Two Steins, Peter J. a sociologist and Michael V. a beer historian, will explore the seldom-heard history of Jews in beer. The Steins will tell stories of their paternal ancestor Joseph Stein, a Bohemian merchant, as well as Jakub Pinkas, owner of the famed Old Town tavern U Pinkasu who poured the first Pilsner Urquell in Prague. Stories of Bavarian Jews Josef Schulein and Jakob von Hirsch include modernizing Munich breweries and their scaling up from a cottage industry into industrial powerhouses. Dr. Peter J. and Michael V. will trace the stories of Jews in beer in Czech and German lands and highlight what has been left out of popular beer history.

This event is generously supported by Eric Johnson and Anissa Listak.

Michael Stein is an award-winning writer and a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers. As President of Lost Lagers, Washington, DC’s premier beverage research firm his works as a beer and brewing historian have been served at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Polish Ambassador’s residence. Senior Staff Writer at DCBeer.com, his work appears in Washington City Paper, Brewery History Journal, and CIDERCRAFT magazine.

Peter J. Stein was a witness to history, a keeper of Holocaust memories and teller of its stories. Dr. Stein is the author of the recently published A Boy's Journey: From Nazi-Occupied Prague to Freedom in America. He served as the director of William Paterson University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and today lives in Washington, DC, and currently serves as a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.