Beer Here: Brewing New York's History at the New York Historical Society
Alcohol plays a greater role in all societies than anyone
would care to admit. However, at Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History, a
new exhibition at the New York Historical Society running through September 2nd,
though the point of the exhibit is how much beer and its brewing has influenced
New York City, beer seems almost incidental in comparison to the great events
going on around it. When the Erie Canal
was built, brewers chopped up its ice to cool the beer. During prohibition, drinkers protested, but
not on behalf of beer specifically. A
good brew seems irrelevant to the twists and turns of the Big Apple’s history
as charted by the exhibit.
Still, Beer Here is well laid out and pleasant
to walk through. It’s a bit threadbare,
but that’s welcome after some of the more overwhelming exhibits at New York’s
history museums, and the show is easy to follow. It’s fun to see some of the more creative
advertisements for the Brooklyn brewing companies (Schaefer, Rheingold, and
Piels) and older ale bottles (some were even found by archaeologists in digs
downtown). Beer Here is no more than an exploration of the history of beer in
New York, not beer and New York. But that’s okay. It’s equally as interesting.
Beer Here takes a basically
chronological journey through metropolitan beer’s story, beginning with its
recipe and early influence. (In the
early 17th century, many thought beer was safer to drink than water
because its creation involved boiling, which kills bacteria. It was served to men, women, and children
alike.) From there it moves to the New
Amsterdam colony in the 1630’s and 40’s, where, when the Dutch realized beer’s
popularity, it was heavily taxed. Then
on to DeWitt Clinton and the Erie Canal (beneficial, as I’ve stated, for its
icy film), then to the hops farmers of the early 1700s, then to beer’s
modernization, prohibition (and repeal), and eventual popularization and public
advertisement upon Jimmy Carter’s law allowing homebrewed beer.
It’s a
short but entertaining walk through history, ending with a beer hall that
serves the exhibition’s focus during the museum’s open hours. It’s a seemingly legitimate bar that happens
to be connected to a historical annex detailing the rise of its fare. It’s funny the impact an alcoholic beverage
can have, but beer does technically spur man to action in a way no normal
activist could imagine. The Anti-Saloon
League and its ilk protesting alcohol itself in the 1910’s could not at the
time imagine the power alcohol had over men (and it was mainly men). When the men fought back, protesting
themselves (not to mention bootlegging), it was to be expected. It wasn’t exactly an addiction—though it
could have been—it was a loyalty of sorts, of a man to his drink. The exhibition doesn’t go into the emotional
connection New Yorkers could have had to the bottle, but perhaps it should
have.
In fact, Beer Here skips a lot. The sections about prohibition, the
modernization and canning of beer, and especially Carter’s home-brewing law are
especially short, and the museumgoer is left wondering what he’s missed. That’s a good thing in itself, though, that
such a short exhibition, when it cuts corners, can inspire regret. That being said, Beer Here is unique, not winding or overlong like some other
exhibits, but not too short either.
Well, not necessarily. If it had
only expanded in a few ways it would have been an epic of the human race’s
relationship with fermented hops, but instead it’s a essentially a beer hall
with some artifacts to one side. Oh,
well.
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