'Beer Here!' Exhibit Shows History Of Denver's Brewery Culture

DENVER, CO - From History Colorado: To blend Colorado history with an enlightening and relatable experience, History Colorado Center will open its spring exhibition Beer Here! Brewing the New West on May 18, 2019, coinciding with American Craft Beer Week. The exhibit – sponsored by Ball Corporation and Coors Brewing Company – brings Colorado history to life, from the Gold Rush, immigration and early days of Prohibition to the growth of the outdoor industry and insight into contemporary customs – told through the story of beer.

History Colorado Center is a museum of History Colorado, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and an agency of the State of Colorado. History Colorado strives to be a place of belonging for all Coloradans and to serve as a platform for community connection and diversity.

“The story of beer in Colorado showcases the state’s transformation from an economy based on extractive industries, like mining and agriculture, to one equally powered by outdoor recreation and amenities. It is a shift that puts Colorado in the heart of the New West,” said Steve Turner, History Colorado executive director and Colorado state historic preservation officer. “We learn so much from different experiences and ‘flavors’ in history, stimulating unexpected and imaginative conversations.”

The exhibit’s planning period spanned five years, meeting with local organizations and breweries and working in collaboration with the Colorado Brewers Guild to research and develop the narrative through Colorado’s rich brewing history. In fact, according to local brewers, this collaboration is what makes Colorado’s beer industry unique. With nearly 400 breweries; the headquarters of the Brewers Association, Brewers Guild and the American Homebrewers Association; the headquarters of the world’s leading aluminum can manufacturer; home to the largest brewery in North America; and the host location of the Great American Beer Festival, Colorado is the state in which craft beer makes the biggest contribution to the overall economy – the fifth-biggest craft-beer consuming state per capita.

Back in the Gold Rush, saloons weren’t just saloons. They were post offices, restaurants, hotels and social clubs. But, then, Colorado banned alcohol – four years before Prohibition hit the rest of the country. In 1859, Colorado’s first brewery began pouring beer for thirsty miners.

By the 1970s, beer was big business again – really big business.

“This exhibit is more than a history of the brewing industry; it is a history of Colorado told over a few beers. In a series of talks, media collaborations and articles over the past year, it’s apparent that people enjoy learning about how beer connects to other aspects of our shared history and how that history applies to their lives today,” said Sam Bock, lead developer for Beer Here! and public historian for History Colorado. “We believe that assisting Coloradans – and beer enthusiasts everywhere – in their desire to become informed and engaged citizens is a cause that we can all responsibly raise a glass to.”

About the Beer Here! Exhibit

In five sections that span 1859-present, the exhibit explores topics such as 1) “Beer on the Mining Frontier,” when immigrants planted mining towns during the Gold Rush; 2) “Brewing an Industry,” how Colorado became the industrial hub of the Rocky Mountain West; 3) “Prohibition,” why the state went dry four years before national Prohibition; 4) “Coors Country,” where Coors Brewing Company and Ball Corporation contributed to Colorado’s economy and culture; and 5) “The Rise of Craft,” when the connection grew between the rising outdoor recreation and brewing industries.

Beer Here! will feature stories from the past, present and future, as well as more than 160 authentic artifacts from Colorado’s beer and brewing history, connecting time periods. Some of the most compelling objects include:

• A Denver brewer’s union card from 1888, written entirely in German, because that was the language most brewers spoke at the time;
• Adolph Coors’ original hand-drawn sketch of his first beer label, on loan from the Coors archive;
• A massive wooden bottle smasher used by the Denver Police Department during Prohibition;
• Beer-brewing equipment then now;
• The nation’s first recyclable aluminum beer cans, pioneered by Coors;
• The flyer for the very first Great American Beer Festival in 1982;
• Some of New Belgium’s original brewing equipment; and
• Other artifacts from Colorado’s hoppy history.