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New-York Historical Society opens Exhibition Tracing the Largely Unknown Cultural History of Beer

The exhibition traces over three centuries of the production and consumption of beer in the city—from colonial New York, when beer was a vital source of nourishment and tax revenues, to the current artisanal revolution occurring in microbreweries throughout the state. This exhibition is on view now through September 2, 2012.


Currier & Ives color lithograph “Fresh Cool Lager Beer,” dated 1877-1894, New-York Historical Society

Beer has been brewed in New York City since the days of its earliest European settlement. Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History will begin with an exploration of the colonial period in New York when beer was often safer to drink than water, and noted citizens brewed beer as just one aspect of their business activities. It will then take the visitor up to the present popularity of microbreweries and homebrewing. Topics include the nutritional properties of colonial beer and early New York brewers in the age of revolution; infrastructure innovations and the importance of access to clean water; large-scale brewing in nineteenth-century New York and the influence of immigration; temperance movements and the impact of prohibition; bottling, canning, refrigeration and other technological advances; and the promotional efforts of the City’s breweries in the age of mass production. These topics will be highlighted through a display of historical objects and documents such as a 1779 account book from a New York City brewer who sold beer to both the British and patriot sides; sections of early nineteenth-century wooden pipes from one of the city’s first water systems; a bronze medal that commemorates an 1855 New York State temperance law; beer trays from a variety of late nineteenth-century brewers; souvenirs from the campaign to repeal prohibition; and a selection of advertisements from Piels, Rheingold and Schaefer, beloved hometown brewers.

Crown Holdings, Inc., which revolutionized the modern beverage industry with the invention of what is now known as the bottle cap, sponsors the exhibit and has loaned ephemera from its archives, including the original patent for the crown cap and a manual crown capper, a model of an automated rotary filling machine, and a variety of bottles and other historic tools and memorabilia.

The exhibit will conclude with a small beer hall that features a selection of favorite New York City and State artisanal beers. The beer hall will be open Tuesday- Thursday and Saturdays from 2 pm- 6 pm, Fridays from 2 pm-8 pm, and Sundays from 2 pm- 5pm, as well as special hours on Memorial and Labor Day from 2 pm-5 pm.

“Beer is an important cultural influencer,” explained Debra Schmidt Bach and Nina Nazionale, curators of Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History, “and is not a topic typically covered in an exhibition at an Historical Society. We were intrigued by the longevity and popularity of beer in New York throughout the past 300 years, and wanted to bring together objects and documents of historical and cultural importance to investigate this venerable tradition.”

New-York Historical will host Beer Appreciation Night, featuring experts Garrett Oliver and Steve Hindy from Brooklyn Brewery and editor Gabrielle Langholtz of Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan, at which local craft beers will be served on Tuesday, July 10 at 6:30 pm. Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History curators Debra Schmidt Bach and Nina Nazionale will join the conversation.

Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History is proudly sponsored by Crown Holdings, Inc. Additional support is provided by Brooklyn Brewery and Heartland Brewery.

New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)
New York, NY 10024
Phone (212) 873-3400
TTY (212) 873-7489
www.nyhistory.org

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