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Historic Beer Birthday: William Ebling

March 18, 2026 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

ebling
Today is the birthday of William Ebling (March 18, 1828-January 25, 1922). Along with his brother Phillip, he founded and owned the Ebling Brewing Co., which was known by several different names during its life from 1868 to 1950, including the Philip Ebling & Bro. Wm., Aurora Park Brewery, Ph. & Wm. Ebling Brewing Co. and Ebling Brewing Co., which was its name almost the entirety of the 20th century, both before and after prohibition.

ebling-brewery-postcard

There’s not much I could find specifically about William Ebling, and no photos or portraits. From what I can piece together, he was born in Hessen, Germany and emigrated to the U.S. in 1855, arriving December 19 of that year. Initially he worked as a vinegar merchant and married his wife, Phoebe, around 1863, but by 1868 was brewing lager beer with his brother.

eblings-keg-branding
Two Ebling brewery workers posing with a keg branding device, from an unknown date.

The brewery apparently aged some of their beer in Bronx caves, and for some of their beers, like Special Brew, whose label boasts that the beer was “aged in natural rock caves.” Which sounds crazy, but in 2009, road construction crews in the Melrose section of the Bronx found the old caves, which was detailed by Edible Geography in Bronx Beer Caves.

1938-New-York-city-61st-street-4-Ebling-Brewery
An Ebling beer truck on 61st Street in New York in 1938.

Ebling-Brewing-Co-1908-Calendar-Signs-Pre-Pro-Ebling-Brewing-Co--Pre-Prohibition-_83627-1
A 1908 calendar from the brewery.

Eblings-Extra-Beer--Labels-Ebling-Brewing
Eblings-Bock-Beer-Labels-Ebling-Brewing

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, New York

Beer In Ads #5169: The Best Of The Bocks

March 17, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Tuesday’s second ad is for Gold Bond Double Bock Beer, which was published on March 17, 1953. This ad was for the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1904 as the Fishel Brewing Co. This ad ran in The Plain Dealer, also of Cleveland, Ohio.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Ohio

Beer In Ads #5168: Hey! It’s Bock Beer Day To-Day!

March 17, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Tuesday’s first ad is for Nick Thomas Bock Beer, which was published on March 17, 1936. This ad was for the Miami Valley Brewing Co. of Dayton, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1866 by John Wager. This ad ran in The Dayton Daily News, also of Dayton, Ohio.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Ohio

Beer In Ads #5167: Acme Bock Is Back Tomorrow!

March 16, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Monday’s second ad is for Acme Bock Beer, which was published on March 16, 1950. This ad was for the Acme Brewing Co. of San Francisco, California, which was originally founded in 1907, though they also opened a location in the Los Angeles area. Today the brand is owned by North Coast Brewing. This ad ran in The Merced Sun Star, also of Merced, California.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, California, History

Beer Birthday: Paul Segura

March 16, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the 60th birthday — The Big 6-O — of Paul Segura, who is the brewmaster at Karl Strauss Brewing Co., a position he’s held for the past twenty-five years. Before that he brewed at Hops! Bistro & Brewery and Hang Ten Brewing. In addition to brewing, Paul is also a co-host on The 91X Beer for Breakfast Show and was an instructor for the UCSD Professional Certificate in Brewing. Plus he’s a great ambassador for beer in San Diego. Join me in wishing Paul a very happy birthday.

Paul giving a tour during CBC in 2008.
Picking up an award at GABF in 2015.
Paul and Bruce Joseph from Anchor Brewing.
Last two photos purloined from Facebook.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: California, San Diego, Southern California

Beer In Ads #5166: Hey! It’s Bock Beer Day To-Morrow!

March 16, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Monday’s first ad is for Nick Thomas Bock Beer, which was published on March 16, 1936. This ad was for the Miami Valley Brewing Co. of Dayton, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1866 by John Wager. This ad ran in The Dayton Daily News, also of Dayton, Ohio.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Ohio

Beer In Ads #5165: It’s Wise To Ask For Milwaukee’s Choicest Bock Beer

March 15, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Sunday’s second ad is for Braumeister Bock Beer, which was published on March 15, 1950. This ad was for the Independent Milwaukee Brewery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was originally founded in 1901 by Henry N. Bills, William Gutknecht, Charles Evers, Emil Czarnecki, and William Jung. This ad ran in The Monroe Evening News, of Monroe, Michigan. I love that they put the goat in glasses and a graduation mortarboard so he’s look “smart.”

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Michigan, Wisconsin

Historic Beer Birthday: Robert Meinrad Juerze

March 15, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Robert Meinrad Juerze (March 15, 1847-?). In 1889, he was named president of the Gerke Brewing Co., in Cincinnati, Ohio. Unfortunately, that’s it for the information I could find about Juerze. No bio, no photos, just a line in an old trade magazine that included his birthdate.

The Eagle Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was known by various names names, such as the Schaller & Schiff Brewery and later the Schaller-Gerke Brewery and finally the Gerke Brewing Co. Here’s a timeline from the Queen City Chapter’s page, entitled Cincinnati Brewing History-Preprohibition 1811-1919.

Gerke-bc

The first brewery on this corner was the Eagle Brewery from 1854 to 1866, owned by Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff. In 1866, Schiff left the company and John Gerke joined in. The name was changed to Schaller & Gerke, Eagle Brewery and they continued together until 1882. The Schallers left the business then to purchase the Main Street Brewery and after the death of his father John, George Gerke continued the business at Canal and Plum Streets.

gerkebrewery_1

Founded in 1854 as the Eagle Brewery closer to the Ohio River, Joseph Schaller and John Gerke built a new brewery at the bend of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1866. Beer was brewed there until 1910.

gerkebrewery_4

The brewery equipment was sold at auction October 15, 1913.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio

Beer In Ads #5164: There Is No Argument To It … Camden Bock Beer Is Genuine Old-Time Bock

March 15, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Sunday’s first ad is for Camden Bock Beer, which was published on March 15, 1938. This ad was for the Camden County Beverage Co. of Camden, New Jersey, which was originally founded in 1904. This ad ran in The Courier Post, of South Jersey, New Jersey.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, New Jersey

Beer In Ads #5164: Spring’s Almost Here … And Everyone Feels Like A Millions Bocks

March 14, 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Saturday’s second ad is for National Bohemian Bock Beer, which was published on March 14, 1955. This ad was for the National Brewing Co., of Baltimore, Maryland, which was originally founded in 1885, and they also operated breweries in Detroit, Michigan and Orland, Florida. This ad ran in The Evening Star, of Washington, D.C.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, D.C., History, Maryland, Washinton D.C.

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