Beer In Ads #5382: Bürgerbräu Gloria Bock

November 3, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Tuesday’s ad is for Bürgerbräu Gloria Bock, which was published around the 1950s. The poster was created for the Bürgerbräu Ludwigshafen, of Ludwigshafen am RheinGermany. The brewery was founded in 1861 by Georg Pschorr, Heinrich Wilhelm Lichtenberger, and Paul Franz Giulini. The text, “Für die Festtage,” translates as “For the Holidays.” The poster was created by German artist Franz Weiss.

Historic Beer Birthday: Charles J. Vopička

November 3, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

atlas-chicago
Today is the birthday of Charles Joseph Vopička (November 3, 1857-September 3, 1935). He was born on the Czech Republic, but emigrated to the U.S. and became a U.S. Citizen and was also a Diplomat. He “served as United States Minister to Bulgaria from 1913 to 1919, United States Minister to Romania from 1913 to 1921, and United States Minister to Serbia from 1913 to 1919.” In April 1891, Vopička and other investors founded the Bohemian Brewing Co. in Chicago, though the name was changed to the Atlas Brewing Co. in 1896. Because of prohibition, they stopped making alcoholic beer in 1920, and during those thirteen years was called the Atlas Beverage Co. while they produced non-alcoholic drinks. In 1933, it reopened again and made beer until closing for good in 1962.

This biography is from the Foreign Language Press Survey:

Charles J. Vopicka, the only American of Czechoslovak origin to hold a diplomatic post under the United States, was born in the little village of Dolm Hbity (Dolni Hbity), near Prague, Bohemia, November 3, 1857. His father was a farmer and mayor of the community. That the young man had to seek his fortune early is not to be wondered at, because the family consisted of fourteen children.
After attending the local schools, Charles set out for Prague where he hoped to acquire a business education. Possessed of a good voice he sang in the choir of the Benedictine Monastery and the Monastery of Krizovnice, which enabled him to pay his board, room, clothing and have a small amount for pocket money. Upon the completion of his business studies young Vopicka secured a position as bookkeeper in a brewery where he remained for four years, during which time he studied French. English and Russian.
The year 1880 finds young Vopicka in the United States. After spending a 2short time in Racine and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he decided seek his fortune in Chicago, Illinois, where he arrived in 1881, and has made his home ever since. Immediately he became an American citizen. In the fall of that year he formed a partnership with Otto Kubin under the name of Vopicka and Kubin, which engaged in the real estate and banking business until 1889. Due to a close application to the affairs of the firm by both partners the business prospered and civic honors began to be showered upon Mr. Vopicka. From 1894 until 1897 he was a member of the Chicago West Park Commission; from 1901 until 1907 he was member of the Chicago Board of Education; from 1902 until 1904 he was a member of the Chicago Board of Local Improvements; in 1906 and 1912 respectively, he served on the Chicago Charter Commission, and the Chicago Association of Commerce.
About this time he organized the Atlas Brewing Company of Chicago and became its President and Manager. For four years he served as a director of the Kaspar State Bank, Chicago, and from 1909 until 1913 he was a member of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. In 1904 he was candidate for Congress for the fifth district of Illinois on the Democratic 3ticket, but he was defeated.
On September 11, 1913, President Wilson appointed Mr. Vopicka as United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Rumania, Serbia and Bulgaria. Here his work, exacting enough in peace times, was made doubly difficult by the outbreak of the Great War. Added to the delicate situation which was created by the daily snapping of diplomatic threads, there was imposed upon him the extra hazardous task of acting as Chairman of the International Commission in Serbia, where he was also representing the German and Austro-Hungarian interests. He was representing British interests in Bulgaria and German and Turkish interests in Rumania. Representing nine nations in Bucharest, during the German occupation of that city, his life for four years was one of extraordinary activity and private and public strain. Acting for Germany and Turkey he handed their ultimatum to Rumania. Likewise to him fell the task of persuading several hundred thousand Russians to remain in the trenches to fight the Central Powers to the bitter end. After the termination of hostilities and the consequent resumption of international 4amenities, Minister Vopicka conducted parleys for the various powers and has notably assisted in the task of building order out of chaos and destruction. In the spring of 1920, he resigned.
On February 3, 1883, Mr. Vopicka married Miss Victoria Kubin, a daughter of Martin Kubin, an organist of Chicago. They had six children….
He is also a member of the Chicago Athletic Association; the South Shore Club; the Iroquois Club and the Bohemian (Ceska Beseda) Club, all of Chicago.
One of the outstanding accomplishments of Mr. Vopicka, while a member of the Chicago West Park Commission, was the erection of the open natatorium connected with a gymnasium, the first to be established in the United States.
Mr. Vopicka has always been prominent in the affairs of the Americans of Czechoslovak origin. He has served on numerous committees and helped in many ways. During the war he could do but little as his diplomatic post required all of his time, energy and strength. However, when the Hoover campaign to aid Czechoslovak children was underway he served as Chairman of the Chicago District Committee.
His experiences in the Balkans during the Great War have thus far been untold. That they will be of considerable historical value, because of their disinterest, is a foregone conclusion. Mr.Vopicka is now engaged in gathering his notes and compiling them in a back, “Secrets of the Balkans”, which will appear very shortly. It promises to be one of the sensations in Great War literature.
Since his retirement from diplomatic work, Mr. Vopicka has again taken up business and is now the head of the American Traders Corporation. He is also interested in solving the financial problems of Czechoslovakia and is the active head of a concern planning to build a modern hotel in Prague.

Despite his diplomatic and other business activities, he was the president and manager so he must have found time to be involved in running the brewery, because, in 1911, he gave an address during the annual convention of the U.S. Brewers Association.

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Vopička and his family.

And this is from Heritage Happenings, a newsletter from the Bohemian National Cemetary, where Vopička is buried:

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Atlas-Prager-Bohemian-Beer-Labels-Atlas-Brewing-Company

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Beer Birthday: Rick Lyke

November 3, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

pints-for-prostates
Today is the 66th birthday of Rick Lyke, a fellow drinks writer in North Carolina. Rick writes for a variety of publications and online at Lyke 2 Drink. It’s especially terrific that we can all celebrate Rick’s 65th today, because he fought and won a battle with prostate cancer, which prompted him to found the grassroots organization Pints For Prostates. Rick is a terrific champion for both great beer and men’s health. Join me in wishing Rick a very happy birthday.

Rick Lyke, Organizer of Rare Beer Tasting @ Wynkoop — Rick at the first Rare Beer Tasting at Wynkoop during GABF Week in 2009.

Carol Stoudt, Amy Dalton & Rick Lyke @ Rare Beer Tasting — Rick with Carol Stoudt and Amy Dalton at the first Rare Beer tasting at Wynkoop to raise money for his Pints for Prostates organization.

wbfnc08-20 — Lew Bryson and Rick at the World Beer Festival in Durham in 2008.

Jeff Bearer, Stan Hieronymus, Stephen Beaumont, me and Rick Lyke @ Great Divide — Jeff Bearer, Stan Hieronymus, Stephen Beaumont and me with Rick at the Great Divide open house on the first day of GABF a number of years ago.

sambrunch-3 — And finally, the ubiquitous Sam Adams brunch photo I use four times a year, with Daniel Bradford, of All About Beer, Jim Koch, Amy Dalton (who used to be with All About Beer) and Rick.

Beer In Ads #5381: Geo. Winter Patriotic Bock Beer

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Monday’s ad is for Geo. Winter Bock Beer, which was published before 1888. The poster was created for the George Winter Brewing Co. of New York, New York, and was located at 55th St. between 2nd & 3rd Avenues. The brewery was founded as Eckert & Winter’s Brewery in 1868, but became the George Winter Brewing in 1880. This poster for their Bock Beer was created by New York lithographer Louis Kraemer, and is a variation on a theme, this one leaning more patriotic.

Historic Beer Birthday: Franklin Pierce Lauer

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Franklin Pierce Lauer (November 2, 1852-March 10, 1926). He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was the son of Frederick Lauer. He followed in his father’s footsteps and also became a brewer. After being sent to learn brewing in Germany, upon his return he became the brewmaster at his family breweries, and began running the breweries after his father retired in 1882.

Here’s a biography of Lauer from “Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals” by Morton Montgomery, published in 1909:

Franklin Pierce Lauer, brewer at Reading since 1882, was born in Reading Nov. 2, 1852, the day on which Pierce was elected President of the United States. He received his preliminary education in the common schools, which he attended until 1866, when he and his brother were sent to Germany for their advanced education, and they remained three years, spending two years in the institutions at Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart, Germany, and one year at Lausanne, Switzerland. He directed his studies more especially toward the scientific manufacture of beer, porter, and ale for the purpose of qualifying himself to take charge of his father’s breweries upon his return home. While at Lausanne he showed great proficiency in music, and though still a boy the vestry of the French Lutheran Church elected him as the organist, which position he filled in a very satisfactory manner during his sojourn at that place.
Upon returning home his father placed him in charge of the two breweries as brewmaster and he displayed great skill in the production of malt liquors of a superior character. He discharged the duties of this responsible position with increasing success for twelve years, until 1882, when his father retired, and he organized the Lauer Brewing Company, of which he became the manager and principal owner. Since then, covering a period of twenty-six years, he has directed the affairs of the company in a most successful manner, bringing its productions to a high state of perfection and purity (as evidenced by the analysis of the State authorities), and giving them a popularity equal to that of any others in Pennsylvania. Its trade has been developed to extend into all the surrounding counties, and to numerous distant places, the large shipments being made on the railroad in improved refrigerator cars.
Mr. Lauer’s responsibilities at the head of his company have kept him so closely confined that he could not devote any time to political or social affairs. He, however, has been a liberal contributor to various public causes; and he has assisted in organizing several financial institutions at Reading, and participated in their management as a director: the Schuylkill Valley Bank since 1890; the Colonial Trust Company since 1900; and the American Casualty Company, since 1903. His only relaxation for some years has been an annual vacation of several weeks with his family to Pike county, where he enjoys the privileges of membership in the Porter’s Lake Hunting and Fishing Club, which owns several thousand acres of timber land on the top of the Allegheny Mountains, elevated 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. In August, 1891, he made an extended tour of three months through the principal countries of Europe.
In 1874 Mr. Lauer married Amelia Dora Heberle (daughter of William Heberle), by whom he had six children: Florence, who married William Y. Landis, of Reading; Carl Franklin; and four who died in youth. He owns and occupies a costly home on the site of the homestead on South Third street, near Chestnut, where he was born, and where his parents and grandparents had lived since 1826. In politics he is a Democrat; in religion a Lutheran, being a member of St. John’s German Lutheran Church, of which his father was one of the organizers in 1860.

This is the description of the illustration of the Lauer Brewing from the National Archives:

Image of an elevated landscape view of the Lauer Brewing Company brewery in Reading, Pennsylvania; a large industrial complex of factory buildings is pictured including the breweries, smokestacks, ice plant, boiler house, hop storage, office, malt house, band stand, hotel, garden, and several others including a bowling alley in Lauer’s Park; railroad cars labeled “Refrigerator Line. Ale Porter and Lager Beer” a Philadelphia & Reading Railroad passenger train, cable car, and horse-drawn vehicles are visible along the street in the foreground; small inset image at bottom right features an earlier view of the much-smaller brewery captioned “Lauer’s brewery in 1866”; a Greek sphinx is pictured in a circular ivy-bordered frame captioned by the words “Trade mark” at bottom center.

lauer-brewery-card-2
The brewery was also known as the Park Beer Brewery.

Historic Beer Birthday: Louis C. Huck

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Louis Carl Huck (November 2, 1842-December 25, 1905). He was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and in 1847, when he was four, he came to the U.S. with his parents when they settled in the Chicago, Illinois area. After graduating from college in 1861 — Notre Dame — Huck joined the brewery his father founded in 1847 (along with John Schneider), then known as the John A. Huck Brewing Co., and was put in the position of secretary and treasurer. But he left the family business in 1871 to briefly work for a local maltster before opening the L.C. Huck Malting Co. the same year, incorporating his business in 1878. Unfortunately, his father’s brewery was destroyed by a fire the same year, 1871, and never reopened again. The malting business proved profitable, but he sold the business in 1890, turning his attention to politics and real estate investment, while staying keenly interested in the malt trade for the remainder of his life.

Here’s a short obituary from his page at Find-a-Grave:

Son of Chicago’s German style beer Brewing pioneer John A. Huck, founder of the L.C. Huck Malting Co, realtor, Director, Western Stone Co. President, Annie Laurie Mining Co. Cook County Treasurer and Tax Collector 1875-77. Treasurer Chicago Chamber of Commerce, member of the Union League Club and Germania Club of Chicago Resided at what was then known as 576 LaSalle Ave. at the time of his death.

This obituary of Huck is from “The Western Brewer: and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hop Trades,” from January, 1906:

And this entry about his malting company is from “100 Years of Brewing,” published in 1903:

Beer Birthday: Tyler Brown

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

barley-browns
Today is the 59th birthday of Tyler Brown, founder of Barley Brown’s Brew in Baker City, Oregon. I first met Tyler somewhere in Portland, some years ago, and his beers are amazing. Most recently, other GABF, I saw him at Belmont Station, and I thought I had a picture of him wearing the Belmont Crown. Alas, I could not find it. Join me in wishing Tyler a very happy birthday.

tyler-brown-uk — Tyler in the UK doing a collaboration beer with Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton.

Historic Beer Birthday: Anton Simon

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks 3 Comments

Today is the birthday of Anton Simon (November 2, 1848-March 27, 1927). He was born in Alsace, France, but moved to Vincennes, Indiana when he was fourteen, in 1862. After working in a series of jobs, in 1875, he and a partner, Eugene Hack, bought a small brewery in Vincennes, Indiana from John Ebner, who had established in 1859. They continued to call it the Eagle Brewery, although it was also referred to as the Hack & Simon Eagle Brewery, though in 1918, its official name became the Hack & Simon Brewery, until closed by prohibition. The brewery briefly reopened after prohibition as the Old Vincennes Brewery Inc., but they appear to have never actually brewed any beer, before closing for good in 1934.

Here’s a biography of Simon from History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana, by Goodspeed Brothers, published in 1886:

And this account is from “Vincennes in Picture and Story: History of the Old Town, Appearance of the New,” written by J.P. Hodge, and originally published in 1902. There’s a short biography of Simon in the final paragraphs.

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In 1859 the Eagle Brewery was established by John Ebner on Indianapolis Avenue in Vincennes, Indiana. It operated under his management until 1875 when it was sold to Eugene Hack and Anton Simon. They kept the name and added an eagle logo identifying their flagship brand. Hack and Simon successfully operated the brewery for decades. They were producing 18,000 barrels of beer a year and maintained five wagons and twelve head of horses for their local trade. In time they established five refrigerated beer depots in towns in Indiana and Illinois. The brewery was shut down by Indiana prohibitionary laws in 1918 and apparently not reopened in 1934 after Repeal.

A brewery paperweight. hack-and-simon-poster

Historic Beer Birthday: Theodore Hollencamp

November 2, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Theodore Hollencamp (November 2, 1834-June 21, 1902). He was born in Hanover, Germany.

This biography is from A Brief History of the Hollenkamp Family, by H. Robert Schoenberger:

Early Years in America: Theodore Hollencamp Sr. was born in November, 1834 in Hanover, Germany. He was the son of Henry H. and Kate (Gerling) Hollencamp.
At the age of 20 he came to America. For thirteen years, he resided in Cincinnati where he learned the brewery business. Eventually, he moved to Xenia where he continued in the brewery business with an uncle.
In 1870, he married Miss Anna Tepe in Cincinnati. She, likewise, was born in Hanover, Germany. It is interesting to note they knew each other while growing up in Hanover, but at that time there was no thought of marriage. They had six children, Anna, Elizabeth (Fr. Charles’s mother), Lena, Katie, Theodore (our “Co-Founder”), and Benjamin.
Brewery Business: The Xenia uncle died in 1871, and Theodore Sr. moved his family to Dayton where he worked in a brewery. In 1885, he and a John Aleschleger established a partnership, which was known as the Dayton Ale Brewery. This partnership was short-lived, and, two years later, Mr. Aleschleger’s position was assumed by a Henry Kramer. Eventually in July, 1885, he bought out this partner and became the sole owner of the brewery. Thus began the Hollencamp Brewing Co.
The plant was located at the corner of Brown and Hickory. Chiefly, ale and porter were produced, and the annual production was about 5,000 barrels, consumed mostly in Dayton.
An early article on Theodore Hollencamp Sr. described the family as “members of Emmanuel Catholic Church and standing well in the esteem of the community”. The article went further in describing Theodore Sr. as “having achieved a creditable success in business, having begun his life in Cincinnati without a dollar, and being now one of the solid capitalists of Dayton. He is broad-minded and open hearted, ever ready to give assistance to the needy and to aid all enterprises for the public good.” He was known as a staunch Democrat, but he never ran for public office.
On June 21, 1901 he passed away at the age of 66. All six of his children were living at the time of his death. Anna Tepe Hollencamp, his wife, lived until January 21, 1907 and was 64 at the time of her death.
His son, Theodore Jr., who we have lovingly called our “Co-Founder” when writing about this reunion, assumed the presidency of The Hollencamp Brewing Co. upon the death of his father in 1901. He was only 19.

hollenkamp-brewery

And here’s another short biography:

And this short biography is from Breweries of Dayton – A toast to brewers from the Gem City: 1810-1961:

Theodore was born to Henry H. and Kate (Gerling) Hollencamp in Hanover, Germany on November 2, 1834 At the age of twenty-four he came to the United States and lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, working at any odd jobs he could find, until he finally found a position in the brewery industry, and set out to learn the trade. After thirteen years he moved to Xenia, Ohio where he worked with his uncle in the brewery business. When his uncle passed away in 1871 Theodore decided to move on to Dayton.
In 1885 Theodore, along with his partner John F. Oehlschlager, established the Dayton Ale Brewery.
Theodore married Anna Tepe on November 22, 1870 in Cincinnati. They had six children. Theodore was a member of the Emanuel Catholic Church of Dayton, as well as a great supporter of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage.
Theodore passed away on June 21, 1902, leaving his wife to carry on the brewery business.

And this about the brewery from the same source.

Dayton Ale Brewery
Hollencamp & Kramer Brewery
HoIlencamp Ale Brewing CompanyTheodore Hollencamp and John F. Oehlschlager opened the Dayton Ale Brewery in 1885 at 816 South Brown Street, on the location of the old Ohio Brewery. The two-story plant had a 10,000-barrel capacity, which needed a fifteen horsepower engine to supply the enormus amount of power to run the equipment. There was also a separate bottling plant where they bottled their own products of ale and porter. Oehlschlager sold his share to Henry Kramer in 1888, using the profits to open the Gem City Ale House, a beer distributing center for Cincinnati Brewing Company and Xenia and Morrow Ales. Kramer stayed on for seven years before selling his shares of the business to his partner, Theodore Hollencamp. Kramer used the money to begin his own street sprinkling business. Theodore ran the business on his own until his death in 1902. His wife, Anna, took over that same year, changing the name of the company to Hollencamp Ale Brewing Company. The output of the plant was exclusively ale and porter, with the brewery producing about 5,000 barrels year.
From 1907 until prohibition the brewery was run by Theodore Hollencamp, Jr. The brewery stayed in business during prohibition by making soft drinks, cereal beverages (near beer) and ice.

Beer In Ads #5380: Oshkosh Bock Beer

November 1, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Sunday’s ad is for Oshkosh Bock Beer, which was published in 1935. The poster was created for the Oshkosh Brewing Co., which was founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1894. The lithograph was produced by the R.H. Eichner & Co., Lith. & Pub. of Baltimore, Maryland. This design was originally created in 1891, and reused for many years.