A review of Ed Carroll's "Sacramento's Breweries"

On Monday, February 22,The Colonial Theatre hosted an Inaugural Gala for the First Annual Sacramento Beer Week. This was the perfect venue for Historian, Ed Carroll, to present his publication,” Sacramento’s Breweries”. The following is a brief review of the exhaustive efforts Ed Carroll has put into the research and writing that covers a very significant period in Sacramento History and it’s love affair with beer.

“With it’s increasing population, endless supply of water and nascent agricultural economy, Sacramento emerged as a natural major brewing center, second only to the giant on the bay, San Francisco.”

So opens Ed Carroll’s telling of the history of brewing in Sacramento from 1849, of the Gold Rush era to 1919, of the Prohibition era. Carroll doesn’t quote Mark Twain‘s observation as Sacramento being a “city of saloons.” Rather, Carroll’s intent is to develop a level of “awareness and sense of appreciation for the role brewers and beer played in helping transform Sacramento from an agrarian settlement into a legitimate commercial municipality.”


The 128 page paper back book is divided into three sections. The first section is a broad stroke. He briefly describes how Sacramento came to be the major hop growing region in the nation. He attributes the success of the breweries to the rivers, and railroads of the city. There is a discussion of the effect of brewing conditions and how it influenced the techniques and styles used in an effort to overcome the warm climate of the area.


The rest of the first section is divided into decades. It covers the timeline of the rise and fall of the men who built and ran them. He includes the effects of the Civil War, Industrial Revolution, which forced consolidation of the breweries, and finally, the infringement of the Prohibition. It is evident that Ed Carroll is sensitive to the richness and the contribution of the German community to our city.


His treatment of the second part of the book presents details of the breweries. This starts with a map of Sacramento and a legend of the breweries and when they started. Ed Carroll reminds us that “any attempt to separate the individual stories of the brewers from their occupations would be neglectful” of their contribution to the growth and development of Sacramento as a city. He refers to this section as a Historical Inventory. This section is full of chronological details that give the reader insight not just into the breweries but to the people of the community.


The last section of the book are the end notes. These notes are literally “nuggets” of information that are full of details in themselves. The numerous historic photographs throughout the book are provided by the Center for Sacramento History. These detailed photographs bring sight and sound to the reader as they are taken back into time. Sacramento’s Breweries”, by Ed Carroll, is a very careful and true telling of the breweries, the people of the breweries, and how they influenced the culture of our city. It is a great unveiling in the history of Sacramento and a delight to read. The book is published by the Sacramento County Historical Society. Copies of the book can be found in Sacramento at Beers Books, Corti Brothers, and Time Tested Books. At the time of this review the publication is not available on line.

This review is written by: Virginia Jamison
The picture is from
http://people.virginia.edu/~ggg9y/buffalo.html
It is that of the Buffalo Brewery 1890-1919.
The brewery occupied 21st and Q streets.
It the cover of the "Sacramento's Breweries".