Though author Martin Hintz knows his latest book could have filled more than a full case or two, he decided that he'd write "responsibly" and limit himself to a six-pack of Milwaukee brewing history.

His lively and extremely quaffable "A Spirited History of Milwaukee Brews and Booze" is available in paperback from The History Press.

"Certainly 'Spirits' is not an academic, definitive history of the city's brewing/distilling scene," says Hintz, who is the author of almost literally countless other books. His works, often about Wisconsin history and travel, number in the dozens.

"It's always a struggle over what to include and what doesn't make it since the taps, so to speak, will never run dry on such a story as this in Milwaukee. Yet the inner editor is omnipresent in any writer's life."

So, in 128 pages, Hintz recounts the history of Milwaukee's beer barons, the history and state of distilling in the city, Prohibition and more. How did he decide when to say "uncle"?

"Being a nondenominational drinker, I attempted to present what I felt were the high points and interesting factoids about the city's world of beer and booze," says Hintz. "Hopefully, it's a book for anyone who loves history, even if not a drinker. And there is plenty about the contemporary scene, as well, for those merely interested in what goes into a stein."

Hintz says the book grew out of his ongoing relationship with South Carolina-based The History Press, which published his "Forgotten Lore: Wisconsin" last year.

"My editors there subsequently asked me to do the brewing/distilling book," recalls Hintz, who wrote about Prohibition before, in his 1996 book "Farewell, John Barleycorn," recalls.

"I accepted their assignment – albeit with a slight initial hesitation, because it took a few minutes to find a bottle opener. Besides, I knew it would involve gallons of research before and during the entire editorial process. Yet I figured someone had to step up to the brass foot rail and do it.

"It was providential that I have firsthand knowledge about refreshing beverage hereabouts, writing regularly on the subject for various publications and thus being a frequenter of watering holes throughout town in pursuit of quotes and a good pour.

I was especially interested in the section about distilling, having known little about this art in Milwaukee, pre-Rehorst, and one of Hintz's favorite stories from the book also comes from that part of the Brew City's booze history.

"One of the better stories is that of Dan Seavey, the only man arrested for piracy on the Great Lakes," he says. "Hence, Roaring Dan's Rum from Great Lakes Distillery, released in 2010 to much acclaim. Seavey dabbled in peddling poached venison and smuggling 'soiled doves' into ports on both shores of Lake Michigan in the early 1900s. In 1908, he hijacked a lake freighter after getting its crew drunk and throwing them overboard, taking the cargo of cedar to Chicago where he sold it to Windy City flatlanders who never asked any questions.

"Afterward, the feds sent out a revenue cutter to chase him down, eventually firing a shot over Seavey's bow and bringing him to justice. He never was convicted of the charge of piracy, however, having a good lawyer and by claiming that he won the boat in a poker game. It also helped that that the ship owner never showed up in court to contest that defense.

"Since Seavey was once was a deckhand on the vessel in question, he was merely nailed with the 'unauthorized removal of a vessel on which he had once been a seaman' and was released on bond. He died on Valentine's Day, 1949, at the age of 84, a 'lonely man,' according to one journalist of the day."

Among other interesting tidbits: Schlitz actually chartered a plane to send President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a case of beer to celebrate the end of Prohibition, beating Bud to the punch. Roosevelt gave the beer to journalists at the National Press Club bar and, Hintz says, "according to those present (they) made quick work of the Milwaukee product."