The Quad Cities have a rich history of brewing that started with the influx of German citizens in the 1800s. Breweries were established on both sides of the Mississippi River. Some of these historic breweries managed to reopen after Prohibition, but national competition ultimately closed the last of these stalwarts in 1956. In 1989, Iowa created a special class "A" brewpub permit, and the first of many brewpubs in the area, Front Street Pub & Eatery, opened in 1992. Blue Cat Brew Pub, on the Illinois side of the river, opened shortly after. The brewing renaissance has helped to establish the Quad Cities as a craft beer destination. Join authors Michael McCarty and Kristin DeMarr as they celebrate the heady heritage of the region.

Michael McCarty is the author of more than fifty books of fiction and nonfiction, including Ghosts of the Quad Cities (with Mark McLaughlin), Eerie Quad Cities (with John Brassard Jr.) and Modern Mythmakers: 35 Interviews with Horror and Science Fiction Writers and Filmmakers . He is a five-time Bram Stoker Finalist and in 2008 won the David R. Collins Literary Achievement Award from the Midwest Writing Center. His blog site is at http: //monstermikeyaauthor.wordpress.com.
Kristin DeMarr is a college English/film instructor and a freelance writer/editor who won the 2019 Iron Pen Contest in nonfiction. She is the author of First Impressions: In Fifty Words and The Funny, the Serious, and the Seriously Funny: Collected Writings . Her newsletter is at https: //kristinwritesmuch.substack.com.