Two Beer Riots

The Munich Beer Riot of 1844 was a reaction to the price of beer set by the Bavarian government. The Lager Beer Riot took place in Chicago in 1855, and was a response to municipal policies put in place by mayor Levi Boone that targeted the city’s Catholic and immigrant populations.

Research:

• Alberts, Brian. “‘Streets as Stages’ — The Munich Beer Riots of 1844.” Good Beer Hunting. https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2020/7/13/streets-as-stages-the-munich-beer-riots-of-1844
• "Bavaria." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Mar. 2026. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBavaria%2F13830&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026. Britannica Editors. "Oktoberfest". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oktoberfest. Accessed 2 September 2026.
• Carpenter, Kim Newak. “‘Sechs Kreuzer sind genug fuer ein Bier!’: The Munich beer riot of 1844: Social protest and public disorder in mid-19th century Bavaria.” A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. 1998.
• Durica, Paul. “‘A Montstrous Doctrine’ - Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot.” Mash Tun. https://mashtunjournal.org/texts/lagerriot
• Einhorn, Robin. “Lager Beer Riot.” Encyclopedia of Chicago. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/703.html
• Engels, Frederick. “Beer Riots in Bavaria.” The Northern Star, No. 341, May 25, 1844, p. 6.
• Grossman, Ron. “Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot proved immigrants’ power.” Chicago Tribune. 9/25/2015. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/09/25/chicagos-lager-beer-riot-proved-immigrants-power/
• "Ludwig I, King of Bavaria." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 34, Gale, 2014. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010137/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=df1b49ec. Accessed 2 Sept. 2026
• Magelssen, Scott. “The 1855 Lager Beer Riot Dodgeball Reenactment and Beer Tasting.” Theatre Journal, DECEMBER 2015, Vol. 67, No. 4, Possible Worlds (DECEMBER2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24582647
• New York Herald, European Edition. “1889: Beer Crisis in Bavaria.” 9/19/1889. Reprinted In the New York Times 9/18/2014. https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/1889-beer-crisis-in-bavaria/
• Renner, Richard Wilson. “In Perfect Ferment: Chicago, the Know-Nothings, and the Riot for Lager.” Chicago History V, no. 3 (1976): 161-170.
• WBEZ Chicago. Morning Shift. “Fest looks at the history of the Lager Beer Riot.” 4/24/2015. https://www.wbez.org/morning-shift/2015/04/24/fest-looks-at-the-history-of-the-lager-beer-riot.
• Weiss, Jana. “A Lager Beer Revolution: The History of Beer and German American Immigration.” Life & Letters. University of Texas at Austin. Originally published in Not Even Past. 9/19/2023. https://lifeandletters.la.utexas.edu/2023/09/a-lager-beer-revolution-the-history-of-beer-and-german-american-immigration/

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