Prohibition-Era Homebrew Club
Next time you go to a homebrew club meeting, take a look around. You will see friends and people who share a passion for crafting beer at home. More important, you do not see a group of people defying state and Federal law by producing beer. Yet, if you rewind a century earlier, you would find that your homebrew club was taking part in a criminal act by making beer at home. Such was the case in the United States during Federal Prohibition.
Federal Prohibition was a difficult and dark chapter in US history. Today we romanticize the period with speakeasy-themed taverns and pre-Prohibition beer recipes. The issue often overlooked is that Prohibition was a period where normal everyday people became criminals if they possessed or produced beer. During this time alcohol was for medicinal use only. Wine and cider produced with special permission. Beer production was nearly wiped out. In the transition from the “active” to the “witness” generation of Prohibition, many fine details of brewing became lost, just as a stone loses its edges in the river. The beer recipes we see today are often a loose interpretation rather than an exact replica. Yet, a group of southern Vermonters skirted Prohibition law. In 1931 they published the records of their homebrew club.
The Company of Amateur Brewers, simply referred to as “The Company,” met in the southern part of Vermont during Prohibition. They discussed their hobby and the brewing traditions that they held dear. The sheer fact that this homebrew club has a record is remarkable, but explained in the opening passage by the secretary of the club:
“The gathering and printing of the several addresses delivered before the Annual, Special, and Monthly Meetings of The Company, mark a new departure in the policy of this Society. The move was instituted by a formal vote of the members assembled at the last Annual Meeting, holden October first, 1931, in order that members, particularly new members, might have a permanent record of the mass of material which otherwise would not be preserved. I have the honor to present these Proceedings, hoping they may be the first in a long series.”
The book itself appears simple in its appearance with red and white checker cover boards and simply labeled The Company on the cover, but noticeably absent on the spine. Most likely this allowed it to blend in with other cookbooks of similar appearance. Homebrewing in Vermont and the States was illegal at the time. This was not the only time a Vermont written homebrew manual was produced in the state while still illegal. Just over 40 years later, Tim Matson & Lee Anne Dorr repeated the feat with Mountain Brew, which they sold out of the back of their car. In the case of The Company, the book was privately printed for members of the club only.
The secretary was never directly named in the proceedings recorded in the book, they were named as the editor of the proceedings. Looking at the register of copyrights in 1932, Vrest Orton, who would later found the Vermont Country Store in Weston, Vermont, registered the book printed by The Company on June 17, 1932. The copyright was affirmed on July 6 of the same year. The records held within the book are a series of published lectures from 1931, the previous year.
As best as can be discerned from the group’s records, it appeared that they met monthly. Just as is common with many homebrew clubs today, one of the group gave a lecture on a particular subject. A stylistic creation myth was given in the opening address in the book. Reading between the lines, they created a homebrew club around their banned passion. The secretary (likely Vrest Orton) gave the explanation:
“We were originally drawn together by one great compelling thirst in common. This is plain. But there was more. Up here in Vermont, where The Company started, a corner of the land once noted for its independence, we still hold to a vestige of that quality so rare in the modern world. I refer, of course, to a love of liberty. We Vermonters used (when we were a separate sovereignty, free from the shackles of the Crown and likewise from those of the unorganized colonies) to do as the spirit moved us. We hewed our way through the forests; we built outposts of civilization; we chastised the Yorkers who wanted our land… The spirit, we feel, has coursed down through the blood of generations and we are proud to love and honor the virtues of independence and liberty. Out of this spirit was born The Company of Amateur Brewers. When the time came to take matters into our own hands; when we knew there was not at hand the satisfaction of our mutual thirst, we took to improving the situation. We took to getting the things we wanted. This was the origin of The Company.”
Preserving tradition
Regardless how they formed, the important point is that they committed this to print. A result of Prohibition in Vermont was the loss of breweries. More important was the loss of knowledge on the art of brewing. The tradition of apprenticing and learning the craft of brewing reached a crossroads when many states imposed their own version of Prohibition before the enactment of Federal Prohibition.
In the specific case of Vermont, the state went dry from 1853 until 1902. A “High Tax, Local Option” replaced state prohibition. In truth, it was another form of Prohibition in disguise. The “High Tax, Local Option” was a compromise resulting from the contested gubernatorial election of 1902. Two Republicans ran for the office; one was for and the other against Prohibition. The compromise allowed towns to individually vote if they were wet or dry. If they were wet, they could have one saloon per every thousand people in the town or city with a high permit cost. Within that law was that to have a saloon, the town needed to have a thousand people. This stipulation disqualified the majority of towns within Vermont. As a result, in most places, Vermont was dry for 80 years. Imagine a generation where drinking was illegal. Would Prohibition actually be observed? The answer is no, as evidenced through the state of Vermont putting lager beer on trial in a famous case from 1876. Through a thorough examination, the state found that lager beer, a new type of beverage introduced in Vermont, was non-intoxicating. It was later banned just the same. Even though alcohol was banned through state and Federal Prohibition, it was still possible to produce wine and cider at home during Federal Prohibition by filing a notice (and paying fees of course) to produce small quantities of each for home use. Beer, however, was not.
The specific age of the homebrew society is unknown. In records published in The Company, there are references to preserving “club recipes” and “welcoming new members.” This indicates that the club was well established. In these records, there are two types of recipes recorded. There are historic recipes — such as nettle beer and ginger beer — addressed in one chapter and the club’s recipes in another. In an ironic twist, an ingredient used in many recipes was developed as a result of Prohibition. Once breweries had to deal with the onset of Prohibition, most shuttered their operations. Some were able to diversify and create other production goods. Famously, Yuengling made ice cream. Others made malt syrup in a can. This new product found its way into the recipes of The Company. Like today’s malt syrups, they were often produced with an addition of hops.
Recreating a recipe
When looking at historic recipes, the question of authenticity is a difficult subject to tackle. To be rather straightforward on the matter, anything brewed today is an interpreted recreation of the original. This question was addressed at the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference at a panel titled “Historical Beer Styles Roundtable”. The panel was moderated by Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing. Among the panel was none other than homebrew master Charlie Papazian. Over the course of an hour, there was a lot of discussion on how long lost or near extinct styles are currently documented. It was noted that a lot of the recipes had to do with trial and error versus a clear, distinct recipe. Another challenge discussed was the ingredients used in the original recipes. In particular, there are hop varieties and native yeasts that would distinctly set apart each recipe and region. While the recipes in The Company used packaged yeast, the hop varieties and the International Bittering Units (IBUs) are never discussed. The Company existed in an area that in the previous century had a tradition for hops production. Most likely they still had hop bines growing in Vermont. It is almost impossible to know for sure which hops were used for brewing in Prohibition-era Vermont. In an 1865 article a hop grower near Vernon, Vermont, writes:
“In this section, the Connecticut Valley, we have at least three distinct varieties of hops, characterized as follows: In the most common kind, both vines and fruit are of medium size; the hops have a mild flavor, and part very easily from the stems. Another kind is distinguished by its large, rank-growing rough vines, dark green foliage, large, squarish, and strong-flavored fruit, sometimes three and even four inches in length, and hard to pick. The third variety is known by its red vines, fruit rather below the medium size, hard, of a golden color, and mild, agreeable flavor. The First of these is known in New York market as the “grape” variety, and the second as the “Pompey” hop. There are no imported hops in this section that I know of.”
The first variety referred to as “grape” was also referred to in other documents of the time as the “grape cluster,” or as we now know it, Cluster hops. The red vine type of hops was Canadian Red-vine. Unfortunately it is difficult to know what the Pompey hop was by modern names. During the establishment of The Company of Amateur Brewers, the most prevalent hop in the United States was the Cluster hop. In 1935, the hop-breeding program at the Oregon State University was almost only Cluster hops. This exceeded 25,000,000 pounds (11,339,809 kg) of production. Needless to say, it was more likely than not that The Company was using Cluster hops for their homebrewing recipes.
The records left from The Company of Amateur Brewers in Vermont are an important history of what was brewed in the home and the techniques used to brew beer. Times, and tastes, have changed. To have the historical record of these Prohibition- era beers is essential to understanding this difficult chapter of American history. What this homebrew club did at the time was dangerous. Printing their history and recipes was a risk. But that has always been the Vermont spirit in preserving the heritage.
Take a moment, raise a glass to one of the earliest homebrew clubs. They kept the tradition going, even if it was illegal. Check out one of The Company’s original recipes, and my modern adaptations, below to brew something similar to what they would have brewed back in the times of Prohibition.
Image courtesy of Special Collections The University of Vermont Libraries, Burlington
Company Special (Original recipe abridged)
Author’s note: This recipe would have most likely produced around a 3.2% ABV beer that was noticeably hoppy from the additions of the “hop flavored” malt extract as well as the Cluster hops.
Ingredients
Water – 5 Gallons
Malt Syrup – 1 Can (3 lbs Hop Flavored)
Hops – ¼ Pound (most likely Cluster)
Sugar – 2 Pounds
Yeast – 1 Cake
Salt – 1 Level tablespoonful
Step by Step
Heat all the water in a brew pot to 140 degrees or more and dissolve the can of malt extract, sugar, and salt in the brew kettle. Bring to a boil. Once boil is achieved, put the ¼ pound of hops in a muslin sock and add to the brew pot. Boil for 20–30 minutes or longer as you prefer. Let the wort cool in a cellar or cool place till the temperature falls below 100 degrees. Squeeze bag of hops out and discard. Dissolve the yeast cake in warm water and once active add to fermenting crock. Aim for fermenting at 50-60 degrees. If your furnace fire goes out and the temperature falls to 45 degrees or the mercury rises to 80 degrees, then all will be lost. Try for a constant temperature of 55 degrees and you will be safe.
About 96 hours after adding the yeast, it is time to bottle. The most important element in this recipe is placing the sugar in your clean and dried bottles. Good beers have been ruined by too much sugar in the bottle. Place ¼ teaspoon of sugar in every bottle and fill the bottles within one inch of the top. Most people only wait a week but the real connoisseur who wishes to drink the beer at its best will want three weeks and then enjoy it.
A Tribute To The Company Special
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.013
IBU = 33 SRM = 7 ABV = 4.2%
This recipe is not an exact replica of the original version (above), but is designed to be more drinkable.
Ingredients
5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) North American 6-row malt (2 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt (1.8 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) crystal malt (20 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) cane sugar (0 °L)
14.4 AAU Cluster hops (20 min.)
(2 oz./57 g at 7.2% alpha acids)
7.2 AAU Cluster hops (0 min)
(1 oz./28 g at 7.2% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP862 (Cry Havoc) yeast
½ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 3.5 gallons (13 L) of water to 158 °F (70 °C) then stir in grains. Mash grains for 60 minutes at 152 °F (67 °C). Heat an additional 1 gallon (4 L) of water and stir into mash to raise mash temp to 168 °F (76 °C). Begin running wort off into the kettle. Sparge with 178 °F (81 °C) water until kettle volume is 6.5 gallons (25 L). Boil for 90 minutes adding hops at times indicated in the ingredients list. At the end of the boil, cool the wort down until temperature is 68 °F (20 °C) and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for 4 days or until terminal gravity is achieved. Rack into secondary until the beer falls clear (about 2 weeks). Rack the beer into your keg and force carbonate or into your bottling bucket and add ½ cup of priming sugar, stirring to mix, and bottle. Wait 7–10 days for bottles to carbonate and enjoy.
A Tribute To The Company Special
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.013
IBU = 33 SRM = 7 ABV = 4.2%
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) amber liquid malt extract (10 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) light dried malt extract (2 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) cane sugar (0 °L)
14.4 AAU Cluster hops (20 min.)
(2 oz./57 g at 7.2% alpha acids)
7.2 AAU Cluster hops (0 min)
(1 oz./28 g at 7.2% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP862 (Cry Havoc) yeast
½ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 5 gallons (19 L) of water to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add the liquid malt extract, dried malt extract, and cane sugar, then stir until fully dissolved. Return to heat and when the wort returns to a boil add the first addition of Cluster hops and start 20 minute timer. At end of the boil add second addition of Cluster hops and remove the kettle from the heat.
Cool the wort down until temperature is 68 °F (20 °C) and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for 4 days or until terminal gravity is achieved. Rack into secondary until the beer falls clear (about 2 weeks). Rack the beer into your keg and force carbonate or into your bottling bucket for bottling and add ½ cup of priming sugar, stirring to mix, and bottle. Wait 7–10 days for bottles to carbonate and enjoy.
