discusses Jonathan Shikes’s (2020) book Denver Beer: A History of Mile High Brewing (American Palate).
Book Summary
The author of the text narrates the history of the development of beer in Denver, showing the historical events from the perspective of those who produced this beverage. Therefore, producing beer is essential to Colorado’s history and is connected to the region’s development. Denver’s first beer was made in 1859, close to what is currently the city’s center, and it satisfied the appetites of the gold rush survivors, as the author writes (Shikes, 2020).
Before Prohibition abruptly stopped the city’s brewery culture, it helped the town transition from a Wild West settlement to the capital of the Plains (Shikes, 2020). In other words, the brewery was connected with the life of the population that lived in Denver, and the references to such events as the gold rush, the expansion of the Wild West, and Prohibition create a broad historical context for the discussion.
Historical Relevance
Brewery development was gradual, and it was a complicated process due to the complexities of the time. As the author claims, there was only one brewery in Denver at the end of the 19th century, the renowned Coors Brewery (Shikes, 2020). Following that, though, other entrepreneurs started to develop this business because beer was a popular product in the city (Shikes, 2020).
Many people, including John Hickenlooper and Brian Dunn, started feeding the inhabitants with the liquid gold, as Shikes calls beer (Shikes, 2020). The handmade beer trend has become one of the developing trends in breweries that dominate the market even nowadays (Shikes, 2020). It has over seventy breweries and still exudes the same adventurous enthusiasm and constant optimism the early miners experienced.
The book consists of 21 chapters, focusing on different periods in the development of brewing. The main point that unites all parts of the reading is that many social and economic dynamics have changed Denver throughout history (Shikes, 2020). The last forty years may be seen in the brewing business as the most recent and actively changing part of evolution (Shikes, 2020).
The result is a fascinating regional past that offers a fresh perspective on Denver’s growth and contributes to the history of beer in the United States through the present-day craft expansion (Shikes, 2020). This subject has lately attracted growing academic attention and even deserves an exhibition at the Smithsonian (Shikes, 2020). Therefore, the development of Denver Brewery receives attention from various researchers and is popular among the audience.
Shikes structures the book into a roughly sequential compilation of distinct but related biographies of several breweries and significant players in the neighborhood brewing market. In the book’s first part about Denver beer, the author examines the background of Colorado brewing before the 1970s, or almost the first 120 years of its existence (Shikes, 2020). Among the interesting details the author mentions are aspects such as the development of the etiquette or the “bar-room custom” that people visiting breweries share, as well as its origins and changes (Shikes, 2020, p. 49). Once he switches his focus to John Hickenlooper and Charlie Papazian, the main topic of the narrative is craft beer (Shikes, 2020).
The text provides readers with a complete and intelligent depiction of the two men. From that moment, concise biographies of the individuals who helped create Colorado’s local beer sector are combined with brief educational descriptions of the breweries people in Denver typically visit (Shikes, 2020). They include Wynkoop, Great Divide, and Strange Craft Beer Company.
Critical Analysis
Shikes is an unparalleled resource for explaining to those who drink beer how the business has developed and altered since the beginning of the 1980s due to his expertise in its recent history. While they read the background to occurrences they observed while holding a beer, but were unaware of the cause, many readers will become confused about what truly happened (Shikes, 2020). The chapters are condensed and digestible, and Shikes’s writing style is approachable and compelling. The work is recommended reading since, in the initial half of 2020, Shikes updated his biographies to reflect current events (Shikes, 2020). It shows that the author regards the history of brewing as a constantly changing sphere that adapts to the circumstances flexibly.
The author references some of the essential historical themes that brewing heritage can prompt the readers to ponder, keeping their attention on the beer. For instance, the book’s one chapter about Coors, the state’s oldest brewery, noticeably glosses over the boycott of its products that dogged the business from the beginning of the 1960s through the 1980s in only a few pages (Shikes, 2020). His assessment of the River North, also referred to as the “RiNo” area, only makes passing references to the issues surrounding craft brewing’s contribution to the gentrification of Denver neighborhoods (Shikes, 2020). The city’s changing demographics are among the factors that influence breweries, and it shows the correlation between social and economic factors and the beer production industry (Shikes, 2020). Beer history enthusiasts may want additional detail, yet these omissions may make the book more manageable for a larger audience.
The vital detail is that the author, Jonathan Shikes, is a journalist and historian who uses primary documents connected with the topic to support his argumentation. He uses the sodden tales of the historic Mile High City throughout time to illustrate beer’s historical development and emphasize its cultural significance to the region (Shikes, 2020). It makes the discussed book objective and relevant from a historical point of view, as well as entertaining for the readers (Shikes, 2020).
The book’s significant strengths are the use of facts and primary sources and the engaging way of explaining them to the audience. The information is discussed in a detailed and logical manner, which is also the strong side of the concerned reading. It allows the readers to understand the topic and view the region’s history from the original perspective.
It is possible to discuss the topic of brewery development in the cultural and social context, as the book by Shikes shows. It allows for the connection of the details he writes with the investigations of other authors. For example, Wilson and Stone (2022) consider beer a carefully made cultural product that can contribute to human identity, provide joy and fellowship, be a subject of connoisseurship, and provide a living for those who make it.
The authors make the case that the long-standing relationship with beer mirrors the foundations of the community (Wilson, Stone, 2022). It involves the collective standards and values the society shares, structures of power, and enduring disparities caused by ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and socioeconomic status (Wilson & Stone, 2022). Therefore, studying the history of the development of breweries in the region allows scholars to understand the processes that make them evolve.
The book may have specific weaknesses, but they are insignificant. For instance, the reading lacks references to other scholars and researchers, not allowing the audience to expand their knowledge by picking these additional sources (Shikes, 2020). In addition, the absence of references to further investigations does not enable the readers to understand the context surrounding the research in minor details. In all cases, most people might not regard these issues as significant weaknesses because they do not affect their reading experience.
Conclusion
The discussed book answers the question of why Colorado has grown to be a center for cutting-edge craft brewing around the world. The peculiar detail is that the author focuses on improving the business by making it more diverse. Such issues are worth considering because they show how the region’s historical development is connected with such spheres as breweries. People involved in the Colorado and Denver brewery setting, commodities researchers, connoisseurs who draw inspiration from the town’s brewing culture, and anybody wishing to acquire an entirely new viewpoint on Denver’s evolution over the last several decades will all find this text significant and engaging.
References
Shikes, Jonathan. 2020. Denver Beer: A History of Mile High Brewing (American Palate). Charleston, SC: The History Press.
Wilson, Eli R. Y., Stone, Asa B. 2022. Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us. Rowman & Littlefield.