No less an institution than the Smithsonian’s National History Museum will celebrate the history and industry of brewing beer in the United States. As part of its permanent exhibition, FOOD: Transforming the American Table, one of four major new sections is “Brewing a Revolution.”
The display will include artifacts, archival materials, and photographs, among other items, that document beer’s place in American history since its arrival with the earliest European settlers. Specific emphasis will focus on the 1960s through the 1980s homebrewing and microbrewing movements of California and Colorado, which led to today’s craft beer revolution.
“The artifacts featured in this new display convey histories of innovation, creativity, and risk, as well as deep pride and pleasure in the processes of brewing and drinking beer in the United States,” Theresa McCulla, who’s led the Smithsonian’s American Brewing History Initiative since 2017, told Brewers Association. “Beer is a thread that runs throughout the fabric of our nation’s history and culture.”
