(Whitewater Public Library submission) The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library presents: Beers, Brewers and Bootleggers, a three-week virtual series on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. Please register for this Zoom series at whitewaterlibrary.org. Invitations are sent out an hour before the program starts.

2/2/2021 Beer Barons on Geneva Lake and their Milwaukee Neighbors
Introduce yourself to the six beer barons of Geneva Lake and the four major brewers in Milwaukee. Learn the difference between ale and lager beer as well as the basics of brewing beer in the 19th century in this illustrated presentation. You’ll also hear about how the brewers responded to prohibition.

2/9/2021 From Temperance to Prohibition
Discover our early struggle over “the devil’s drink”…from the Mayflower to Walworth County Temperance Societies and early laws.  Meet the big three local advocates.  All a prelude to the “great noble experiment” of 1919 to 1933. What will Prohibition bring—besides a disrespect for the law?

2/16/2021 Welcome to Prohibition
“Better than no alcohol at all” … we learn to cope with the new 18th constitutional amendment…speakeasies, bootleggers, rival gangs, blind pigs, moonshine, cocktails, near-beer and home brewing.  How Alcoholics Anonymous and Mothers Against Drunk Driving influence how we think…and drink.

Speaker: Michael Rehberg
Michael Rehberg is Lead Interpreter at Black Point Estate & Gardens, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s historic house museum in Lake Geneva. He gives presentations that bring history into the community. Rehberg is a year-round resident of Walworth County, with a home on the south shore of Lake Como. He earned his BA and MBA degrees from UW-Madison and earned a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from UW-Parkside. Rehberg was the project manager for developing Lake Geneva’s walking tours, in collaboration with the Geneva Lake Museum and Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Commission. He is active in local history, genealogy, and historic preservation groups.