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Beer Club History

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As a beer lover and a native to the region, I had so many questions when I started Capital Beer by Garret Peck. What part did D.C. play in the beer industry? What was the beer scene in D.C.? Did anything interesting happen? Did D.C. play an important part? Was the beer scene of years before anything like today? I was expecting a slim history on the beer industry in Washington, D.C. Instead, I got a well thought out retrospective on the industry, its place in history, and its role in the development of the District of Columbia(D.C.) and the United States. There were four things that stood out from all the rest the first brewery in D.C., Catherine Dentz, Robert Portner, and beer gardens.

Today’s District of Columbia didn’t exist until 1847. …show more content…

beer scene was booming with production and innovation in no small part to one man - Portner. Robert Portner started out as an influential business man on the East Coast and became a force in the national beer scene. A german immigrant, he moved from New York to the District to open a grocery store with his friend Frederick Recker after the Civil War. In 1862, Recker and Portner partnered with Edward Adner, another german immigrant and Union Army caterer, and Kaercher, a brewer, to form Portner and Company Brewery in Arlington. After the Civil War Portner took full control of the company, dissolving the partnerships. By 1872, Portner had a new partner and brother-in-law, Peter Von Valder. Together they expanded the business to include 20 depots throughout Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. At its height Portner’s new company was producing sixty thousand barrels per year in 1890 (C-57). A lot of beer to drink, to be sure, thankfully there were beer …show more content…

During the mid to late 1800’s huge numbers of germans immigrated to all parts of the United States. They brought heaven and a place to drink it, lager and beer gardens. Lager was a welcome treat to colonist, who were used to the heavier ales common in England, with its bright crisp flavor it was great for drinking in the Districts humid summers. Despite the complexity to making lager, it grew in production becoming a staple of the American beer scene. Along with lager, germans introduced the beer garden a place where the working class would get together. The first beer garden in the District was on Capitol Hill in 1850. During the Civil War, beer gardens feel out of favor. Until 1890 when they came back in fashion as a place where people could dress-up and play Bohemian for an afternoon

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