Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and it also has many interesting books. In this series, we are sharing some of the books we like from Minnesota, or Minnesota authors.
We are mapping our literary journey around Minnesota, so you can see all the interesting places where our books are set. Follow our progress on our Google Map, accessible by clicking that link or searching for the title CMLE Reads Across Minnesota!
This is a guest post from CMLE member Violet Fox. Want to write a book review for us? Let us know!
The 2016 documentary “Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass” (directed by Kelly Nathe and Norah Shapiro) and the 2007 book Minnesota 13: Stearns County’s Wet Wild Prohibition Days (written by Elaine Davis) both tell the story of an apparently excellent version of moonshine known as Minnesota 13. This clear distilled whiskey, made with a variety of corn developed by the University of Minnesota for a shorter growing season, was well-known throughout Minnesota and beyond. One of the old timers in the documentary tells a joke about a sailor at a bar in Hong Kong who sees a sign that reads, “If we don’t have the liquor you ask for, your drinks are free all evening”; the sailor asks for Minnesota 13, and the bartender replies, “Do you want Bowlus or Holdingford?”
The documentary highlighted many historical organizations in the area, including the archives of the Stearns History Museum, the Holdingford Area Historical Society, and the Dassel History Center. Local archivists and historians told fascinating stories of people struggling through the Depression who saw distilling moonshine during Prohibition as a way to feed their families and keep their farms. Both the book and the movie take care to place the illicit liquor trade in its historical context. Central Minnesota is an island of German Catholics, and while many Minnesotan Lutherans were teetotalers, the German Catholics saw drinking (especially beer) as an integral part of their culture. Religious leaders in the area looked the other way as their parishioners broke the law; distilling moonshine may have been illegal, but it wasn’t immoral. In fact, the documentary claims that the monks of Saint John’s Abbey ran and owned one of the biggest stills in Stearns County!
The documentary goes on to tell the story of a modern micro-distillery (11wells, based in St. Paul) dedicated to bringing the original flavor back, from growing Minnesota 13 corn from heritage seeds to distilling a whiskey inspired by the moonshine (though they use oats, wheat, and barley in addition to the original corn mash). This book and film shine light on the bootlegging stories of this supposedly sleepy part of Minnesota; if you live in this area, you’ll enjoy knowing more about its fascinating history.