LEWISTON — History is a thirsty business.

In fact, more than two dozen people were so parched after author Lauren Clark’s talk at the library Thursday night, they had to retire to Baxter Brewing for a few pints.

It’s OK, though, because Clark’s talk was about the history of beer in New England. Few are more qualified to cover the topic. Clark is a former brewer, bartender and drinks journalist, not to mention the author of “Crafty Bastards: Brewing in New England from the Mayflower to Modern Day.”

So, how is the business of beer in these parts?

“Hundreds of new breweries open up in this country every week,” Clark said.

Maine has more breweries now than the entire country had in 1980, a time when the industry was slumping.

Clark was speaking as part of the Page & Pints series, which has been bringing authors, bloggers and other experts in matters of booze to Lewiston. For an hour, she titillated the audience with tales from America’s boozy past, stretching back to a time when a bunch of thirsty pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower.

“The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth,” Clark said, “because they were out of beer. Beer was part of their diet. It’s what they drank instead of water.”

Clark spoke of the early taverns, which sprung up everywhere new towns were built. She spoke of the American Revolution and the importance of beer among those fighting it.

“A lot of the Revolution played out in the taverns,” Clark told the audience. “It’s where they were making plans, talking about troop movements and that kind of thing.”

And she shared tidbits that few people seemed to know: Why ARE there six beers in a traditional pack, anyway? Why, it’s because rounding up beer at the grocery store was typically a housewife’s job.

“The men decided that six was the maximum number that a woman could comfortably carry out of the store,” Clark said.

Fun stuff. And by the time Clark concluded her talk with a few details about more modern brewing heroes, the group was ready to adjourn to Baxter.

“I enjoyed it,” Karin Jenas said of Clark’s talk. “I’m actually involved with a guy who’s opening a brewery.”

Jenas, one of more than a dozen who crammed into the brewery’s lounge area, was drinking a Stowaway Ale and pontificating on the success of the night.

“It’s a nice, tight community in Lewiston,” she said. “Everybody sticks together.”

Nearby, Stanley Hollenbeck was also drinking Stowaway. He likes the taste of hops an awful lot, he said, and Stowaway really brings it.

Hollenbeck didn’t need to take a tour of the brewery like the others. He actually works at Baxter Brewing and for the time being, he was just hanging out.

“It’s a pretty great place,” he said. “I come in whenever necessary. I’m here way more than I need to be.”

Who can blame him? Not Clark. After making her way down from the library, she ordered up a Ceremony beer and joined the crowd. Nobody questioned her choice of beverage. She did, after all, write the book on beer.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com