58 pages • 1 hour read
J. Ryan StradalThe Lager Queen of Minnesota
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “$57.00”
Returning to Edith’s perspective in 2018, Mo drives Edith to the hospital to meet her great-granddaughter. Realizing Diana likely needs knee surgery, Edith decides to continue with the brewery’s soft opening. She recognizes how the brewing industry contributes to Diana’s strong, resilient character, and she does not want to see Diana’s dreams disappear.
Mo takes Edith to Artemis and goes over the necessary tasks in Diana’s absence. He gives Edith a sample of an IPA, which tastes to Edith like “how she’d imagine dirt would taste if someone burned it on the grill” (275). Mo worries that Edith is not qualified for the job, but he believes Frank would have liked Edith’s work ethic. Edith relaxes when she realizes she must accomplish more bartending than brewing in Diana’s absence.
Edith enlists her friends Betsy, Lucy, and Linda to help her run Artemis Brewery. All in their 70s, the women possess decades of experience in various forms of labor, from farming to organizing book clubs. They are not intimidated by the work whatsoever. On the contrary, they feel excited about having a purpose. With Diana’s somewhat delirious blessing, the women also decide to try brewing, each having unique ideas for new, exciting recipes. Edith wants to put much time and consideration into her beer recipe. She recalls Helen’s enthusiasm about beer, remembering her 16th birthday when she asked for a beer as her only gift. Even though Helen thought her father gave her beer, Edith secretly gifted her sister three bottles. Helen never discovered the truth. Edith realizes she now competes with her sister in the same industry.
The soft opening is quiet but successful. Betsy finishes her strawberry rhubarb gose before the grand opening of Artemis Brewing. Diana and her baby, Frances, are out of the hospital; Diana thinks Betsy’s beer is too sweet and lacks the tartness expected of a gose. They offer it anyway, and the self-named Grandmas continue to improve their beer and learn from their mistakes. After several months of brewing, all three women simultaneously have a beer on tap. They hold a tasting contest to see which beer the customers prefer.
Diana mostly stays away from the front end of the brewery, preferring to leave customer service to The Grandmas. On one occasion, however, she insists on serving a burly man stopping in on his lunch break. Diana insists her beers cost $24 each and charges him a $10 parking fee. The man furiously makes to leave Artemis when Diana confronts him, recalling how he overcharged her for Edith’s car release from the impound lot years ago. Edith feels alarmed at Diana’s unwillingness to forgive and move forward, failing to realize Diana inherits this trait from Edith.
Artemis maintains the tradition of a community-bolstered labeling and packaging workday for each of The Grandma’s brews. Eugene arrives early, stays late, works hard, and does not drink any free beer. At Edith’s request, Diana hires Eugene to work at Artemis, where he does much of the heavy lifting. Unable to partner with a professional distributor, Diana drives Edith, Betsy, Lucy, and Linda to dozens of bars and restaurants in the hopes of selling their beer. Most people are impressed with The Grandma’s backstory, and their diverse flavor profile creates more sales opportunities for Artemis.
Agatha Johnston visits Artemis Brewery, inquiring about employment. Although Edith disapproves of bringing in someone so closely involved with Helen, Edith warms to her expertise, especially when Agatha provides Artemis with a generous loan. Diana hires Eugene and Bernie full time when Autumn Pines lays him off. Diana hires young interns to help clean the brewery, offering to train them as brewmasters after graduation, just as Frank had done for her. With Agatha’s mastery of beer chemistry, Edith finally brews Grandma Edith’s Rhubarb-Pie-in-a-Bottle. Their customers recognize the superior quality of the beer immediately. Artemis receives extensive good press, and Diana receives invitations from several beer festivals and competitions. Artemis grows in popularity on an international level. In general, people adore a brewery run by three generations of women. The Grandmas love their work, saying they want to die in a vat of beer.
Edith recalls learning about a hypothesized version of heaven in which a person could repeatedly choose to live one day from their mortal life for eternity. Edith realizes she would select the day her second batch of Rhubarb-Pie-in-a-Bottle sold out at the Minnesota State Fair, her third batch already brewing. She visits a friend at Autumn Pines, and they sit outside watching a baseball game together. Andy brings Francie to the brewery for a pizza dinner, and Edith recognizes how her great-granddaughter already walks around Artemis as if she is the owner.
Edith arrives at Artemis with Agatha and Lucy early one morning. They plan on filling several kegs with Linda’s oatmeal stout. Agatha receives a text from Diana proclaiming she will be at the brewery soon with a special guest. The women all fear that Diana intends to sell the brewery.
Chapter 11 Summary: “$1,020,000”
Helen visits a dank roadside bar, knowing they will have Blotz on tap. A burly, working-class man asks the bartender for local beer recommendations. Helen is surprised that this establishment carries a few craft beers, one from Artemis. The bar manager instructs the bartender to serve Blotz, judging her patron by his appearance and guessing his flavor profile—or lack thereof. Helen knows that dozens of craft breweries produce much better beer than Blotz. She remains quiet when the bartender gossips about the owner of Blotz beer ripping off her sibling to start the company. However, she speaks up when he asserts that the men of the Blotz family invented Blotz beer. She leaves the dive bar before revealing her identity.
Helen speaks with Agatha about her work at Artemis. She explains that Diana Winter owns the brewery, and although Helen recognizes Diana’s name from her success under the Heartlander brand, she fails to realize Diana is her great-niece. Helen must sell her large house and liquidate many assets as Blotz Brewing nears bankruptcy. Several months later, Helen reads a review of Grandma Edith’s Rhubarb-Pie-in-a-Bottle in Independent Brewer magazine. The reviewer, “Flavor-Dave,” credits Edith’s backstory as contributing to the beer’s enticing quality. He praises the brew for its individuality and how it does not conform to anyone’s specific standards. He grades Edith’s beer 100/100, the only perfect score he has ever assigned.
Helen immediately calls Agatha, requesting her prompt presence at Helen’s house. Helen discusses purchasing Artemis, which enrages Agatha. She informs Helen that purchasing Artemis goes against everything Diana and The Grandmas represent and tells Helen she believes Blotz should fail. Helen substantiates her desire to purchase by explaining how much she would help the new brewery. Seeing through this justification, Agatha tells Helen she can be helpful without personal gain before she angrily storms off Helen’s property.
Helen’s loneliness returns after Agatha’s departure. She reflects on decades in the brewing industry, often the only woman present. She recalls her difficulty getting the men to take her seriously, let alone befriend her. She desperately wishes she could start fresh as a new brewer. Just then, her new neighbors invite her over for a beer. Several months later, Helen discovers an expensive case of wine in her basement and takes a bottle to her neighbor’s holiday party. A few weeks later, Helen sells Blotz Brewing to a California-based corporation for $12 million. Helen realizes she could have sold Blotz in the 1990s for $200 million. Although comforted by the fact that she can repurchase her former house, Helen decides to stay in her current, more humble dwelling.
Helen carries a bag of $1,020,000 in cash to Diana’s house. As soon as Diana appears at the door, Helen leaves the bag of cash and tries to return to her car to drive away. Diana stops her and insists she enter Diana’s house. Helen explains that she feels compelled to help her family and guilty for not sharing her wealth sooner. She tells Diana the money is strictly a gift and comes with no conditions or expectations. After Diana chides Helen for her negligence over the years, she insists Helen accompany her to Artemis.
Helen sees Edith for the first time in over 50 years. The women greet each other warmly, and Helen helps Edith to clean the brewery. She confesses to feeling alone, and Edith welcomes Helen back into her life. Helen remembers her first stolen beer when she was a teenager, wishing she had called out to Edith to join her all those years ago.
Chapters 10-11 Analysis
In discussing their daughter’s future, Diana and Andy round out the theme of The Benefits and Ramifications of Legacy. Edith and the young parents observe their daughter toddling around Artemis Brewery as if she owns the place: “‘Well, if she wants it,’ Edith said. Andy laughed to himself. ‘Yeah, I suppose that’s up to her, isn’t it, when she inherits it’” (318). Learning from the previous generation’s mistakes, Andy and Diana put no pressure on their daughter to continue their line of work, nor do they develop grandiose expectations for Frances’s use of the inheritance. Moreover, when Helen presents Diana with a million-dollar cash donation, she does so with no conditions or postulations for how the money should be spent, showing a change in Helen’s character. Helen transitions from valuing work, money, and power to treasuring family, friends, and time spent with loved ones.
As symbolized by her Rhubarb-Pie-in-a-Bottle beer, Edith also changes to appreciate her individuality, enjoying things that exist just for her pleasure. After a lifetime of working to serve her husband, children, and grandchild, Edith brews her beer and realizes, “she was making something for herself, and she hadn’t even given one dang thought as to who else might like it. She would never tell anyone, but that felt wonderful” (298). Edith unlocks her unique creative potential while working at Artemis. Ironically, after pursuing her own dreams to the detriment of her family, Helen wound up inventing a beer she hates purely to appeal to the tastes of others. Helen ends up drinking wine and seltzer water recreationally, her passion, creativity, and drive vanishing as she caters to the wants of others. Edith earns the title of Lager Queen because of her disregard for standards.
Having reached new levels of self-actualization, Helen and Edith finally understand and empathize with each other. The sisters illustrate The Significance of Family and Community Support through their immediate forgiveness and reconciliation. Upon seeing Edith for the first time in 50 years, “Helen couldn’t move. She looked into those eyes and guessed at the losses, the joys, the hard years that forged this woman into a shape that could endure until now” (348). Helen registers the extensive life experience she missed over the years, time she can never recover. Having learned from her losses, Helen assists Edith with her cleaning, symbolizing her new value to cherish and support the people she loves. Without knowing about Helen’s repayment of their father’s inheritance or her million-dollar donation to Artemis, Edith warmly welcomes Helen as a family member, reassuring Helen that she is not alone in the world.
In addition to Edith, Helen, and Diana, The Grandmas (Betty, Lucy, and Linda) further illustrate How Women Diversify Male-Dominated Industry with their unique recipes and unorthodox approach to brewing beer. The Grandmas craft beers that include ingredients like strawberries and chocolate, widening Artemis’s flavor profile to be more inclusive to a broader palate. The women dismantle the theory that brewing beer is labor intensive and only appropriate for men: “‘This won’t be impossible,’ said Lucy, who’d lived on a dairy farm most of her adult life, and was used to an environment of stainless steel tanks, long hours, cold work, hot work, and high cleanliness standards” (279). With decades of varied work experiences among The Grandmas, brewing beer is much less intimidating than Frank Schabert would have had them believe. Marketing their beer with Diana’s leadership and experience pilots The Grandma’s brand to immense success. Of course, the more modern acceptance of beer brewed by women is largely due to Helen, who carved a path for future brewers decades earlier.
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