Morris Arboretum’s 2017-2018 Lecture Series concludes with Rich Wagner, Pennsylvania Brewery Historian, onThursday, April 19 at 7pm with his lecture, Brewing and Malting in Early Philadelphia.
Anthony Morris, ancestor of Arboretum founders, John and Lydia Morris, became Philadelphia’s second brewer in 1687. The Morris family founded several breweries to supply ship captains with necessary sustenance for their long voyages and serve the city’s thriving tavern culture that supplied the growing city with food, drink, and lodging. When Philadelphia was the second largest English-speaking city after London, and the largest seaport in the colonies, it produced more beer than the rest of the colonies combined. William Penn and later the founding fathers promoted the development of the brewing industry as a solid foundation for a temperate society and as an engine for promoting industry and technological innovation. Brewing gave agriculture production a boost since brewers needed barley and hops, which encouraged their cultivation. Rich Wagner began interpreting the brewing process in 1990 at William Penn’s home, Pennsbury Manor. Since then he has constructed his own brewing system to demonstrate the brewing technology of the late seventeenth century. Using this experience along with primary source material he gives us a view of the city’s earliest breweries.
Lectures are supported in part by the Klein Lecture Endowment given in memory of Dr. William M. Klein who served from 1977-1990 as the Arboretum’s first full-time director; the Laura L. Barnes Lecture Endowment of The Philadelphia Foundation, given in memory of Laura Barnes by students and alumni of her school of horticulture; and the Byron Lukens Lecture Endowment, given in memory of educator and Arboretum volunteer, Byron Lukens and his wife Elizabeth.
Join Morris Arboretum for this engaging talk followed by a reception with refreshments at the Widener Visitor Center. The cost for this lecture is $15 for Arboretum members and $20 for non-members, which includes admission to the garden for the talk. Advanced registration and payment are required. Please call 215-247-5777, ext. 125 or http://bit.ly/morrislectures to make your reservation.
Morris Arboretum is a 92-acre horticultural display garden that features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a beautiful and colorful landscape. The official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, effective 1988, Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and accredited by the American Association of Museums. For more information, visit: www.morrisarboretum.org
Photo Credit: Courtesy, Richard Wagner
Photo Caption: On Thursday, April 19 at 7pm, Morris Arboretum presents a lecture by Rich Wagner,Pennsylvania Brewery Historian, Brewing and Malting in Early Philadelphia. The cost for this lecture is $15 for Arboretum members and $20 for non-members, which includes a reception with refreshments. Advanced registration and payment are required. Please call 215-247-5777, ext. 125 or http://bit.ly/morrislectures to make your reservation.