Beer

Beer, Its History and Its Economic Value is a forceful, wide-ranging defense of beer as both a national beverage and a practical ally of temperance. Beginning with a serious historical and social purpose, the book argues that true temperance lies between abstinence and excess, and that pure, affordable beer is healthier for society than distilled spirits or coercive prohibition. It attacks prohibition and local-option laws as ineffective, hypocritical, and socially damaging, while praising regulation, licensing, and common-sense legislation as better remedies for drunkenness and disorder. The book then unfolds into a sweeping history of brewing from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome through Germanic Europe, medieval monasteries, royal courts, and famed brewing centers such as Budweis, Pilsen, Burton on Trent, Braunschweig, Eimbeck, and Bamberg. Beer emerges as a cultural force tied to civic life, religion, national identity, and economic strength. The narrative also traces brewing in colonial America, linking it to figures like William Penn and Israel Putnam, and presents beer as a wholesome tradition worthy of protection in modern society. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.