Beer, Maine & Me: Q & A with Maureen Ogle (Author)

photo by Ngaire West-Johnson

Maureen Ogle is the author of Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. She's not a beer writer by trade, she's an historian. This background has allowed her to write a very comprehensive and digestible book about the last 150 years of brewing in America without any leanings within the industry. I give Maureen a lot of credit for tackling a subject that can be a bit touchy nowadays.

Maureen took some time to answer some questions I posed to her about this recent release. Thanks for your time Maureen!

Cheers!

(RHP) You probably get this question a lot, but based on the other two books that you've written did you ever think your third book would be about the history of beer in America? What was it that really spurred you to take on that subject?

(MO) Until the day I saw that beer truck (as I mentioned in the book's intro), I had no idea I'd be writing about beer! I didn't drink it and knew nothing about it. But I was trying to think of a new book topic, and my brain was open to any idea. As soon as this one came into my head, I knew it was a winner. It had all the "right stuff": lots of oversized personalities, lots of conflict and drama, and, best of all, beer is something that, as I soon found out, many Americans hold dear to their hearts.

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But the subject also allowed me to continue what I think of as my "larger" project as a historian: I used beer as a lens through which to view American society and culture. In the beer book, as in my two previous books, I'm exploring questions related to who we are as Americans: What does it means to be an "American"? How do we use our national identity to shape the world around us? (This is also the "larger" topic of the book I'm working on now, a history of meat since just after the Civil War.)

(RHP) What do you think was the most interesting fact that you learned when doing the extensive research for this book?

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(MO) Ooohhh, boy! So MANY facts! But I think what intrigued me most was just how quickly some of the German immigrants turned what had been tiny family businesses into huge corporations. What became Pabst, for example, was a truly tiny shoestring operation in the 1840s. By 1890, it was the largest brewing company in the world. But I was also amazed by just how much impact Prohibition had, not just on brewing, but on Americans' attitudes toward all alcohol. I'd always thought of Prohibition as a stupid idea that only lasted a few years. Boy, was I wrong!

(RHP) I see that you reside in Iowa, what is your favorite local beer?

(MO) To be blunt: we don't have any local beer in Iowa. This is pretty much a brewing wasteland. Yes, there's Millstream and some of the national chain "microbreweries," but mostly we don't have a lot of local brew.

So I know, I know: what's my favorite beer? The serious answer is: whatever I'm in the mood for and whatever I think will taste best with what I'm about to eat. So I can't really pick just one "favorite" beer. Although there are days when I think Abita Turbodog is possibly the best beer on the planet. But I had some Russian River Damnation a few months back and it was fabulous. And then there was the bottle of Sand Creek Cranberry Ale I had awhile back........... And then there's......... and ...... and.....

(RHP) Who were some of the modern brewers that you got to meet and speak with while writing the book?

(MO) I knew I couldn't interview EVERYone. I had to come up with a short but comprehensive list, so I stuck with the brewers who have had some historical impact on the industry.

That, however, was still a pretty big list (especially given how long each interview took to arrange, conduct, and transcribe):

Fritz Maytag, of course. Ken Grossman at Sierra Nevada. Jim Koch at Boston Beer. Dick Yuengling (one of the coolest guys I've ever met). Jack McAuliffe, who founded the first microbrewery. Jake Leinenkugel and his father, Bill. Nick Matt. Don Barkley, who I believe has been a working brewmaster longer than anyone else now working in the industry. Larry Bell of Kalamazoo Bells' Brewing. I also interviewed a lot of people who were connected in some way with the "real beer revolution" (like Fred Eckhardt, Charlie Papazian, Daniel Bradford,etc.)

(RHP) How has the "good beer society" in America accepted you and your book?

(MO) The brewing industry has received me with warmth and open arms. Beer people are some of the best people I've ever met in my life: funny, smart, loving, and wide open to the world around them. They've been supportive of both me and the book.

Reactions from beer drinkers, on the other hand, have been a mixed bag. Some have been very kind and supportive, but others have been, well, hostile. Many many beer geeks (and I use that term with all due respect) simply reject my research. They just can't and don't believe, for example, that American brewers started using adjuncts like corn and rice back in the 1870s. Others were annoyed that I didn't devote the book to bashing Anheuser-Busch. (Indeed, I'm amazed at how many people in various beer forums have insisted that the company MUST have paid me to write the book. I wasn't paid by anyone to write anything!)

I think their reaction stems from the fact that they don't understand that I'm not a "beer person." I'm a historian. So I approached the topic as any historian would: with an open mind and without a preconceived agenda. And that makes beer people unhappy: they have this idea in their head about how beer's history unfolded (big bad corporate brewers ruined American beer). And then I went out and dug up evidence that contradicts their beliefs. But...... whaddya gonna do? I have to do my job, and I know I can't do my job AND make everyone happy!