saloon beer?

[Arbe0]

watching an old cowboy movie and wondering what kind of beer they would have in the old cowboy days in the saloon?

 

[swampbrewcrew]

I'm talking without looking anything up, but I would guess a type of steam beer, like the California commons today.

 

[bobeer]

I did a little research because I'm fascinated by beer history...

“According to brewing historian Stanley Baron, “By the 1870s the American drinking public had made a clear choice for lager beer over ale, porter and the other English beers. What was more, the Americans preferred a lager closer to the Pilsen than the Munich type: i.e., a pale, light bodied, clear and effervescent beer, relatively low in alcoholic content.”

But I keep reading most folks drank whiskey over beer.

 

[madscientist451]

In the days of the old west, the US was still a free country, and any saloon owner could make and sell his own beer. If the saloon operator was German, most likely some kind of lager would be served, If he was Irish, an Irish or English type ale was probably available. Budweiser was introduced in 1876, and distributed by refrigerated rail cars, but its unlikely any of that beer made it out to dusty frontier saloons.
Here's an interesting article on the subject:

http://www.truewestmagazine.com/was-beer-as-popular-in-the-old-west-as-movies-make-it-out-to-be/

 

[kh54s10]

They probably were drinking a warm beer!

 

[Arbe0]

here is what I found.

The first whiskey ever served in a saloon was not the fine whiskey that New Yorker's or those from Chicago would sip. This stuff was raw and made right in the camp or town. The simple ingredients included raw alcohol, sugar burnt and a little pouch chewing tobacco. Whiskey with terrible names like "Coffin Varnish", "Tarantula Juice", "Red Eye" and others were common among the early saloons.

Later the word "Firewater" would be used to describe Whiskey. It took on the name during trading with Indians. To explain what Whiskey was to the Indians, the cowboy would pour it over the fire to show its potency. With a high enough proof, Whiskey acted like gasoline on the fire. Soon firewater was the name of the drink. If you were a light weight and sipped your whiskey, you could be certain to find yourself drinking a 5th of Whiskey at gun point. Sipping was considered a weakness and not tolerated!

Beer was not as common as whiskey, yet there were those that drank it. Since pasteurization was not invented yet, a cowboy had to take his beer warm and drink it quick. If not, the beer would get warmer and go flat. Whiskey kept its taste and potency no matter the temperature. It was not until 1880′s that Adolphus Busch invented artificial refrigeration and methods of pasteurization to the brewing process. Soon after Budweiser launched as a U.S. national brand.

In the late 1820′s, Bent's Fort, Colorado opened what we know as the first saloon in the west. There were a few little towns which already had cantinas, but they did not compare to saloons that would soon spread like wild fire throughout the west.

 

[scottywags]

Am I safe to assume that what beers were made were made without hops?

 

[bkboiler]

Around the time you describe, Schlitz, Busch, Pabst, Annheuser etc... were not only producing millions of gallons but they were vertically integrating to own the saloons too..which gave them a tremendous political lobby as unions and fraternal organizations would often meet at the local saloon and free grog was sufficient to buy votes oftentimes.
Apparently beer snobbery isnt a modern invention either...
Watch the PBS documentary on Prohibition for a good history and/or
Read more here:http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/10/beer-history-german-american-brewers-before-prohibition.html