I'm readying a manuscript for my publisher titled BEER & FOOD: An American History for publication in the late fall. The book takes a look at how American beer and food really came together. It's part American brewing history/part food recipes from colonial days through contemporary times.
Your mention of Harvard Lager and your aim to build a beer database caught my eye. I did an article a couple of years ago for the Chicago Tribune about the evolution of American beer and included a sidebar of current beers that have some history behind them or now try to mimic oldtime beers, to include using corn. I'm now adding to this list to compliment beer-in-food recipes from the early 1900s.
If you could keep me in mind if you come across such beers, or if you stumble upon food/beer recipes from pre-Proh or post-Repeal breweries, please drop me a line.
I've included below the sidebar from the Tribune article to give you a better idea of one of the things I'm looking for:
Sidebar:
Want to get a taste of the beers of yesteryear? Not surprisingly, a number of brewers have been experimenting with beers that follow old-time brewing formulas. Some of these beers are all-malt products, similar in taste and body to any number of German imports. Others follow the use of the brewing adjuncts of corn or rice in addition to the predominate grain bill of malted barley. These beers approach the tastes and characteristics of a late 19th or early 20th century American beer.
Capital 1900---Created from an "old Wisconsin recipe," rumored to be an original Schlitz formula, this pilsner beer is fuller in taste than a contemporary American pilsner with a hint of corn. Capital Brewery, Middletown, WI
Brooklyn Lager---Brewed to "a pre-Prohibition recipe," this copper-colored lager beer is full-bodied with a sweet carmel taste. Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn Pilsner---Reminiscent of an American pilsner before corn and rice became acknowledged adjuncts in U.S. beers. Both Brooklyn's Lager and Pilsner use European two-row barley. Brooklyn, New York
Huber Premium Beer---Mild malty aroma ".brewed the same way for over a century." Mellow taste with light addition of hops. The brewery prides itself in lagering its beer for five weeks before it leaves the plant. The average maturation time for many American beers is two weeks or less. Huber Brewing Company, Monroe, WI
Berghoff Original Lager Beer---Now brewed by Huber, the recipe for this full-bodied beer was purchased from the Berghoff family in 1994. Huber Brewing Company, Monroe, WI
Point Special Lager---Another throw back from years ago, this beer is quintessentially American from it choice of "select brewers grains" to its use of American hops. Another regional brewery that follows a lagering period for its beers from three to four weeks. Stevens Point, WI
City Lager---Not a pre-Prohibition beer but an example of what many Chicagoland beer drinkers felt was their brand in the 1970s and 1980s. This beer is brewed in the same La Crosse, WI plant that once produced G. Heileman's original Old Style and uses the same yeast and krausening method of fermentation for smoothness that Old Style once did. Light-bodied with a hint of sweet corn in the taste. La Crosse, WI
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me,
Bob Skilnik wwwchicagolandbeerhistory.com www.lcbartendercom