http://www.timesunion.com/living/article/Table-Hopping-Brewing-history-4442204.php
http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/August-2013/The-History-of-Beer-Albany-New-York-Once-the-Largest-Brewing-Hub-in-America/
When talking about American beer today the conversation around the major breweries is going to revolve around the Milwaukee brewers Busch, Miller, and Pabst with the addition of Colorado based Coors. Alternatively if discussing the rapidly growing Micro brewery movement examples like Boston’s Samuel Adams or New York’s Brooklyn Brewery would take center stage but a city that would not enter either discussion is the city of Albany. While not readily apparent today the Capital Region once held a number of major breweries that had a hold over both the local market and beyond. Albany’s brewing tradition goes back to the Dutch settlers and until the combined pressure of Prohibition and the rise of the Midwestern breweries closed many of Albany’s breweries. While Albany’s brewers were hit hard Prohibition their story is not unique, the 18th Amendment forced the breweries and distilleries to cease business and to survive they had to keep themselves afloat by converting to other businesses. However with the thirteen year ban on their primary business which was coupled after the 21st amendment with the rise of the Midwestern breweries eventually saw Albany largely fall out of the beer business. For my walking tour I will focus on brewing from the late nineteenth century until prohibition.