What’s in a Name? Historical and Contemporary Trends in Brewery Names Along the US 23 Corridor in Ohio

The US 23 corridor, which connects the Ohio River to the Lake Erie region, serves as a useful longitudinal cross section of Ohio with which to study spatial and temporal changes to its cultural and economic geographies. From the Ohio River city of Portsmouth in the south, to Toledo in the north, the modern US 23 follows historic transportation routes that were dominated by overland trails, canals, and railroads. The highway traverses a landscape that, in the early nineteenth century, was dotted with emerging frontier towns, many of which were home to at least one brewery. Most early brewers were of English ancestry and Protestant; they were either recent immigrants or first-generation Americans. By the 1840s, Anglo brewers, along with their ales and porters, were largely replaced by German immigrants, most of whom were Roman Catholic, and who introduced lager-style beers to local markets. Most early nineteenth century breweries in the study area were known by the names of their owners. By the late nineteenth century, however, newly organized breweries were more likely to have names connected to geographic or cultural themes. After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, most of the pre-prohibition breweries in the study area did not reopen. The rise of the craft beer movement in the 1980s, however, revived regional interest in brewing and resulted in a proliferation of craft breweries in Ohio, including cities within the US 23 corridor. How do the names of these contemporary craft breweries differ from historic breweries and what is the significance of these shifting identities? The purpose of this research is to identify and analyze the significance of spatial and temporal trends in contemporary craft brewery names for breweries operating within the US 23 corridor, and to compare them to the names of breweries operating in the same region prior to Prohibition. Craft breweries in the twenty-first century have their own naming conventions. Unlike pre-Prohibition breweries, they rarely include the surnames of their owners, and are more likely to have names that represent geographic, cultural, historic, and/or local identities, often as expressions of neolocalism.