Brewing Beer in a Time of Temperance

Join the Beer Culture Center and the Museum of Boulder for an evening of beer and an exploration of a unique chapter in Boulder County’s brewing history with Travis Rupp of the University of Colorado Boulder.

The history of beer and brewing in Boulder County runs deep with the first breweries opened by Austrian and German immigrants in the 1860s and 1870s. However, ideological change was simultaneously on its way to the Front Range via the Chicago-Colorado Colony. Formed by wealthy businessmen from Chicago, the newly formed Chicago-Colorado Colony sought to establish a thriving agricultural community in Boulder County. From 1871-1873, they established their new city and named it Longmont, Colorado. Where industrialized farming was their main motive, there were cultural motives as well. Promoting ideas of moral integrity, Longmont was established as a temperance community. Being caught drinking alcohol could cost residents their membership in the colony and destroy their careers and livelihoods. This presentation explores how Longmont residents interacted and struggled with surrounding communities in Boulder County who had longstanding beer and brewing traditions in the 19th century.

The Beer Culture Center, based in Chicago, is the world’s first non-profit cultural organization dedicated to sharing stories of how beer and alcohol have shaped humanity. Learn more at .

5:30 PM: Arrive and mingle (with beer!)
6:00 PM: Program begins
7:30 PM: Program ends

Cost: $20
Members: $10
EBT and Tribal Members: Free

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Host or Publisher Museum of Boulder