Beer, Germans & Methodism

When German immigrant Ludwig Jacoby rode his horse into St. Louis in 1841, he couldn’t have possibly known the chaos that would ensue. The Methodist minister’s pursuit of building a church was met with challenges so extreme it’s amazing he had the will to push forward: race riots, violence, and hatred came from varying directions. Set in the context of St. Louis struggling with the influx of humanity due to massive immigration, this minister and his congregation navigate a timeline of turmoil. St. Louis Germans encountered a clash of cultures each step of the way, facing unrest during the Temperance Movement, the instability of World War I, and the confusion of Prohibition. Beer, Germans & Methodism is a look at how German Americans traversed the rocky path of religion, politics, and yes, beer.