Author Talk – Pete Dulin
Kansas City Beer: A History of Brewing in the Heartland
Sunday, April 23, 2017 | 2 p.m.
Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
As part of the Missouri Valley Speaker Series, I will present a talk about my most recent book.
Stockyards Brewing will also serve beer at a reception before the talk.
About the talk: To the delight of local beer aficionados, Kansas City has seen a proliferation of new breweries in recent years, building on a history that dates to the 1850s. In a discussion of his new book Kansas City Beer: A History of Brewing in the Heartland, author Pete Dulin explores how factors such as advancements in transportation and technology, European migration, and industry competition fostered early growth in the local brewing industry. And how the rise of major breweries of the post-Prohibition era – including Muehlebach, and more recently Boulevard Brewing – led to a modern wave of craft brewers that continues today.
About the book: Westbound immigrants, pioneers and entrepreneurs alike arrived in Kansas City with a thirst for progress and beer. Breweries both small and mighty seized opportunity in a climate of ceaseless social change and fierce regional competition. Muehlebach Brewing Company commanded the market, operating in Kansas City for more than eighty years. Built in 1902, the iconic brick warehouse of Imperial Brewing still stands today. Prohibition made times tough for brewers and citizens in the Paris of the Plains, but political “Boss” Tom Pendergast kept the taps running. In 1989, Boulevard Brewing kicked off the local craft beer renaissance, and a bevy of breweries soon formed a flourishing community. Food and beer writer Pete Dulin explores Kansas City’s hop-infused history and more than sixty breweries from the frontier era to the twenty-first century.
Above image: The former Heim Brewing bottling warehouse and plant located in the East Bottoms.