The gang wars in Chicago during Prohibition are known as the “beer wars” for a reason. There were a number of competing bootlegging rackets. Their conflict would culminate in one of the most grisly crimes of the time.
“Beer is, if not wholly, certainly heavily to blame for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929,” says Claire White, senior director of education for the Mob Museum.
It’s just one intersection of beer and mob history in the museum’s summertime experience, The Untapped Story. The limited-time tour pairs rotating local craft brew tastings with historical narratives—vividly brought to life through multiple exhibits and knowledgeable guides.
Here are some of our favorite pairings.
Ale & A Tough Little Town
Walking past what feels like the exterior of Vegas’ original dive, the Arizona Club, we sip on Big Dog’s Red Hydrant brown ale and gander at artifacts and black and white photos. The Tough Little Town exhibit focuses on the city’s earliest days—the establishment of the railroad, the infamous Block 16 red light district and the building of Hoover Dam.
The history pairs well with facts about the beer, which was popular during the first 200 years of American colonization. “Most beers produced were ales—heavy English or Irish-style brown ales and red ales. And they couldn’t travel far. They didn’t last long,” White says.
IPA & St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall
Moving into the 1920s and ’30s, we progress from ale to Able Baker Brewing’s Atomic Duck IPA. Invented by British brewers in the 18th century, India Pale Ale contained more hops (a natural preservative) and could make the journey all the way to India, then an English colony.
After hearing the grim and heavy history of the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, we could certainly use a drink. Born from a double-crossing in a joint brewery operation between Chicago’s North Side and South Side gangs, seven men were lined up against a brick wall and gunned down in a garage. Standing next to 300 bricks of that re-constructed wall, the only thing colder than the chill running down our spines is the beer in our hands.
Kölsch & Open City
Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, and in the following decades, Las Vegas became known as “open city” because no one syndicate controlled the town. The Open City exhibit immerses us in the luxurious lighting and plush seating guests might have enjoyed at Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo hotel and casino, and interactive slot machines spitting out oral history.
White says beer “took a backseat” in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s in favor of spirits and cocktails, but that doesn’t stop our tour from enjoying a crisp kölsch—a type of ale fermented longer and at a colder temperature—brewed in-house at the museum’s distillery. As we sip that refreshing summer beverage and play trivia in the Underground, we’re happily toasting to this insightful tour.
THE UNTAPPED STORY: A BEER TASTING EXPERIENCE Thru August 31, Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m., $69. Mob Museum, themobmuseum.org.
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