The Lager Queen of Minnesota

The narrative jumps to 1959, following Helen Calder as she tries her first beer as a 15-year-old girl. Helen steals a few beers from her parent’s fridge with her friends Chesley and Linton, hiding them in their shirts. Helen encounters Edith, and although Helen knows Edith won’t reveal Helen’s theft to their parents, Helen neglects to invite Edith to join them as they run to the barn to drink. Helen assumes Edith will decline. Helen finishes her beer before either boy, loving every drop and instantly wanting more. She attempts to convince Chesley to steal more beer with her; he refuses, not wanting to get in trouble. Helen is attracted to Chesley, though she dislikes his lack of life ambition while resting on the inheritance of his family’s farm.

Several weeks later, at Edith’s wedding to Stanley, Helen feels disappointed by the lack of beer at Edith’s reception. She finds Edith’s wedding cheap and boring, though she acknowledges Edith’s happiness. She reflects on Edith’s height and how difficult it must have been to find a wedding dress that fits her appropriately. A few months later, Helen feels like an outsider among her rule-follower friends, Chesley included, when they refuse to attend a party serving beer. Helen asks her parents for a beer for her birthday, and when presented with an A&W Root Beer, Helen chucks the bottle through her family’s kitchen window. Later that night, she fantasizes about becoming a brewer after attending college. Her father hands her a note instructing Helen to go to the garage, where she finds three beers in a bucket. She enthusiastically drinks all three alone.

A few years later, Helen attends Macalester College in St. Paul. Unaccustomed to city life and large crowds of people, Helen attempts to get to know her roommate, Tippi Londholm, in their shared dorm room. Helen feels annoyed that Tippi is overly concerned with boys and doesn’t take her studies seriously. Tippi asserts that she never intends to marry or build a career after graduation. She mentions Orval Blotz to Helen, the well-known heir to a local soda company. Tippi informs Helen that Orval’s family brewed beer before soda. Helen studies chemistry. She spends much of her free time researching beer brewing in the college library, learning how women ran the beer industry for centuries before men began dominating the profession more recently. She notices Orval in one of her classes and feels compelled to speak with him about his family’s brewing history. Knowing prettier girls see Orval as a potential husband, Helen decides to wait until she has something worthwhile to discuss with Orval.

Home for winter break, Chesley (now Helen’s serious boyfriend) helps Helen brew her first small batch of beer. Although he knows brewing without a license is illegal, Chesley asks his relatives for barley and hops. Chesley’s Uncle Mortiz asks Helen difficult questions about the chemistry of brewing to demean her before dismissing the young adults. Chesley’s Aunt Petunia intercepts Helen before they leave, leading her into the home’s basement and providing her with a taste of her homebrewed imperial stout. Petunia tells Helen, “I’d like to see more people like us making beer. Provided you don’t screw it up” (46) and negotiates a trade of brewing supplies for a significant portion of Helen’s finished ale. Helen begrudgingly agrees to the trade, knowing she will only claim one or two bottles for herself.

Helen and Chesley successfully brew an ale that Helen proudly finds delicious. Helen lies to Chesley, telling him she promised her chemistry professor a bottle when she intends to invite Orval to sample her brew. Knowing she will soon end their relationship, Helen has sex with Chesley as a way to simultaneously celebrate their accomplishment while saying goodbye.

At Macalester, Helen intentionally runs into Orval, and the two go out for dinner. Orval confesses his family’s soda business is failing, and he intends on converting Blotz into a beer brewery upon graduation. He fears this confession will cause Helen to abandon their date, as most women assume Orval is wealthy. On the contrary, Helen feels deeply attracted to Orval, knowing they share a common ambition. She enthusiastically invites Orval to sample her homebrew. As Helen and Orval wait for Helen’s beer to chill in a pile of snow, Orval admits he only recently drank his first beer, a Coors. Helen knows Coors carries a favorable reputation as a high-quality beer, and she’s jealous that Orval tasted one. Orval confides in Helen that he wants to brew a beer just like Coors, and Helen believes this to be an outstanding life plan.

Orval sips Helen’s beer, disappointing her by describing the flavor as too spicy and robust. He encourages Helen to make a better beer, something more like Coors. Helen chugs the remainder of her beer. By Easter, Helen and Orval are dating and creating business plans for their brewery. They have all the necessary equipment because of Orval’s family soda business, but they will need significant cash to start. Helen notices her parents struggle to maintain their health, and she enquires about her inheritance. Helen’s parents meet Orval, and together, Orval and Helen reveal their plan to start a brewery. Helen’s father is intrigued by the idea, and he tells Helen to let him know what she needs to get the business started. Helen’s mother approves of Orval as a romantic partner. Helen feels more confident than ever about her plan to become a brewer.