NCW Libraries

The Twin Cities witnessed a recent explosion of craft beer breweries and brewpubs, but the region's beer history reaches back generations. The Minneapolis Brewing Company introduced the iconic Grain Belt beer in 1893, and it remains a local favorite. Fur trapper and bootlegger Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant established a St. Paul tavern along the banks of the Mississippi River in the early 1800s. The area has been home to some of the best-known beer brands...

An already acclaimed cookbook by James Beard award winning Chef Frances Bissell setting out the techniques and recipes for the use of flowers in the kitchen. While the use of flowers in cookery is becoming ever more popular, they often feature as little more than decoration. In The Fragrant Pantry, the third volume of an already acclaimed trilogy, Frances Bissell shows us how the scent and flavor of flowers can be used like that of an herb or a spice...

This beautifully presented Little Book is an excellent introduction to the world of craft beer including the major UK, US, and European microbreweries. It includes a fascinating history of the product, how it's made, how best to drink it and details of the world's finest craft beers. The book includes a description of more than 100 of the very best craft beers in the world including details of the different varieties and what distinguishes them....

Albuquerque's commercial brewing scene dates back to 1888, when the Southwestern Brewery & Ice Company was launched. It later churned out thirty thousand barrels of beer per year and distributed throughout the region. Nearly thirty years later, Prohibition halted brewing save for a brief comeback in the late 1930s. In 1993, the modern era emerged with a handful of breweries opening across the city. However, Marble Brewery's 2008 opening revived Albuquerque's...

The history of the frothy beverage in Connecticut dates back to early colonists, who used it to quench their thirst in the absence of clean drinking water. So integral was beer to daily life in the colony that government officials and militiamen congregated in taverns like the General Wolfe to talk laws and business over pints of ale. Over the next two centuries, the number of breweries rose and then declined, especially after Prohibition. It was...

Brewing in Columbus began more than two centuries ago. The taps were only turned off during Prohibition and the short pause that preceded the modern craft beer explosion. For generations, names such as Hoster, Born, Schlee and Wagner secured staunch local loyalty for their brands and earned national acclaim for their brewmasters. Today, more than thirty craft breweries ply a prosperous trade in the capital city. After huge California craft brewery...

North Jersey residents have enjoyed frothy pints since the first brewhouse opened in Hoboken in 1641. Brewing was big in the Garden State prior to Prohibition, and by 1900, more than fifty breweries were in operation. Nearly half of them-like Krueger-were located in Newark. The dry reign of Prohibition and the region's proximity to major cities made it a hub for bootleggers and gangsters like Longy Zwillman and Waxey Gordon. Even after the Eighteenth...

The tenth season picks up six months after last season's finale: Frank uses his leg injury to collect as many prescription drugs as possible and his exploits lead him to an old friend.

Discover the rich flavors, unique traditions, and healing powers of chai. This heady mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cloves transforms black tea into a full-bodied elixir that has been enjoyed in India for centuries. Tea expert Diana Rosen explores the fascinating history of chai and offers 22 recipes for a variety of chai spice blends that can be used in both teas and baked goods. You're sure to find exciting and new ways to enjoy chai's...

Colonist George Thorpe first crafted "corn beere," an ancestor to bourbon, in 1620 at Berkeley Plantation, and George Washington once operated one of the nation's largest distilleries. Icy mint juleps were first served in Virginia until the state was one of the first to enact Prohibition. That dark period gave rise to bootlegging, moonshining and even NASCAR. Through well-documented research, interviews with key stakeholders and plenty of cocktail...