Historical German Breweries of Albany
When German immigrants moved into Albany they brought with them their rich culture. German immigration, for the majority, occurred from 1710-1770. As they were all getting settled, and used to living in New York, more specifically Albany, it just happened to be the time of the New York Temperance Society (around April, 1829) What this meant for New York was that the sale of alcoholic beverages started to be frowned upon. Anglo-Americans stood for the temperance and tried to “Americanize” immigrants. Because beer, celebration, bands, dance halls, etc. were part of German culture, there was a huge contrast between the German neighborhoods and the anglo-Americans in Albany. The German-Americans opposed the laws concerning the banning of alcohol The Germans were much younger and accepting of alcohol and most of their major holidays, like Christmas and Easter, revolved around the happiness of being together as a family and drinking beer and dancing. With this being said, of course a keg of beer accompanied most events that Germans held. They even referred to beer as “healthy and refreshing”. Along with the German’s love of beer, came with it German Breweries to the Albany region. This tour brings you through a historical past on how German beer was brought to Albany, and how three breweries survived prohibition.