Category: Beer

Hurley Bottling Co., Far Rockaway, N.Y.

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I didn’t find any information on a bottling company, but Jeremiah Hurley was listed as a Far Rockaway hotel owner located at Greenwood Ave n Broadway in the various Trow Business Directories of the Borough of Queens between 1899 and 1908-1909. (I’ve found that back then, many hotels ran their own bottling operation as well.) He was not listed in the 1890 Lains Business Directory of Brooklyn that included Far Rockaway, so the business probably started between 1891 and 1898.

An article in the April 20, 1909 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated that: “the Hotel was sold under foreclosure in November 1908 to Congressman Willett for $11,100.” Hurley still listed himself as a hotelkeeper on Greenwood Avenue in the 1910 census records and the NYS Commissioner of Excise listed him as a Liquor Tax Certificate Holder (Hotel – Greenwood Ave east of Broadway) in the years ending September 1913 and 1914. So, it appears he continued managing the business until at least 1914.

Hurley’s financial problems went as far back as 1905. On August 24th of that year a debtor’s petition and schedule was filed and the matter was referred to a referee. Eighteen creditors were listed including the North Side Brewing Co of Manhattan. At the time his assets were listed as $250 and his liabilities were $ 5,259.

The 1909 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article concerned a child custody battle between Hurley and his father for the young Hurley’s five children. The article included testimony that provided some insight into the business.

they carried on every set of games in the house – dancing, singing and playing at times until the early hours of the morning.

Records from the early 1900’s show that Greenwood Avenue was renamed Greenport Rd however there is no Greenport Rd in Far Rockaway today. Google Earth takes me to Gateway Blvd so it’s possible it was renamed again later. Gateway Blvd intersects with a one block long street called Hurley Court. I have to believe that the Hurley Hotel was somewhere in the vicinity of this intersection. The area is currently residential in nature with primarily single-family homes.

The one bottle I found is a pony with a tooled blob finish. This fits with the 1890’s to 1914 time frame. (Maybe it held some of the North Side Brewing Co.’s product?). I haven’t seen an example of this bottle on the Internet.

 

Otto Huber Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y.

A German immigrant, Otto Huber’s first years in the United States and the establishment of the Otto Huber Brewery were described in his September 1, 1889 obituary printed in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Mr. Huber was the architect of his own fortune. He arrived in this country from Baden in 1862 and engaged as a journeyman in the brewery of John Joerger, at the corner of Meserole Street and Graham Avenue, now owned and operated by his brother in law, Mr. Louis B.Schuler.

This rendering of the original 1866 Joerger brewery was included in a June 28, 1902 Huber Brewery advertisement published in the (Brooklyn) Times Union.

His obituary went on to say:

In 1866 he purchased the brewery from Joerger and continued the business there till 1868, when he bought some lots on the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Meserole Street and built the big brewery known as Otto Huber’s.

The expansion of the plant through the late 1800’s was described in a feature on the brewery published in the June 15, 1895 edition of the (Brooklyn) Times Union.

The offices are situated at 242 Meserole Street. When the site was taken in 1868, it was literally a suburban locality. Little of the old plant now remains. The present brew-house was built in 1876, and storehouses have been added from time to time. The artificial ice plant was established in 1880, and this house, we learn, was the first to use the De La Vergne machine. The stables are fine, the horses are very valuable, and are said to be the best in the city, being a walking advertisement.

Annual output was growing as well. According to the June 15, 1895 feature:

The house brewed, if I remember rightly, 2,000 barrels in 1867; 46,000 barrels in 1880; 86,000 barrels in 1885; and for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1894, 103,724 barrels.

A September 1, 1902 Brooklyn Daily Eagle advertisement included a photograph of the brewery at that time and a June 22, 1902 story in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle provided the following description of the brewery complex and how far it had progressed by the turn of the century.

One of the biggest brewing establishments in New York City is the Otto Huber Brewery in Meserole Street between Bushwick Avenue and Waterbury Street, Brooklyn. The buildings are a landmark in the vicinity, and the brewery business carried on in them gives employment to hundreds of Brooklyn workmen, to say nothing of the immense trucking business necessary to get the product of their labor out to the hotels, saloons and restaurants supplied throughout the city. As to the quality of that product, the simple fact of the brewery doing an immense business in a field where there are so many competitors, is sufficient evidence and shows the preference of the public for the Huber beer and ales. There is scarcely a street in Brooklyn that does not glisten with the attractive Otto Huber signs, and the brewer’s goods are found in all first class hotels and restaurants…The bottling department of the brewery is located at 240 to 244 Meserole Street, where the case goods trade is taken care of, while establishments using beer by the keg or barrel are served direct from the brewery.

Huber’s bottling notice appeared in the Brooklyn newspapers in May, 1896 and advertisements for their bottled beers began appearing shortly afterwards so I think it’s safe to assume that they added their bottling department around this time. Based on this January 30, 1897 advertisement it was certainly up and running by then.

A 1907 advertisement showed the bottling department across the street from the main office.

An exterior photograph of the bottling department appeared in a June 28, 1902 advertisement printed in the (Brooklyn) Times Union.

The interior was pictured in the October 5, 1907 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Otto Huber ran the business until his death in 1889. At that point the heirs incorporated the business. The incorporation notice was printed in the September 23, 1889 edition of the Brooklyn Citizen.

In accordance with the request in the will of the late Otto Huber, the brewery has been turned into a corporation.The heirs have organized the Otto Huber Brewery, with a capital of $560,000. The trustees for the first year are: Mrs. Emilie Huber, Otto Huber and Joseph Huber.

His son, Otto Huber, Jr., ran the business for the next eleven years until his death in 1900. At that point the business was taken over by the two remaining sons Joseph and F. Max. Both were still listed in the Copartnership and Corporation Directory of the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in 1913-1914. Joseph Huber was named president and treasurer and Max Huber Secretary.

Another profile on the Huber Brewery, this one in the May 23, 1908 edition of the Staunton (Va) Leader mentioned three brands of beer that they were brewing at the time. One, known as the “Standard” had been brewed since the beginnings of the brewery. Another, “Golden Rod” was described as a light beer made with rice in conjunction with  malt and hops.

The third was a product of malt and hops only and called O.H. Malt Extract.” It’s origins were described in the December 20, 1896 issue of the ”Brooklyn Eagle.”

…$100,000 has been expended for the erection of a plant for the manufacture of a new malt extract, which has been made known all over the country as O.H. This beverage has been on the market but eight weeks, yet has met with such success that it is thought a still further expansion of the plant for its manufacture may soon become necessary. Many testimonials as to its efficiency in curing insomnia, dyspepsia, and nervousness, and as a nutritive tonic for convalescents have been received from physicians in various parts of this country, and indeed from countries all over the world. It is a pure malt extract, Mr. Huber says, containing but a slight percentage of hops and is entirely without coloring matter, being in this respect differentiated from other malt extracts. Chemical analysis has shown its percentage of alcohol to be lower and its percentage of solid malt to be higher than is the case with any other similar preparation. The present daily output of “O.H.” is 2,000 bottles, a remarkable record for a comparatively new preparation, and the indications are that the present facilities for the production of 10,000 bottles daily will soon be taxed to their utmost capacity.

An advertisement from the December 10, 1898 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, mentioned the “O.H. Malt Extract as well as the “Standard” and “Golden Rod” brands. It also included a fourth brand called “Muenchener,” which they described as a very dark, heavy brew. Interestingly, the advertisement pictured bottles with both crown and blob top finishes.

Another advertisement, earlier that year, in the March 26, 1898 issue of “Brooklyn Life,” only pictured bottles with blob top finishes.

Based on this, I have to assume that the brewery began using bottles with the crown finish around this time.

The March 1898 advertisement provided pricing information for each of their brands.

The new brew, “The OH Malt Extract,” which was mentioned in the above article and had first hit the market about a year earlier, was significantly more expensive; $2.00 for 12 as opposed to $1.10 to $1.25 for 24.

At the beginning of Prohibition it appears that the brewery was not brewing but the corporation apparently remained active managing their real estate holdings. Ultimately they sold off all of their properties and voted to dissolve the corporation. The dissolution vote was announced in the January 23, 1925 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Huber Brewery Dissolution Voted

The stockholders of the Otto Huber Brewery at a special meeting today voted to sell the property f the corporation and dissolve it after the consummation of the sale.

At the present time, according to one of the officials, no immediate sale is prospect, and the action of the stockholders was merely a preliminary step.

At one time the Huber Brewery had large property holdings in New York, Brooklyn and vicinity. Lately, it is believed, much of this has been disposed of at real estate boom prices. The company still has the brewery which is situated at Meserole St. and old Bushwick Pl.

Over a year later the August 24, 1926 edition of the (Brooklyn) Standard Union announced that the last building had been sold.

The last remaining building of the Otto Huber Company’s big brewery plant has been sold to the Pompeian Bronx Company. A two-story and basement structure with 14,000 square feet of floor space. It will now, after years of comfort under the weight of fragrant kegs be used, possibly as a house for the manufacture of bronze tablets to prominent total abstainers.

During this period Edward Hittleman must have acquired much of the brewery holdings because around 1927 or 1928 it appears that he combined the operations of his Munch Brewery and Hittleman Golden Rod Brewery at the Huber plant. Both are listed within the Huber complex at 1 Bushwick Place in the 1928 telephone listings. Later he would call the plant the Edelbrau Brewery.

The plant closed in 1951 shortly after the death of Hittleman. More information on the Hittleman years is contained in the following post. Munch Brewery Bottling Dept., Inc., Brooklyn, New York

Several brewery buildings still exist. One is the original bottling department pictured above in the 1902 photograph.

Across the street from the bottling department was the office. While the second and third stories have been removed the ground floor with its unique corner entrance appears to have survived. One internet site mentions that this was a saloon associated with the brewery. Locating the brewery offices above the saloon makes perfect sense to me.

One building that is no longer there, a five story warehouse, actually became a little piece of history. The building, torn down by Hittleman in 1942 was scrapped along with a 41-mile section of railroad and an unfinished/bankrupt 22-story skyscraper and contributed to the war effort. According to one newspaper account that appeared all over the country:

Picture a skyscraper hurtling across the Atlantic, Berlin bound…a railroad winging over the Pacific, headed for Tokyo…Crazy Dream?

No, just part of what the Nation’s biggest city is getting ready to throw at the Axis in the form of bombs and bullets, tanks and planes.

Uncle Sam said: “The steel mills need scrap, 17,000,000 tons of it, in order to continue producing for the war.”

New York said: “Count on us to do our part”

…Over in Brooklyn, Edward Hittleman, president of the Edelbrew Brewery, decided to turn in $100,000 worth of brewery equipment – great copper kettles, metal insulated tanks and other pieces used in the past as spare parts. Together with structural steel from a five-story warehouse which Hittleman is tearing down, the brewery’s metal will total 175 tons.

The skyscraper, railroad and brewery are only a few of the big things New York will hurl at Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini.

A staged photograph commemorating his contribution appeared in the October 1, 1942 edition of the New York Daily News.

I have found both tooled crowns and machine made bottles (12 oz – Champagne Style). The tooled crowns are embossed Otto Huber Brewery while one of the machine made bottles is actually embossed “Golden Rod” named for the brand. This bottle most likely dates to the later years of the Huber operation. The tooled crowns were made earlier but date no earlier than 1898 when the crown finish began appearing in Huber ads.. I’ve also found a machine made Hittleman Brewery bottle that dates to the Prohibition era or possibly after.

 

Hennessy & Nolan, Albany, 1879

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The proprietors of Hennessy & Nolan were John Hennessy and Murtaugh T Nolan. John Hennessy was first listed in the 1861 Albany Directory with the company of Kinsella & Hennessy. The company was listed as “root beer” and was originally located at 106 Arch Street. By 1867 they had moved to Morton Avenue, corner of Elizabeth Street.

Hennessy & Nolan was first listed in the 1870 Albany Business Directory under vinegar, located at 92 & 93 Quay Street. The next year, in 1871, the business was listed under “soda and mineral water” and located at Morton, corner of Elizabeth. Advertisements in the 1875 and 1877 Directories listed both the Quay Street and Morton Avenue addresses.

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So it appears that between 1871 and 1877 the business maintained two locations and, if I’m to believe the advertisements, they sold cider and vinegar at the Quay Street location and bottled soda and beer at the old Kinsella & Hennessy plant on the corner of Morton/Elizabeth Streets.

In the 1878 Directory, the Quay Street location was dropped from the listing and their advertisement only included one location: “Factory corner Morton, Elizabeth and Catherine Sts.”

As a result, by 1878, it looks like they had expanded at the Morton Avenue location to include the entire block of Elizabeth Street between Morton Avenue and Catherine Street and centralized the business on this block. The business remained listed at this location until 1912. In 1903, the company was listed for the first time as: Hennessy & Nolan (John Hennessy and M T Nolan estate) so it looks like Nolan passed away around this time.

In 1907, Hennessy and Nolan was one of 14 bottling companies in Albany to sign an agreement with Bottler’s Union No. 375. There were these seven points contained within the agreement:

  1. Only union men were to be employed.
  1. One could be discharged for disobedience of orders, intoxication, dishonesty, incompetency or disrespect to the employer.
  1. Nine hours constituted a day’s work hours: 7am to 5pm with an hour for dinner. This applied to inside men only. Peddlers worked on a 50 hours per week schedule. There was no Sunday work (except as necessary to maintain the business).
  1. Overtime was paid as time and a half. Holiday and Sunday work was paid double-time.
  1. Election Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day, Decoration Day and the 4th of July were considered holidays.
  1. An arbitration committee was established to resolve disputes.
  1. Wages were established as follows: Peddlers $15, Wagon Helpers $10, Beer Bottlers $14, Mineral Water Bottlers $16 and Assistant Bottlers $12.

Today, the buildings on the block between Morton and Catherine are all quite old and some could very well date back to the 1870’s. The east side especially has several two and three story buildings and a small one-story garage/warehouse building.

The bottle I found is a small pony with an applied blob finish. Most likely a soda bottle, it has the year 1879 embossed on it. This puts it at the Morton/Elizabeth/Catherine location right after the business centralized there. How it got to the south shore of Long Island is anybody’s guess.

Wm. V. Geis, Far Rockaway, N.Y.

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The March 3, 1899 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle announced the formation of a new corporation called Kirkman, Rae & Geis. William V. Geis was named as one of the three principals.

Walter B. Kirkman, Albert F. Rae of Far Rockaway, and William V. Geis of 218 East One Hundred and Twenty Fourth Street, Manhattan, have associated together under the incorporated name of Kirkman, Rae & Geis for the manufacture of mineral waters and other similar beverages. The capital stock is $7,500 and its principal place of business will be at Far Rockaway.

The 1899 Trow Business Directory of the Borough of Queens listed the business of Kirkman, Rae & Geis in Far Rockaway at William n Crescent, Far Rockaway, under both ‘bottlers” and “manufacturers of mineral water” headings. Subsequently, the 1903, 1904, 1907, 1908-1909 and 1912 Trow Business Directories of the Borough of Queens all listed Wm V. Geis at the same location. Based on these records, I’m guessing Geis bought out Kirkman and Rae and became a sole proprietor sometime between 1899 and 1901.

In addition to mineral water, Geis also bottled beer, apparently acting as an agent and bottler for Pabst. He placed an advertisement in the “Wave of Long Island”, a weekly newspaper, for delivery of two-dozen bottles of Pabst for $1.25. The advertisements were found in the Sept 7, 1901 and July 5, 1902 issues.

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In 1905 Geis purchased the long time Far Rockaway mineral water business of Brock L. Carroll. An item announcing the purchase appeared in the April 15, 1905 edition of the American Bottler.

Mrs. B. L. Carroll has sold the mineral water business conducted at Far Rockaway, N. Y., for many years by her late husband, to William Geis.

Geis never listed the Carroll plant in the Queens directories, suggesting that he consolidated both operations at his William street plant.

More on Brock Carroll’s business, which dated back to the late 1870’s, can be found in another post on this web site.  Brock L Carroll, Far Rockaway L.I.

In 1909, Geis joined with Sidney Jackier forming the Geis-Jackier Company. An item in the November 27, 1909 issue of the Brooklyn’s Times Union reported:

A certificate  of incorporation of the Geis-Jackier Company of the Borough of Queens has been filed with the Secretary of State. It is proposed to deal in mineral waters, wines, liquors, cigars, etc., with a capital of $10,000, divided into shares of $100 each. The directors for the first year are Sidney Jackier, William V. Geis, Hattie Jackier and Elsie C. Geis, of Far Rockaway.

According to a  story written years later, in the October 23, 1915 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sidney Jackier had signed a five year lease to operate the Haffner Neptune Park Hotel in August of 1909, three months prior to incorporating Geis-Jackier.  Back then it was fairly  typical for hotels to maintain a bottling operation as part of their business and I’m fairly certain that Geis Jackier was established to serve as the bottler for the hotel operation.

N.Y.S. records indicate that Geis Jackier was a liquor tax certificate holder up through September, 1914, however, the business came to a practical end sometime before that, likely in late 1913 or early 1914, when according to the October 23, 1915 Brooklyn Daily Eagle story, Jackier missed the final year’s payment on the hotel lease and declared bankrupt.

Around the same time Geis-Jackier was nearing its end, Geis became proprietor of the Hewlett Inn located at McLean and Sherman Ave in Hewlett, Long Island. He’s first listed as a liquor tax certificate holder there in the Annual Report of the New York State Commissioner of Excise for the year ending September 30, 1913.

For a short time he continued to operate his bottling business in Far Rockaway where’s he’s listed individually, as a liquor tax certificate holder through September 30, 1915. After that, the Hewlett Inn appears to be his sole interest.

I haven’t seen a Geis bottle with “Hewlett” embossing so I have to think he was out of the bottling business by this time.

He remained with the Hewlett Inn until his tragic accidental death in 1921. According to a story in the October 15, 1921 issue of the N.Y. Times he died in an accidental shooting.

While preparing to start on a hunting trip in the Adirondacks early yesterday morning, William V. Geis, proprietor of the Hewlett Inn at Hewlett, L.I., was accidentally shot by Paul Weidman of Woodmere, L.I., one of three friends who were to have accompanied him. Geis was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital at Far Rockaway, where he died several hours later. When dying he made a statement to Justice of the Peace Raisig exonerating Weldman from all blame.

Weidman, dazed from what had just occurred, ran from the house after the shooting, muttering that if his friend died he would end his own life. Up until late last night Weidman, who is a prosperous bus owner, had not returned home and his family were apprehensive. Mrs. Elsie Geis, widow of the dead man, also exonerated Weidman.

Sheriff Charles Smith, after an investigation, said he was entirely satisfied that the gun had been accidentally discharged by Weidman during an exhibition as to how he would handle a hold-up man if the occasion arose.

Paul Weidman did resurface two days later in what one story called “an extremely bad nervous condition.”

Both Crescent and William in Far Rockaway have changed names over the years. Crescent is now Brunswick and William is now Wheatley. Wheatley near Brunswick puts the business about a block from the LIRR Far Rockaway station.

I’ve found varying type bottles, including tooled blob tops (8oz), tooled crowns (8, 12 and 28 oz) and machine made crowns (8 and 28 oz). The 12 oz bottles were brown…maybe containing the Pabst Blue Ribbon mentioned in the advertisement? All others are aqua. The pictures show an assortment of mouth blown bottles. All are embossed Far Rockaway.

 

 

Joseph Fallert Brewing Co., Ltd., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Joseph Fallert, the founder of the Joseph Fallert Brewing Company, was born in Germany in March, 1842. He had certainly arrived in the United States by 1870 when census records listed his occupation as “Foreman in Brewery.” In fact, according to a feature on Fallert found in the June 15. 1895 edition of the “New York Times:” his early history in the U. S.  involved stints with at least two different breweries.

An expert, his first engagement was with John Schneider, now the Congress Brewing Company. His connection of eight years with Otto Huber, is known to all members of the brewing profession.

The feature went on to say that Fallert established his own brewery in 1879, and in the 1879/1880 Brooklyn directory Fallert was listed for the first time at his long time plant location of 66 (52-66) Meserole Street. According to a publication called “One Hundred Years of Brewing,” published in 1901, Fallout’s annual output that first year was 3000 barrels.

In 1887 the business was incorporated in New York State as the Joseph Fallert Brewing Company. The incorporation notice was printed in the March 16th edition of the (Brooklyn) Times Union.

In 1889 the name change was reflected in the New York City directories at which time the business listed both an office address of 86 Lorimer Street and plant address of 60 Meserole Street.

Over the course of the first 15 years the brewery grew year by year, with the 1895 New York Times” feature putting some numbers to the growth:

9457 barrels in 1886; 18,635 barrels in 1887; 28,796 barrels in 1888; 39,907 barrels in 1889; 46,230 barrels in 1890; 51,368 barrels in 1891; 57,390 barrels in 1892; 59,063 in 1893; 64,600 barrels for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1894.

By the above it will be seen that there was a growth in 1894, which can be said of few breweries in the United States, last year having been one of universal depression and stagnation.

In July, 1893 Joseph Fallert passed away and his son, also named Joseph, took over management of the business. Fallert, Jr.’s qualifications to run the business were also enumerated in the 1895 “New York Times” feature.

Mr. Joseph Fallert, son of the founder, was born in Brooklyn in 1867. A knowledge of the details of the business was secured at his father’s plant. He then engaged with the Rubsam & Horrmann Brewing Co., Staten Island. This valuable experience was supplemented by a course at Worms Germany, graduating with honor.

The 1913 – 1914 Copartnership and Corporation Directory of Brooklyn and Queens continued to list  Joseph Fallert Jr. as president. In addition, his brothers Bertold  and Charles were listed as vice president/secretary and treasurer respectively.

“One Hundred Years of Brewing’s” item on the Fallert business went on to state that the brewery introduced artificial refrigeration in 1886 and established their bottling works in 1892. In the 1904 Directory, the office location moved to 346 Lorimer Street.

This early 1900’s rendering of the Fallert plant appeared  in a publication called “Bushwick and Her Neighbors, Vol 2,” published in 1909.

Fallert marketed several brews under what they called their “Arrow Brand,” as evidenced by their 1897 calendar.

The Joseph Fallert Brewing Co., Brooklyn N. Y. hereby announces that they have adopted and registered labels on their arrow-brand “Alt-Bayerisch,” “Standard” and “Superb” Beer.

This advertisement that appeared in the January 30, 1897 edition of the New York Tribune appears introductory in nature, suggesting that they began bottling the brand sometime in 1896.

A series of advertisements in December 1896/January 1897 editions of the ‘Brooklyn Eagle” described Alt-Bayerisch as:

A dark beer especially brewed and bottled for family use where a strengthening and healthy beverage is necessary. It’s a food.

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Later, from 1908 through the mid-teens, advertisements for their bock beer also ran in the local newspapers.

Joseph Fallert Jr. passed away in March, 1919 leaving management of the business to his brothers, Berthold and Charles.

It’s not clear if the business continued to operate during and after National Prohibition. The business was listed in the 1922 Copartnership and Corporation Directory of Brooklyn and Queens and continued to be listed as the Joseph Fallert Brewing Company at the 346 Lorimer Street office location through the late 1930’s. After Prohibition, in the classifieds (today’s yellow pages) for 1935 and 1936 they were listed under beverages even though classifications such as beer, beer gardens, brewers or bottlers were available to them. In the 1940’s they were still listed in the general phone books at the same address but dropped the word “Brewing” from the company name. By 1950 I don’t see them listed at all.

It’s worth noting that I haven’t been able to find any Fallert advertisements during or after Prohibition so it appears they may have been operating in name only. Prior to Prohibition they advertised quite a bit.

It appears that several buildings associated with the brewery are still standing including the offices at 346 Lorimer Street.

I found two champagne style 12 oz Joseph Fallert Brewing Co. Ltd bottles each with the trademark Arrow embossed on it. One is a tooled blob, the other a tooled crown. Both were manufactured no earlier than 1896, recognizing that that’s when Fallert began bottling the brand.  The blob probably dates to the late 1800’s – early 1900’s and the crown early 1900’s.

 

 

Excelsior Brewing Co., 271 Pulaski Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.

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The driving force behind the Excelsior Brewing Company was John Reisenweber who was the owner of a restaurant called “Reisenweber’s at the Circle.” Located at Columbus Circle, it was one of the oldest and most popular New York City restaurants at the time. His entry into the brewing business and the early history of the brewery was described in a section of the Staunton (Va.) “Daily Leader” entitled “Industry and Commerce” published on May 23, 1908.

Scores of New York’s prominent citizens and many thousands whose frames are not enrolled in any Hall of Fame have quaffed the foaming steins of beer dispensed at the popular hostelry and restaurant of mine host John Reisenweber at Columbus Circle, but few of them are aware, perhaps, that the grateful beverage served there has been brewed under the vigilant eye of the genial hotel man himself. To them it will be interesting to learn that Mr. Reisenweber is the president and active head of the Excelsior Brewing Company, whose large plant at Hart and Pulaski Streets, Brooklyn, N.Y., is a worthy example of a large industry.

What is now the Excelsior Brewery was established in 1890 by the Fred Hower Brewing Company. This company went into bankruptcy in 1895, and the brewery was taken over by the John Kart Malting Company of Buffalo, a creditor. In 1898 a number of gentlemen engaged in the liquor business in Greater New York conceived the idea of co-operating in the establishment of a modern brewing plant. The leader in the movement was John Reisenweber and associated with him were Frederick D. Frick, Charles P. Faber, Franz Neumuller and others…

Casting about them for a suitable site, they learned that the Hower plant was in the market, bought it, and on the 16th of May, 1898, took possession. The new owners almost immediately took steps to remodel the then small brewery. They built extensive additions, including new cellars, which increased the storage capacity from 75,000 barrels to 150,000 barrels, and installed a new 75-ton refrigerating machine and complete set of new boilers.

As a result of these extensive alterations, which cost $200,000, the Excelsior Brewery today is second to none in New York in point of modern equipment, and ranks among the largest in point of capacity and output. The buildings, which are fireproof, are up to date in every detail. The company owns a plot equal to 33 city lots, having a frontage of 700 feet on Pulaski Street and running through to Hart Street. The output, which was only 20,000 barrels in 1895, was gradually increased to 160,000 barrels last year. To operate the brewery requires over eighty employees, while 95 horses, 38 wagons and 2 electric trucks are required for the distribution of the output. This output, besides having many consumers in Greater New York, is shipped to points on Long Island, in New Jersey and Connecticut. The value of the plant has practically trebled and it is today worth about $1,500,000.

Four grades of beer are brewed – Real German Lager, Pilsner, Bohemian and Wurzburger. In quality they are equal to the best imported product and their popularity is attested by the strong and growing demand for them.

The officers of the company are John Reisenweber, President; Franz Neumuller, Vice President; Frederick Frick, Treasurer, and Charles P. Faber, Secretary.

The feature mentioned that the Reisenweber ownership group took possession of the plant in May of 1898. It wasn’t long after that the brewery reopened. The August 1898 issue of the “American Brewers Review” announced that:

The newly organized Excelsior Brewing Co of Brooklyn NY was opened on July 31, 1898. Some German singing societies were invited among others who helped entertain the visitors by a number of songs. The favor accorded to the new brew must have given John Knoll, the brew-master, intense satisfaction. The guests were received by Franz Neumueller, the first vice president and Ernst Distler, the superintendent.

An advertisement published in March of 1909, provided an overall picture of the plant less than a year after the feature was written.

The Bottling Department of the brewery was apparently run by John H Muller. His name appears on an October 5, 1907 advertisement that touted the same four beers mentioned in the 1908 feature: Pilsner, Real German, Bohemian and Wurzburger.

The 1913-1914 Copartnership and Corporation Directory of the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens continued to list John Reisenweber Pres, Frederick D Fricke Tres and Charles P Faber Sec. Frick was an old time New York hotel man who owned Earle’s Hotel on Waverly Place. Faber, also in the hotel business, was a director of the Dollar Savings Bank.

A June 21, 1921 article in the “Beverage Journal” provided a review of brewery activities (during prohibition) that stated that at the time the Excelsior Brewery was operating a cold storage plant and was producing cereal beverages.

Two years later, the plant was purchased for $500,000. The story appeared in the August 9, 1923 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Times.”

The Excelsior brewing plant, occupying practically the entire block on Pulaski Street, between Throop and Sumner Avenues, has changed hands, the purchase price being reported to be nearly half a million dollars.

John Reisenweber, prominent in brewing and cafe circles for many years, transferred his interests to Charles I. Mandel, well-known business man and real estate operator.

The property, which covers thirty-two city lots is one of the largest industrial plants in the Williamsburg section and consists of several buildings…

In discussing his purchase Mr. Mandel said:

“The Excelsior name has long been associated with the highest quality of beverage, and the plant at the present time is producing a good quality of half of one percent brew. It will be the purpose of the new management to surpass, if possible, the old quality standards and by personal service to customers to make relationships as happy as they should be…

While Mandel said he wanted to surpass the brewery’s “old quality statndards,” it was apparently his intent to surpass the current legal alcohol standards as well. According to the January 19, 1926 edition of “Brooklyn Daily Times” this got him in trouble with the authorities.

Ten Federal prohibition agents led by John A. Foster, Prohibition administrator for the Southern and Eastern Districts, early today seized about $35,600 worth of beer and arrested two men in a raid on the Excelsior Brewing Company’s plant in Pulaski Street, between Throop and Sumner Avenues…

The prohibition agents saw a 7-1/2 ton truck laden with beer drive out of the building followed by another truck of the same description and similarly laden. Just as the second truck was passing through the open door seven of the agents forced their way in, arrested the truck drivers and took possession of the plant…

Seven trucks of 5 and 7 tons each laden with about 80 barrels of beer, were found by the raiders in a shed and inside the building they found 1,800 more barrels all ready for loading.

As a result, the company lost its permit to manufacture cereal beverages, a permit they would get back seven months later, as evidenced by this item that appeared in the August 16, 1926 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

In 1928 the plant was  certainly operational again producing a “near” beer called “OLDe KEG” under the name of Excelsior Brewery, Inc.

While Olde Keg may have been “Within the Law,” other beverages being produced by the brewery apparently were not. In August 1930, the current reputed owner, Charles I. Mandel, was  arrested and the brewery seized for violation of the prohibition law. An August 11, 1930 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Times” told the story.

The Excelsior Brewery on Pulaski Street, was seized today by the Federal Government and a man and his son, believed to be the owners, were held in $2,500 each by U. S. Commissioner Fay for a hearing on September 11 on charges of conspiracy to violate the Prohibition Amendment.

The defendants arrested today are Charles J. Mandell, 53, describing himself as a building contractor, and Milford Mandell, 28, both of President St.

The raid on the brewery, made by prohibition agents and the police, followed discovery of a pipeline from the brewery to a garage through Dekalb Ave., a block and a half away.

For four days, police and laborers have been digging to uncover the line and today traced it to the Excelsior Brewery on Pulaski St.

Seventeen workers also are under arrest and are free on bail…

Interestingly, a September 1, 1930 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” followed up the raid by stating:

The raided Excelsior Brewery, it was learned, did almost no business for local consumption. Practically every barrel that went out from the plant, according to officials, went to Pennsylvania, New Jersey or into the up-State counties.

Later the arrest and seizure were voided on the grounds that the federal agents failed to obtain a search warrant prior to invading the premises.

Nonetheless, the brewery was seized again, this time in 1931. According to the August 22nd edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Times.”

Prohibition agents sent from Manhattan are in charge of the Excelsior Brewery in Pulaski St., between Throop and Sumner Ave. They entered the brewery with a search warrant Friday night, went through the establishment and claim they found evidence of prohibition law violation. When they departed they left guards in the place

Later, the October 22, 1931 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” announced that seizure had also been set aside.

The raid upon and seizure by the prohibition authorities of the Excelsior Brewery, 227 Pulaski St., last August was pronounced illegal in a written decision by Federal Judge William B. Sheppard of Florida, received today in Brooklyn Federal Court.

This was the second seizure of the brewery since August. 6, 1930 to be set aside.

The 1930 seizure was upset by Federal Judge Galston because the agents had failed to obtain a search warrant on evidence in their possession which the court deemed sufficient for its issuance. The search warrant on which the second raid was conducted was held obtained on insufficient evidence.

In 1932, the plant was renamed the Kings Brewery and upgraded in anticipation of the repeal of Prohibition. The upgrade was announced in the November 25, 1932 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

Believing that “real beer” will be legalized, the Kings Brewery, Inc. has commissioned Shampan & Shampan, borough architects, to draw plans for and supervise the reconstruction of the old Excelsior brewery at 277 Pulaski St. at a cost of $1,500,000.

The Excelsior Brewery’s plant  operated under the Kings Brewery name until sometime in the late 1930’s. As late as January, 1937 the brewery was still advertising “Kings Beer” in  New York’s “Daily News”

Ten years later, the still standing  brewery buildings had been abandoned and, according to the April 29, 1949 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle,” were being used by local street gangs.

A community school is currently located at the former brewery location.

I have three bottles from this business. One is a champagne style tooled blob embossed Excelsior Bottling Dept that probably goes back to the beginning of the Reisenweber ownership. The bottle also has the initials JHM embossed on it which stand for John H Muller. The two other bottles are champagne style tooled crowns from 1900-1910.

 

H. M. Eilenberg, Phillipsburg, N.J.

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It appears that John Eilenberg, and later his son Henry M Eilenberg, operated a wholesale liquor business on S Main St in Phillipsburg N. J.

According to his obituary, published in the December 29, 1922 issue of the Plainfield Courier News, John Eilenberg was a long time resident of Phillipsburg.

Mr. Eilenberg was born in Sussex County and went to the schools there. He started to work as a telegraph operator for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. He moved from Philadelphia to Phillipsburg in 1860, and has lived there since. He was a wholesale liquor dealer until twenty-one years ago. He was one of the oldest active building and loan officials, having been for fifty-one years secretary of the Building and Loan Association No. 5 of Phillipsburg. He held the position until his death.

As president of the town council and a member of that body for a number of years Mr. Eilenberg was identified with many activities here.

Eilenberg listed his occupation as “attend liquor store” in the 1880 census records, so the business extended back at least that far, however, its possible that it goes back even further. In 1870, census records listed his occupation as a merchant and the 1873 Phillipsburg Directory listed his occupation as a clerk, so a start in the 1860’s is not out of the question.

Based on the directory information that I could find the business was located at 533 South Main up until at least 1894. One directory, “The Warren County History and Directory or the Farmer’s Manual and Business Men’s Guide – 1886” contained a printed advertisement.

Sometime between 1894 and 1898 the business moved to 362 South Main. In the 1906 and 1908 Directories, John’s son, Henry M Eilenberg was listed as a wholesale liquor dealer at the same location. Presumably Henry took over the business in 1901 if the information in the obituary is correct.

Around this time an item in a local publication referred to the business as: H M Eilenberg, Bartholomay’s Beer, S Main St in Phillipsburg. Based on this it looks like the business served as the beer company’s local agent and bottler for a while.

In the 1910 directory, the business was no longer mentioned and Henry’s occupation was listed as a machinist.

The 525 S Main Street address is currently a vacant lot. 362 South Main is an older three story apartment building with commercial stores at street level and could date back to the business.

The bottle I found is 8 oz and embossed “H.M. Eilenberg. It looks like a soda water although I guess it could have contained Bartholomay beer. It’s a tooled crown so it fits within the time frame that John’s son Henry ran the business.

Peter Doelger, Brewer, New York

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Peter Doelger’s obituary, published in the December 16, 1912 issue of the New York Tribune, provides some information on his life and the early years of his brewery.

Mr. Doelger was born at Kleinwallstadt, in the province of Oberfranken, Bavaria, on March 3, 1832. His father conducted in the village a small but prosperous brewery, in which he made a dark brown beer whose fame spread beyond the province. Peter Doelger was one of six children all of whom learned the trade in their father’s brewery. In 1850 Mr. Doelger came to New York to join his brother, Joseph, who proceeded him by two years. The following year Mr. Doelger went to Savannah, but with his brother soon returned to this city and started a brewery in 2d Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. In 1859 Peter started a brewery for himself, and the same year married Miss Margarethe Lambrecht.

There being very few breweries in the city at that time, the one operated by Peter Doelger grew amazingly, his beer becoming so popular that in 1863 it was necessary for him to purchase four lots in East 55th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A. Today there stands the big brewery that embraces the entire block between 55th and 56th Streets, First Avenue and Avenue A. It is said to be one of the most modern breweries in the country.

The early New York City directories generally confirm the above information. In the mid 1850’s, Joseph Doelger is listed as a brewer at 156 3rd St (not 2nd St). In 1859 Peter Doelger is listed for the first time as brewer at 93 Avenue A.

Between 1860 and 1863, the business of Doelger and Schaefer, brewers, was listed with two addresses: 98 Avenue A and East 55th Street, near Avenue A.  By 1865, the Doelger and Schaefer name was gone and Peter Doelger, brewer, was listed at East 55th Street where it remained until the late 1920’s. The early 20th century version of the plant was depicted in this March 14, 1909 advertisement printed in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

After his death, his sons Peter Jr. and Charles continued to run the business. Around this time, it appears that the business was also incorporated. The 1914 Copartnership and Corporation Directory lists the business as the Peter Doelger Brewing Co., Inc., located at 407 E 55th Street. Peter Jr. was named president and Charles was secretary.

Doelger’s beer was called Peter Doelger’s First Prize Beer. An 1879 advertisement compares sales in 1877 – 78 to 1878 – 79.

Available on draught from the start in 1859, they began bottling it in 1911. A May 9, 1911 advertisement touted: “Science Triumphant at Peter Doelger’s Magnificent New Bottling Department.” In part the advertisement read:

With the scraping of trowels and the clanking of hammers barely stilled, the most scientifically equipped and sanitarily perfect bottling plant in the world stands ready for the push of the electric button which will set its wonderful machinery in motion.

On May 9th, the New Bottling Department of the Peter Doelger First Prize Brewery will begin to bottle its peerless product expressly for the home…

For more than half a century, Peter Doelger First Prize Beer has held undisputed supremacy over all other brews. Since 1859 this healthful liquid food has been drawn directly from the barrel to delight the palate of the connoisseur.

Today, thanks to the unceasing efforts of our experts, aided by the remarkable advance of science, Peter Doelger First Prize Beer will for the fist time be sold to you in bottles; a worthy tribute to the brewers and bottlers highest art.

Another advertisement, this one in 1916, now called it “First Prize Bottled Beer” and touted it as “The one beer that is worth it’s weight in gold as a nerve, body and strength builder.

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Brooklyn Daily Eagle advertisements from March 9, 1924 and August 8, 1926 demonstrate that they were brewing near-beer under the Doelger name during Prohibition.

Sometime in the late 1920’s The business sold the East 56th Street brewery and moved to Brooklyn. A September 1, 1929 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle referenced the Doelger Brewery in an article that discussed the trend of old brewery sites on Manhattan’s east side being replaced with apartment buildings.

The Doelger brewery property is on the block bounded by Sutton, 1st Ave., 55th and 56th Sts., held at $5,500,000 and is reported to be sold to builders for re-improvement with fine apartment houses. The site is 200×613.

Around this time, the business moved to Monteith Street and Evergreen Avenue in Brooklyn then, in 1936, they leased the Hauch Brewery in Harrison NJ. The Harrison N.J. location was included on this 1937 advertisement.

The brewery closed in 1947 or 1948.  An item in the April 13, 1948 issue of the Plainfield Courier News declared the business bankrupt.

Federal Judge Thomas F. Meaney yesterday declared the Peter Doelger Brewing Corporation of Harrison bankrupt and ordered it liquidated.

A tall modern residential building currently occupies the Manhattan brewery site. It’s not old enough to be the building that originally replaced the brewery

The bottle I found is machine made and dates no earlier than 1911 when their bottling plant opened. It matches the bottle shown in this 1916 advertisement.

Peter had a brother Joseph whose family also operated a brewery on 55th Street at 234 East 55th Street. The brewery was originally listed in the directories under Joseph Doelger (1904 and earlier) and later under Joseph Doelger’s Sons (1907 and later).

Consumers Brewery, Bottling Dept., New York

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Back in the late 1800’s it seems like there’s a Consumers Brewery in every town in America. In New York alone I could find the Consumers Star Brewing Co and the Consumers Park Brewing Co, both in Brooklyn. Manhattan had the Manhattan Consumers Brewing Company and the Consumers Brewing Co, Ltd.

It appears to me that the bottle (by process of elimination) is associated with the Consumers Brewing Co., Ltd for the following reasons:

  • Brooklyn based companies typically embossed the location on their bottles “Brooklyn NY” not “New York”
  • The Manhattan Consumers Brewing Co, 530 W 57th St, was short lived and out of business by 1905 according to the July 1, 1905 issue of the “American Brewers Review”. It looks like Consumers Park Brewing Co bought it out around that time. The bottle I found is machine made and most likely made after 1905.

The Consumers Brewing Company Ltd first appeared in the NYC Copartnership and Corporation Directories in 1890 at 21 Park Row. Likely their office location, at that time a notice in the “New York Sun” on January 7, 1891 announced they were putting the finishing touches on their new brewery and expected to have their beer on the market by May 1st.

The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Consumers’ Brwing Company of New York, Limited, was held at the Germania Assembly Rooms yesterday afternoon. H. H. Hingslage, the President, stated that all the stock of the company had been sold and over $500,000 had been spent on the brewery, which will cost probably a million dollars. Beer brewing will begin about Feb. 10, and beer will be sold by May 1… The stockholders are all liquor dealers.

By 1892 the brewery was listed on Avenue A between 54th and 55th Streets, where they remained through the late 1920’s. As early as 1896 the New York State’s Factory Inspection Report listed the brewery as having 140 employees, all male.

The Directories I could find between 1902 and 1919 listed them as a corporation with capital of $600,000 located at 1011 Avenue A. (Note that originally Avenue A was the name of the north-south street immediately east of First Avenue. It was non-continuous and only existed where it fit geographically between First Avenue and the East River. It once included today’s Sutton Place and York Avenue.)

An October 6, 1912 advertisement in The “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” touted their lager beer.

While another in the October 9, 1915 edition of the same newspaper says “Try Our Columbia and Special Dark Beer.

Also listed separately in each of the Directories between 1902 and 1915 is the Consumers Bottling Co (RTN) located at 402 E 49th Street. Located about 5 blocks from the brewery, it was probably their bottling operation (or department as the bottle is embossed) although there are no principals listed that were associated with both companies.

On February 23, 1920, the company announced that they were selling most, if not all, of their horse drawn delivery equipment.

That being said, the company did remain active for at least a while during Prohibition as evidenced by this 1921 item wishing their patrons “A Happy New Year. It appeared in the December 31st edition of New Jersey’s “Hudson Observer.”

When the company discontinued legal brewing operations is not exactly clear but it had certainly occurred by 1929 when, according to a July 26, 1931 story in the New York “Daily News,” the Consumers Brewing Company sold the brewery in what the story referred to as a mysterious transaction.

In 1929 the Consumers Brewing Company conveyed the brewery and its property to one Anna Smallenbach for the nominal consideration of $100. On the same date she conveyed building and property to the Tishman Real Estate Construction Co. for an expressed consideration of $1.

The story went on to say that two years later the brewery was raided by federal prohibition agents.

For the first time in the history of prohibition enforcement in this district, the Federal Government is seeking to confiscate land and buildings valued at $2,000,000 which were used in evading taxes on alcoholic spirits.

The property, once owned by the Consumers’ Brewery, Ltd., is said to be the most valuable property involved in any government libel action.

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The building, a six-story structure, a block wide, was raided May 22 by men under Horace G. Simmons, special prohibition agent, who found what was described as the largest distillery uncovered since prohibition.

Joseph A. Frayne, special agent of the Department of Justice, said the plant brought a net profit of between $8,000,000 and $10,000,000 annually to its operators who turned out between 26,000 and 29,000 gallons of alcohol a day.

The investigators have found out very little about the operators.

A petition asks the property be forfeited to the Government under provisions of the revenue law… Whoever the present owners are, unless they appear in court to contest the libel, the property will be turned over to the Government by default. If the libel is contested, the investigators may be able to compel the owners of the old brewery to reveal the identity of its last occupants. 

Five years later, the December 1, 1935 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” announced that the Libel had been dismissed and that brewery building was to be torn down after which

the site will be used as a playground until such time as other use is made of it.

Currently, an apartment building occupies the Manhattan brewery site. According to street easy.com it’s a “white glove” coop that was built in 1955. An office tower occupies the bottling plant.

The bottle has an export style and is machine made (12 ounce).

 

Beadleston and Woerz, Empire Brewery, New York

 

New York City brewing company Beadleston & Woerz was established in 1878 and later incorporated in 1889.

The history of the company however begins about a half century earlier in upstate Troy, New York. Much of this history was recounted in a 1903 supplement to a publication called “The Western Brewer,” entitled “One Hundred Years of Brewing.” The piece on Beadleston & Woerz included within the supplement  begins:

In 1825, Abraham Nash founded a small ale brewery at Troy, New York, soon afterward forming a partnership with his son under the firm name of Nash & Co. As their business extended it was found necessary to establish an agency in New York City for the sale of their ales. Ebenezer Beadleston, a relative, who had been engaged at Troy, in various business occupations for many years, was selected for their agent, and in 1837 located in the metropolis for the purpose of extending the business in that locality.

Beadleston established an office in New York City at the corner of Washington Street and Dry Street where he’s first listed in the 1838/1839 New York City directory.

Three years later, in 1840, Beadleston was made a principal and the firm name was changed to Nash, Beadleston & Company. By then their Cream, Pale and Amber Ales were being sold downstate, not only in Manhattan but also in neighboring Brooklyn, as evidenced by this advertisement that consistently appeared in 1840 and 1841 editions of the Long Island Star.

In the mid-1840’s the company made the decision to open a brewery downstate and purchased property on the west side of Manhattan in Greenwich Village.  The property was included in the block bounded by Washington, West, Charles and West 10th Streets that at one time had served as a New York State prison, prior to the opening of Sing Sing in 1828. According to the Western Brewer supplement:

The old State Prison, whose buildings were occupied as a brewing and malting plant, was constructed of stone and surrounded by a high wall. The wall was torn down when the property was purchased by Nash, Beadleston & Company who used the cells for malting rooms and built three stories upon the massive foundation.

Called the Empire Brewery, it opened for business in 1846 as a branch of the Troy brewery. Two sketches, one depicting the old prison in 1814, and another showing the brewery when it opened in 1846, accompanied the Western Brewer story.

The Empire Brewery continued to operate as a  branch of the Troy brewery up until 1856 when the two separated and the New York business continued under the name Beadleston & Nash.

In 1860 Nash retired and was succeeded by a long time employee, W. W. Price. Around the same time E. G. W. Woerz took charge of the practical and technical end of the business. This resulted in an 1865 reorganization at which time the name Beadleston, Price & Woerz was adopted. The company continued to operate under this name until 1878 when it was changed to Beadleston & Woerz. The Western Brewer summarized the events that lead up to this final name change, beginning with the permanent retirement of Ebenezer Beadleston.

The firm remained thus until 1871 when Ebenezer Beadleston retired permanently in favor of his son, the late William H. Beadleston, who had become connected with the firm in 1870. Mr. Price died in 1876 leaving his share in the business to his son, Walter J. Price. In 1878 the latter retired and the firm of Beadleston & Woerz was organized.

Throughout the 1870’s and early 1880’s the brewery grew and modernized until, in 1881, they began brewing lager beer in addition to their porters and ales. According to the Western Brewer it was around this time that the last vestige of the old prison disappeared:

In 1872 the firm erected a handsome malt-house on the part of their property fronting on Charles Street, the remainder of the State Prison being used for brewing purposes, until 1879, when the demolition of the old structure commenced. In January, 1881 the new ale and porter brewery was completed, and in the same year they demolished the remainder of the prison. This was done in order that a large ice-house might be erected and the brewing of lager beer commenced.

As early as 1887 the brewery had also added a bottling department to the complex as evidenced by this March 27, 1887 notice that appeared in the New York Tribune.

A circa 1890’s advertisement shown below depicted the much larger brewery as it looked near the turn of the century and an 1890 New York Tribune story described it like this:

How many readers of the Tribune have ever visited a great brewing establishment? A little back from West Street stand the buildings of Beadleston & Woerz. From the river this pile of stone and brick resembles a huge fortress. Mr. Woerz said the other day that he had the capacity to brew 500,000 barrels a year but his present storage capacity limited him to a production of 300,000.

By this time they were one of the largest brewers in the country, a fact reinforced by a story that appeared in the March 4, 1898 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

BIG MALT SHIPMENT

During the past week Milwaukee will break the record of the United States, if not the world, with the largest single shipment of malt ever made. The shipment is to be made by the American Malting Company from the plant of the Kraus-Merkel Company to the Beadleston & Woerz Brewing Company of New York City. The shipment in the aggregate will be 3,400,000 pounds of malt. To move this immense quantity of malt will require 100 cars, which will be divided into four solid trains. The first train left Milwaukee over the Northwestern Railroad and will be transferred to the Nickel Plate and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western road for shipment to its destination. The other three trains will follow as fast as they can be loaded, unless other orders crowd in to make delay necessary. From Chicago to New York two of the trains will go by the route given, and the other two will be shipped by the Lake Shore and the New York Central railroads. The extent of the shipment may be judged from the fact that it will make 51,200,000 glasses of beer.

The earliest newspaper advertisements that I can find for the Beadleston & Woerz product date back to 1887 and most reference their “Imperial” brand. According to court records in an 1896 trademark case (Beadleston & Woertz v. Cooke Brewing Company), the “Imperial” designation became connected with the business in 1885.

Prior to June, 1885, Beadleston & Woerz brewed several grades of beer, the best quality of which was designated as “Kulmbacher.” On the 30th of June, 1885, the firm purchased of the receiver of a defunct corporation, which had been engaged in the manufacture and sale of beer, the supposed title to the word “imperial” as a trademark when applied to beer, its use having been abandoned by such corporation.

This 1894 advertisement that appeared in the February 8, 1894 edition of Life Magazine claimed it to be the King of Beers (long before Budweiser).

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They apparently sold a number of different beers under their “Imperial” Label. One called “Imperial German Brew” was introduced as a new brand in 1897. This early advertisement appeared in the May 12, 1897 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

A printed notice in the May 25, 1897 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle described the new product like this:

Old Fashioned German Beer – Popular taste, like fashion, shows a pronounced tendency nowadays to return to the good old customs and enjoyments of our forefathers. This is particularly noticeable among customers of lager beer, who as a class, are showing preference, akin to an affection, for the old-fashioned German brewing. To gratify this growing demand Beadleston & Woerz, of New York, one of the largest breweries in the United States, have just introduced a new brand called Imperial German Brew, in which, by their strict adherence to malt and hops, exclusively, for the ingredients, the purity, flavor, color and body of the old-fashioned lager beer is reproduced to a degree of perfection that makes it identical to the product of fifty years ago. For the purposes of giving an immediate opportunity to persons desiring to try it Beadleston & Woerz will deliver it direct from the brewery, 291 West Tenth St., New York.

Another, “Imperial Stout,” was marketed as a “malted tonic and up-builder,” with this November 19, 1909 Brooklyn Daily Eagle advertisement stating: “Is ideal for those who are recovering from illness or whose systems require a healthful and sustaining stimulant”

A pilsner called “Imperial Golden Label,” was also part of the “Imperial” family. Certainly directed toward the well-to-do, this advertisement appeared in the July 26, 1910 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

A recent archeological study done for the brewery site states that Prohibition shut the plant down permanently in 1920 but the business transitioned into real estate because of all the properties they owned. Apparently they didn’t waste much time. The December 16, 1920 edition of the New York Tribune contained the following story.

A large section of the Beadleston & Woerz Empire Brewery property, a landmark at 158-166 Charles Street, has been leased to the Reynolds Whitney Warehouse Co., Inc., for twenty years at an aggregate rental of $600,000. The warehouse company also secured an option to lease the buildings at 674 and 676 Washington Street and 287-303 West Tenth Street.

I’ve found three Beadleston and Woerz bottles over the years, two tooled crowns and one with a blob finish. The crowned examples likely date to the early 1900’s while the blob could date back to the late 1800’s but certainly no earlier than 1887 when they began bottling at the brewery.

This labeled example of a tooled crown was recently offered for sale on the Internet.

     

On each of the three examples found in the bay the embossed trade marks, while certainly projecting the same intent, are all slightly different.