Seeing that the country desperately needs a drink amidst a deep six-year recession, a 26-year-old Prussian immigrant named Adolph Coors opens what he calls the Golden Brewery near Denver. The area is growing fast as rail lines open the West, buoying the start-up. And Coors is able to persevere despite fierce competition -- with $20,000 (in 1873 dollars) on hand, he is extremely well capitalized.