I love using beer history to engage the present. Whether via individual public talks, collaborations, or writing, I’m always looking for new connections, new opportunities, and new audiences.
Read on to learn about some specific projects, but I’m always looking for new connections and opportunities, such as:
- Freelance research, writing, or podcasting
- Podcast and other media appearances
- Public talks, presentations, discussions
- Historically/community-minded beers or collaborations
- Consulting
- Museum exhibits
- Events and event series
- Short classes and other educational opportunities
Featured Article:
Beneath the Bines: The Multicultural Roots of the Pacific Northwest Hop Harvest
For VinePair, I looked at the seasonal labor that has historically kept the Pacific Northwest hop harvest afloat, from early Native American and Asian-American pickers, to a country “camping experience” catering to white middle class families, to modern Latino citizen and migrant communities. It’s a fascinating history defined by cultural exchange, marginalization, and interdependence, and one we need to learn from more than ever.
More Writings
- The Historic Mezcal Harvesting Technique Disappearing in the Modern Era | VinePair, August 26, 2025.
- Espadín: The Surprisingly Short History of Mezcal’s Most Prominent Agave | VinePair, August 11, 2025.
- When Mezcal Was Moonshine: Oaxaca’s Unofficial 1980s Prohibition | VinePair, July 31, 2025.
- Philly’s Original Dive Bars | Final Gravity: A Beer Zine, Issue 7 (January, 2025).
- Kids Those Days — The Rise and Fall of the 1970s Biggest Kegger | Good Beer Hunting, September 19, 2023
- ‘Beer for All, or for None’ — The Busch-Lasker Controversy of 1922 | Good Beer Hunting, October 27, 2022 (also a podcast!)
- Women’s Work — What the Story of a 17th-Century Brewster Can Teach Us About 21st-Century Brewery Ownership | Good Beer Hunting, September 8, 2022 (co-authored with Kate Bernot!)
- Putting the Memories in Their Place — A Requiem for the Fox River High Life | Good Beer Hunting, April 27, 2022
- 8 and All — Finding the Black Charlestonians Who Made Edmund Egan | Good Beer Hunting, November 8, 2021 (also a podcast!)
- ‘Every Can Counts’ — Boycotting Coors in Colorado, the Castro, and Beyond | Good Beer Hunting, October 13, 2021 (co-authored with Holly Regan, and also a podcast!)
- The Rise of Hard Seltzer Echoes the 19th Century Lager Craze | Washington Post Made by History blog, September 17, 2021
- Name Your Poison — Americans’ 19th-Century Quest for ‘Pure’ Beer | Good Beer Hunting, August 26, 2021 (also a podcast!)
- ‘Tek Cyear uh de Root,’ a three-part series written by Jamaal Lemon with assistance from myself, Mike Stein, and Peter Jones. Published by Good Beer Hunting and finalist for a 2022 James Beard Award!
- Case After Case—Lager Beer’s Time in Court in the 1850s | Good Beer Hunting, May 27, 2021 (also a podcast!)
- ‘Streets as Stages’—The Munich Beer Riots of 1844 | Good Beer Hunting, July 15, 2020.
- The Nation’s Beer Historian is Taking Stock | The Reporter’s Notebook blog, North American Guild of Beer Writers, May 7, 2020.
- Pandemic, Interrupted—A Besieged Beer Scene in 1918 Milwaukee | Good Beer Hunting, May 6, 2020
- The First Chicago Handshake—How 19th Century Milwaukee Beer Barons Leaned into Chicago | Good Beer Hunting, February 6, 2020
- Sunday Laws aren’t About Christianity—They’re About Economics | Washington Post Made by History blog, March 25, 2018.
- Closed, Thanks for the Memories–An Argument for Historical Preservation | Good Beer Hunting, March 7, 2018.
- When It Comes to Beer, Politics is Always on Tap | Washington Post Made by History blog, November 22, 2017.
- How Budweiser’s Super Bowl Ad Taps America’s Contentious Immigration Past | The Atlantic, February 5, 2017.
Media Appearances
- “Beer Riots! Beer History with Brian Alberts,” (Spotify link) Beer Sessions Radio Ep. 731, December 17, 2024.
- “Creating the Kegger,” (Spotify link) Beer Sessions Radio Ep. 715, July 15, 2024 (co-interview with Cody Ewert).
- Meg Hilling, “Why Beer and Politics Go Hand in Hand,” Scripps News, May 14, 2023 (interviewed).
- “S3E10 — Oktoberfest with Beer Historian Brian Alberts,” Rob (from the internet) Talks About Beer (Youtube), Nov. 10, 2022.
- “‘Tek Cyear uh de Root,’ Part One,” Good Beer Hunting podcast, July 12, 2021.
- ‘Brian Alberts Gets into the Mash Tun Time Machine,’ Good Beer Hunting podcast, Sept. 23, 2020.
- ‘Kate Bernot and Brian Alberts on the Temporality of Temperance,’ Good Beer Hunting podcast, Sept. 5, 2020.
- Interview for the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archive’s Beer Research Guide.
- ‘A Beer History: Ethnicity, Brew, & Waltzes’ with The DC Beer Show, May 8, 2019.
- Interview for Beer Me! on Full Service Radio, April 18, 2019.
- ‘Die Bier-Pioniere’ documentary, aired on Süd-West Rundfunk in Germany, Oct. 7, 2018. (No longer available online)
- Radio Interview for The Michael Smerconish Program, Sirius XM Radio, Feb. 6, 2017. (No longer available online)
Find my own podcast work here.
Historical Collaboration Beers
One of my favorite challenges is fitting history on a beer can. Historical collaboration beers are a uniquely quaffable way to communicate the past. I’m no brewer, but I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to a few of these beer releases now as a researcher and writer.
In both of the images above, I wrote primary can description in addition to collaborating on the overall concept and design. Here’s a bit more about each of the historical collabs I worked on:
- “8 and All”— An American strong ale commemorating the unnamed Black brewery workers enslaved by early Charleston brewer Edmund Egan. This beer was created as part of a one-off festival called “Tek Cyear uh da Root” in Charleston, South Carolina, held Nov 4, 2021. One of my podcast episodes, SM-005: That Dog Won’t Hunt (Spotify link), discusses the creation of this beer, its provocative artwork, and the historical and cultural context behind it. I also fully explore the history behind this beer in an article that I wrote for Good Beer Hunting (also linked above). Produced by Edmunds Oast Brewing Company in collaboration with myself, Jamaal Lemon, and Lost Lagers.
When I worked with the Chicago Brewseum/Beer Culture Center (see below), I also helped develop several collaboration beers that paired breweries with organizations to commemorate shared histories and connections.
- “Ella“—A harvest ale celebrating the historic women behind Wisconsin’s 19th century hop boom. Produced by the Chicago Brewseum, Dr. Jennifer Jordan at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Eris Brewery + Cidery, and 3 Sheeps Brewing. Debuted October 2019 at the Beer Culture Summit in Chicago.
- “All the World Is Here“—A reflection on the many faces and outcomes of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Produced by the Chicago Brewseum, the Field Museum, and Temperance Brewing Company. Debuted August 2019 in Chicago.
- “Cabin & Cottage“—A commemoration of the historical link between Illinois and Washington DC embodied by Abraham Lincoln. Produced by the Chicago Brewseum, President Lincoln’s Cottage, Lost Lagers, Powers Farm & Brewery, and Rolling Meadows Farm Brewery. Debuted April 2019 in Washington DC and July 2019 in Chicago.
Exhibit: Brewing Up Chicago
In 2018, the Chicago Brewseum (since renamed the Beer Culture Center) invited me to help design a new exhibit for the Field Museum. Brewing Up Chicago: How Beer Transformed a City explores how breweries and the communities that build them shaped the Second City’s early years. From beer-laden schooners on the Great Lakes to riots in the streets, Chicago’s brewed culture helped build—and rebuild—a city from the ground up. The exhibit debuted in November 2018 and is expected to run through early 2021.
Chicago Brewseum (now the Beer Culture Center)
From May 2018 to December 2019, I worked extensively with the Chicago Brewseum, a nonprofit cultural organization, to help craft a wide array of wonderful programming. In addition to the Brewing Up Chicago exhibit, I helped organize public talks, events, historical beer collaborations, educational programming, and social media content. Here is some of the amazing work we did.
Beer Culture Summit (October 24-27, 2019)
The first of its kind (and now held annually), this hybrid conference format put beer-focused scholars, museum professionals, and industry experts in conversation with one another and the public. The first Beer Culture Summit pulled back the veil on the latest thinking about beer culture via panels, celebrations, tastings and dinners, as well as public events like walking tours. An inclusive and rewarding event, the Summit offers an innovative way to advance our understanding of beer history and culture.
I assisted executive director Liz Garibay in developing the Summit concept and inaugural program, organizing panels and events, and recruiting presenters. I also presented on two panels. Though I was not involved after the first Summit, the event continues to be held annually by the Beer Culture Center.
Chicago Brewseum ‘On Tour’
In 2019, I helped the then-Brewseum break out of Chicago via two event series. We partnered with local museums, nonprofits, and breweries to explore how beer history could bring both locales together.
Seattle
In September 2019, we flew to the Emerald City to join Pilchuck Glass School in unveiling Beer + Glass, a joint exhibition about the power of glassware. Pike Brewing even helped us brew a special beer for the occasion! We build a diverse program around the occasion, including presenting beer history at Windy City Pie restaurant, hop history at The Pine Box bar, and discussing beer’s impact on local communities at the Olympia Tumwater Foundation. And after a tour of Pilchuck’s beautiful campus grounds, we held a panel on diversity and inclusion within the beer industry at Métier Brewing Company, just outside Seattle.
Washington DC
In April 2019, we visited Washington DC to present at the Pop Culture Association annual conference. While there we partnered with President Lincoln’s Cottage, Powers Farm & Brewery, and Rolling Meadows Farm brewery to produce a special collaboration beer, joined Heurich House Museum for a discussion about brewing’s impact on urban development, and visited the National Museum of American History for a quick tour. While in town, we also made sure to stop by the DC Beer Show and Beer Me! radio for a chat.
More Chicago Brewseum Talks
In late 2018 I spoke at a few small breweries to raise funds for the Brewing Up Chicago exhibit. It was enormous fun to share some of Chicago and the Midwest’s most amazing beer histories with these folks!
- “Beer, Bigots, and Brawls: When the Nord Seite Marched on City Hall” at Crystal Lake Brewing Company (Crystal Lake, IL), October 3, 2018
- “Sunday Freedom: Liquor Bans, Lager Beer, and German Immigrants” at Thieme & Wagner Brewery (Lafayette, IN), September 27, 2018
- “A Spice of Sin: Chicago’s Sunday Liquor Ban of 1872” at Metropolitan Brewing (Chicago, IL), August 15, 2018.
Brewed Culture 