Pittsfield’s commercial brewing history was over 60 years in the making when, in 1886, Jacob Gimlich, one of the principals of the successful Pittsfield brewery firm Gimlich and White, declared people should ‘use beer for their refreshment and invigoration in a temperate, manly, proper way.’ A part of Pittsfield and Berkshires culture since the English and Dutch came to the area in the early eighteenth century, craft beer making is enjoying a resurgence squarely anchored by over 200 years of brewing and drinking one of the world’s oldest fermented beverages. The Berkshire County Historical Society  explores the history of Pittsfield and Berkshire brewing with Thirsty in the Berkshires: Brewing from the 18th Century to Prohibition, an illustrated talk by historian and educator Cynthia Brown. This free program is hosted by Hot Plate Brewing in downtown Pittsfield.