Workers, Wives, and One-ways: Expanding the Boundaries of American Brewing History

Brewing is one of the oldest and largest industrial enterprises in the United States. Major firms like Anheuser-Busch and Miller have been in business since the 1850s and today there are more American breweries than ever. The large international conglomerates and the smaller independent craft firms represented a market worth nearly $120 billion in 2023. Despite the long history and important economic impacts of brewing, industry histories generally tend to focus on the largest firms and most colorful company presidents, leaving much to be explored by business historians. This panel seeks to expand our knowledge of such a lively and significant industry by exploring new frontiers in beer history. Robert Kaminski will present a paper that examines the history of labor relations in breweries (integrating oft-forgotten workmen into brewing’s business history). Highlighting the persistence of pre-modern labor practices alongside growing mechanization, Kaminski will evaluate the diverse strategies brewery proprietors and employees embraced to navigate two tumultuous decades in America’s workplace politics, the 1880s and 1890s. Tiah Edmunson-Morton’s work as an archivist and historian also explores the experiences of a grossly understudied group within the history of American brewing—women. Edmunson-Morton specifically looks at the vital, yet widely neglected, role that the wives of brewery proprietors played in running the family business. Her efforts to preserve and research their stories adds a much-needed gender dynamic to a field dominated by accounts of men. Lastly, Cody Patton will contribute to expanding traditional narratives of the brewing industry by exploring the environmental history of one-way beer cans. Using an environmental and neo-materialist lens, Patton encourages beer historians to look beyond spreadsheets and industry marketing campaigns when evaluating the impacts of product packaging. Together, these three papers offer exciting and new approaches to the business history of beer.