Modern Cowboys' Favorite Beer: A Western Beverage Guide

Cowboys in the Wild West, spanning from about 1850 to 1900, drank a lot of alcohol, including beer and whiskey. While whiskey was more common, beer was also consumed frequently. This beer was often small-batch and locally brewed, sometimes by the saloon owner themselves, using grains that weren't suitable for food. It was typically served warm and had to be consumed quickly before it got flat. As the era progressed, some saloons gained access to larger breweries and could offer their patrons higher-quality, kegged beer.

Beer was not as common as whiskey

While beer was available to cowboys in the Wild West, it was not as common as whiskey. The era of the Wild West, lasting from around 1850 to 1900, saw European settlers move across the western United States to settle on new land. The early settlements were low on resources, and saloons were often more interested in profits than quality drinks.

Saloons typically offered whiskey and, later, beer. Whiskey was the most common alcoholic beverage of the era, partly because it was easier to transport across state lines and tasted fine when served warm. In contrast, beer was more perishable and had to be consumed quickly before it got warm or flat. Additionally, whiskey was often favoured due to its "shelf-stable" nature, retaining its taste and potency regardless of temperature fluctuations.

The first saloons were tents or square wooden structures with canvas coverings. They offered whiskey, which was typically raw and made with simple ingredients like raw alcohol, burnt sugar, and chewing tobacco. Whiskey was given colourful nicknames like "Coffin Varnish," "Tarantula Juice," and "Red Eye." Beer was not as prevalent, and when it was available, it had to be consumed quickly due to the lack of pasteurization, which had not yet been invented.

As the Wild West period progressed, some saloons gained access to larger breweries and could offer their patrons higher-quality beer. German immigrants who knew the art of brewing and moved west to places like Wisconsin and Missouri also contributed to the increasing availability of beer. However, beer was still not as widely consumed as whiskey, which held a prominent position in the saloons of the Wild West.

Beer was often home-brewed

The taste of home-brewed beer depended on the location of the saloon. In some places, the beer was devoid of hops, as they did not grow well in hot climates. These brews would have been made from grains, but lower-quality grains not used for bread-making, and they would have tasted sweet, like whiskey mash before distillation.

As the era progressed, some saloons gained access to larger breweries that were being established across the country. These saloons could purchase kegs of beer and offer their patrons a higher-quality product. German immigrants who moved West brought with them knowledge of brewing and introduced better grains, water sources, yeasts, and hops. They brewed mostly lagers, and as a result, keg beer began to replace home-brewed beer in saloons, which was often rancid, weak, and hopless.

The earliest breweries in the US were established in the mid-19th century, with Yuengling, founded in 1829 in Pennsylvania, being the first. As the brewing industry grew, competition increased, and breweries began to adopt the British "tied-house" system of control, where they owned saloons outright. Some brewing companies even built elaborate saloons to attract customers and advertise their beers.

Beer was typically served at room temperature until the late 1870s, when the first commercial refrigeration of beer began in the US. However, even before this, some saloons found ways to keep their beer cold, such as by harvesting natural ice or snow and storing it underground in caves or "ice houses".

Beer was sometimes watered down

In the early days of the Wild West, beer was often home-brewed by saloon owners, using lower-quality grains not suitable for bread-making. It was also unpasteurised, so it would continue to ferment if left out for too long. This meant that it was already of poor quality, and watering it down further would not have been noticeable to most patrons.

As the era progressed, some saloons gained access to larger breweries and could offer higher-quality, professionally brewed beer. However, watering down drinks was a common practice across the board, as seen with whiskey, which was also prone to dilution. This was often done by traders when exchanging whiskey with Indigenous populations. The tribes eventually caught on and learned that pouring whiskey onto a fire would reveal its quality: strong whiskey would ignite the flames, while watered-down whiskey would extinguish them.

While beer was sometimes watered down, it was still a popular drink among cowboys in the Wild West. It offered a safer alternative to contaminated water, and the fermentation process and alcohol content helped eliminate dangerous microbes and parasites. Additionally, many saloons offered free lunch with the purchase of a drink, making beer an easy and inexpensive way to fill one's belly during a long day of work.

Beer was served warm

Beer was not as common as whiskey in the Old West, but cowboys did drink a lot of it. In the late 1820s, the first saloons began to appear in the west, and while they mostly served whiskey, beer was also on the menu. However, beer was typically served warm, and it was drunk quickly so that it didn't get flat.

The era of the Wild West, from 1850 to 1900, saw European settlers move across the western United States to settle new land. These early settlements had limited resources, so saloon owners were more focused on profit than quality. Beer was often home-brewed by the saloon owner, made from lower-quality grains that weren't used for bread-making. It was also unpasteurised, so it would continue to ferment if left out. This meant that beer was often watered down to improve profit margins and to prevent it from becoming too strong.

Beer was typically stored in kegs, and sometimes in barrels that patrons would sit on. It was served at room temperature, in the European tradition, and had a head but wasn't sudsy like today's beer. While some saloons kept beer cold, this was not common in the Wild West. However, as the era progressed, some saloons gained access to bigger breweries and could offer higher-quality, kegged beer to their patrons.

The earliest brewery in the US was Yuengling, founded in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. As German immigrants moved west, bringing their brewing expertise with them, kegged beer became more popular. German brewers introduced better grains, water sources, yeast, and hops, and their professionally brewed beer was a marked improvement on the home-brewed varieties that had come before.

Beer was also known as 'John Barleycorn'

Beer was also known as John Barleycorn, derived from a folk song about whiskey. The beverage was often home-brewed by the saloon owner, using grains that were not suitable for food, resulting in a lower-quality product. It was not pasteurised, so it had to be consumed quickly before it turned flat and warm.

Beer was not as common or popular as whiskey in the Wild West, but cowboys did consume a lot of it. Alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than water, as the fermentation process and alcohol content eliminated harmful microbes and parasites. Additionally, saloons often offered free lunch with the purchase of a drink, making beer or whiskey an affordable way to fill one's stomach during a long day of work.

The taste and quality of beer varied depending on the location and the ingredients used. In some remote areas, beer was typically home-brewed without hops, as they did not grow well in hot climates. These brews were made from grains and had a sweet taste similar to whiskey mash before distillation. However, just like whiskey, beer was often diluted with "enhancers" or water by saloon owners to maximise profits.

As the era progressed, some saloons gained access to larger breweries and could offer their patrons higher-quality, kegged beer. German immigrants who moved west brought their brewing expertise and introduced better grains, water sources, yeast, and hops to the brewing process. This resulted in improved beer that was professionally brewed and transported to saloons, providing a marked improvement over the previous home-brewed, rancid, and weak beers.

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