In westerns, everyone always orders “a beer” or “a shot”. How close was their beer to modern day beer? What kind of hard alcohol was most common and what does it most closely resemble today?

by redneckjdtech

To add on to that, did every area have there own “home brew” which is why they just say beer? Were there certain brands back then that were distributed or just whatever they made that day? Same with hard alcohol?

itsallfolklore

This answer is based on four archaeological excavations I helped support (and served as dig historian) between 1993 and 2001 in the Virginia City National Historic Landmark, Virginia City, Nevada. Two of the excavations were supervised by Kelly Dixon, now teaching at the U of Montana at Missoula. Her "Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology And History In Virginia City" (2006) is an important benchmark in the field. I summarized the work from these and other projects in the Landmark in my Virginia City: Secrets of a Western Part (2012).

Beers were bottled or draft. Bottled beer could be imported from anywhere from throughout the US to Europe. Draft beer was usually a local brew. Saloons would advertise themselves as a "Brewery and Saloon" not because they brewed beer but because they had a contract with a brewery and offered beer on draft. Establishments without a contract only served bottles and were called "Saloons" or "Bars" (without the "Brewery and") Evidence from excavations reveal a full range of imported beers including English and Scottish ales, but the local brewed beer probably approximated a typical American lager - before everyone went all IPA.

Evidence for alcohol include imported gins and various liquors and other exotic things. There was also a great deal of whiskey and brandy. We found many shot glasses of ample size (not those tiny single shot glasses one sometimes sees today). That said, saloons often advertised having an expert "mixologist" behind the bar. Mixed drinks were becoming all the rage, and people enjoyed a full range of possibilities.

One should also not ignore all the wine and champagne.

Here are a few images from the excavations: this shows an array of bottles and objects, being arranged for an exhibit. Here is a carbon water filter from London, dating to about 1863 found in the debris of one of the saloons. Here is a Glasgow ale bottle with the label intact. And here is a Tabasco Pepper Sauce bottle, ca. 1869 from our African American saloon - because saloons usually offered something to eat as well.

I worked hard on this answer. I think I deserve a beer, and I don't see any of you buying, so I'll help myself.