Indiana, we're coming you're way!
Join us for an evening of beer history as Thieme & Wagner Bar Front hosts the Chicago Brewseum! Upon arrival at 7:00 PM, enjoy a welcome pint of beer before Purdue historian Brian Alberts tells us about early German-American brewers (and drinkers) in both Lafayette and Chicago, as well as Sunday liquor laws they battled (description below). Afterwards, hear about the Chicago Brewseum's commitment to telling the story of Midwestern beer, as well as its upcoming exhibit on Chicago's brewing history during the 19th century. And if we ask nicely, Thieme & Wagner owner and brewmaster David Thieme might share some of his experiences resurrecting one of Indiana’s most historic German-owned beer brands.
$20. Ticket price includes a welcome pint, talk, and insider's look at the exhibit. 100% of proceeds go toward the exhibition fundraising efforts. The exhibit opens at a major Chicago museum this November.
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Sunday Freedom: Liquor Bans, Lager Beer, and German Immigrants
During the 1800s, German immigrants all over the Midwest made lager beer ‘king’ in the United States. But before they could, they had to use that same beer to help defend their rights (as they saw them), their cultural traditions, and their status as new American citizens.
In both Indiana and Chicago, Sunday liquor laws became a 19th century battleground where these arguments could be settled…at times violently. These laws, and turbulent events like Chicago's Lager Beer Riot of 1855 brought beer's political and cultural influence to the forefront of German immigrants' lives. For many, the right to drink beer on Sundays represented more than mere luxury...it represented freedom itself.