The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel

The Lager Queen of Minnesota is a family drama concerning two sisters, Edith and Helen, estranged since their father died and left the family farm to Helen in 1967. We first meet Edith first, in 2003, at age 64, who is convinced that her younger sister Helen has manipulated their father into changing his will. Edith strives to earn a living at a nursing home, where she has been baking pies, for 37 years.Rolling the narrative back to 1959 and shifting to Helen’s point of view, Stradal draws a sharp contrast. Helen has just had her first taste of beer at 15, and all she wants is to get out of her small Minnesota hometown and brew beer. While Edith struggles to make a living, despite baking award-winning pies, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, from someone she has known all her life. . . But is it too late?The story is narrated using flashbacks and multiple points of view. Stradal expertly develops his story in a nonlinear fashion, moving back and forth from 2003, in chapters seen through the eyes of Edith and her granddaughter Diana, with intermingling episodes from Helen’s spectacular rise in the light beer business in the 1970s.Though revolving around the beer business, At the heart of it, it’s a story of three resilient women – Helen, Edith, and Diana. There is lots of humor to keep things on the lighter side but the book slips in many emotional moments when you are least expecting them. The small-town setting and the historical background of brewing from the 1950s show the commendable amount of research the author has undertaken. The first half was a bit slow but enjoyable. The second half is where the story catches steam. Full marks for the warm satisfying conclusion which made it a strong finish for me. .Stradal creates some strong and memorable characters. It was easy to get invested in these characters right from the start—From the all sacrificing Edith who always put other’s needs above her own to Helen, a ruthless, somewhat manipulative business tycoon to Diana, a teenager who kept getting into trouble until she was caught and had to work her way out of trouble, all of them expertly crafted. Apart from the characters, the book has many bright moments which will keep you invested in the storyline.While the story has many resilient women, their storylines never combined together except towards the end. So it felt like reading different parallel stories in isolation, rather than the story of 3 generations. All the information about brewing beers and all the different kinds of beers was just so overwhelming, especially for someone who doesn’t drink at all. So a lot of it I didn’t understand but I found the process interesting nonetheless.Overall, The Lager Queen of Minnesota is an emotional family drama with some strong and empowering female characters. With a cast of lovable characters, sharp writing, a touch of humor, and a heartwarming finish, this is a delightful read. If you love reading family dramas with strong female characters, this is a must-read book for you.

This is a truly delightful novel. My book club loved it! The member who picked it brought along samples of beers for us to try and that added to our enjoyment.!There is strong character portrayal int he book and a deep understanding of the culture and values of the Twin City area of Minnesota. We see the middle class values of hard work and stoic acceptance of the difficulties of life, but we also get the definite theme that the wealthy have no conception of what it is like to struggle for even the most basic necessities of modern life, like dependable transportation. We get some moral quandaries to make us ask ourselves how we would react to inability to provide for those you love.At the same time, there is much humor in this book and a genuine affection for the toughness and spirit of old ladies! Clearly, it is wrong to pan this book because the plot strains credulity! That's not the point. Yes, there are some real problems explored in the book, but in the end, the solution to those problems seems pretty unlikely! That's not the point. This is not a book written to suggest solutions to pressing social problems. Rather, it is a partly humorous, partly serious book that was written to engage and entertain the reader! At that objective, it is highly successful!To illustrate my point about realism, it is not realistic that a bunch of inexperienced old ladies could quickly learn to brew marketable beers! But to judge the book on this basis is unfair. The author is not attempting to write a realistic treatment of how beer is brewed. It is the relationships, work ethic, and quirky behaviors of the characters that make this a great read.You will greatly enjoy this book. Having spent a lot of time in Minneapolis, where our youngest son is raising his family, we found a lot of very keen observations in the book. But, you don't have to have even set foot in Minnesota to enjoy this book. Don't miss this one!

After reading too many heavy, dark novels I needed a light-hearted summer read and this book didn't disappoint me. On occasion it made me smile and even laugh out loud. But the story isn't frivolous; the characters are selfless, warm, mid-westerners and serious themes flow through this story. I'm looking forward to reading more by J. Ryan Stradal.

I do not really like beer but I loved this book. I heard about this book on the #amwriting podcast, a recommendation from @kjda and it did not disappoint.This book was fun to read, and hard to put down. The characters are very well developed and you feel their joys and pains as they do. They become real, not just words on a page. My only complaint is that the book ended. I want to know what happens to these characters next.What a fun, endearing and interesting book that attests to the Midwest ethics. In a nutshell it is a family saga with microbrews and rhubarb pie.Very entertaining by J. Ryan Stradal. I definitely look forward to more books from Mr. Stradal and will order his previous „Kitchens of the Midwest“ now.

What a fantastic story, just made me want to brew beer and understand more about its creation. I loved the passionate and driven characters.

This was an enjoyable read especially if you, or someone in your life, is a beer fan. It’s a good family saga with strong, determined women at the center.