Last week, we talked with Jonathan Baker of Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing about the ins and outs of getting into the beer business, amid the revolution in American drinking habits over the last decade or two. We also pondered broader shifts and currents in Americans’ attitudes toward booze over time, especially regionally within the United States and as compared to other countries.
To go a little deeper, we also decided to talk to the great historian William Rorabaugh of the University of Washington, whose seminal 1979 book The Alcoholic Republic is basically the Citizen Kane of historical whiskey bingeing. Alex’s interview can be found here, with some really fascinating insights from Professor Rorabaugh about the role of alcohol in American life–from cider and whiskey to IPAs and Manhattans, and from the raw frontier to Mad Men and the millennials. Settle in with a good pale ale and enjoy!