Historic Beer Birthday: William Sebastian Sohn

February 4, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of William Sebastian Sohn (February 4, 1852-February 26, 1902). He was born in Cincinnti, Ohio, the son of Johann Georg Sohn, who co-founded the Hamilton Brewery, which was later known as the J. G. Sohn & Company Brewery. It was also known as the Clyffside Brewing Co., and used the trade name Feldsbrau. William took over after his death, and it was sold in 1907 and became known as the William G. Sohn Brewing Co. and later the Mohawk Brewing Co. After prohibition, it reopened as the Clyffside Brewing. After World War 2, it was renamed the Red Top Brewing before closing for good in 1958.

This is his obituary, as reprinted in “Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens, Volume 2,” by Charles Theodore Greve, published in 1904.

Here’s Sohn’s obituary from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Historic Beer Birthday: Johann Schiff

February 1, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Johann Schiff (February 1, 1813-February 9, 1878). Schiff was born in Rohrbach, Germany, but appears to have emigrated to Ohio by at least 1850, but probably earlier.

He was a co-owner on 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. Accounts seem to vary about his involvement, and especially with the names of the brewery as they changed, but here’s the timeline from the Queen City Chapter’s page, entitled Cincinnati Brewing History-Preprohibition 1811-1919.

1829: William Lofthouse and William Attee operate THE EAGLE BREWERY located on Fourth Street from 1829 until 1843. William Lofthouse becomes the sole proprietor of the brewery after William Attee dies in 1843 and he operates the brewery until his own death in 1850. His widow leases the brewery to Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff who continue to use the EAGLE BREWERY name and operate the facility from 1850 to 1857.
1854: Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff purchased land on the Miami-Erie Canal near Plum Street and construct a new brewery which they operate from 1854 to 1866. They continued to use the EAGLE BREWERY name. In 1866 Schaller buys out Schiff and he becomes a partner with John Gerke. The brewery name becomes SCHALLER & GERKE, EAGLE BREWERY. They continue in business together until 1882.
1861: Joseph Schaller buys out his partner, Johann Schiff, and continues to operate THE EAGLE BREWERY. In 1866, John Gerke becomes a partner in the business and the brewery operates until 1882.
1882: After John Gerke‘s death, his son, George, takes his place in the brewery and the business is incorporated as THE GERKE BREWING CO. In 1904, a new building is erected but is soon sold to the French-Bauer Dairy and the Gerke Brewing Co. is out of business by 1912.

I have been unable to find any portraits of Johann Schiff, or indeed much biographical information of any kind. There’s a bit more about the fate of the brewery after Schiff was bought out, and it became known as the Gerke Brewing Co. For example, Lagering Cellar 1861 has some Gerke Brewery History.

Joseph Schaller came to America as a young man. Working as a laborer in Cincinnati and on the Erie Canal, he saved his money to start a vinegar works. He purchased the old Lofthouse Brewery (located on 4th Street) with Johann Schiff in 1850. While not trained as a brewer, he hired well. They quickly grew the business and built the Eagle Brewery at the corner of Plum and Canal in 1854.
The brewery was located at the Plum Street bend of the Miami & Erie Canal, and had large arched windows unique to Cincinnati breweries0 These windows are duplicated in the doors to the elevator room you came through. Partnering with John Gerke, he grew the brewery to be one of the largest and most modern in the city, producing about 140,000 barrels of beer a year. Before retiring, he helped his three sons start the Schaller Brothers Main Street Brewery. Gerke continued brewing until 1912. Brewery was replaced with the French Bauer Ice Cream Factory in 1917, which still exists as the Court Street Center building today.
Gerke continued brewing until 1912.
Schaller & Schiff, Eagle Brewery (4th Street) 1850 – 1857
Schaller & Schiff, Eagle Brewery 1854 – 1866
Schaller & Gerke, Eagle Brewery 1866 – 1882
Gerke Brewing Company 1882 – 1912

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.

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.

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

Historic Beer Birthday: William Hoffmeister

January 31, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of William Hoffmeister (January 31, 1827-1902), who was born in Germany, but emigrated to the U.S. in 1847, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. There in 1856 he founded the William Hoffmeister Brewery, but it was only in production until 1873, when he closed it and opened a saloon. Being open for a mere seventeen years, there’s precious little information about either the brewery or William Hoffmeister, and I was unable to find any picture of him, his beer or his brewery, though this may be his coat of arms.

This is about all I could find on William Hoffmeister, from the Cincinnati Turner Societies: The Cradle of an American Movement, by Dann Woellert, published in 2012.

Hoffmeister-cincinnati-test

Historic Beer Birthday: John Goetz

January 28, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of John Goetz, Jr. (January 28, 1855-January 23, 1898), who was married to Christian Moerlein’s daughter Lizzie and worked in his father-in-law’s brewery. He also organized the Brewers Exchange, and was its first president, a trustee in the U.S. Brewers Association, and helped organize the Ohio Brewers Guild.

Here’s his obituary from the American Brewers’ Review, which provides a summary of his life:

After Goetz married Lizzie Moerlein, he went to work for his father-in-law at one of Cincinnati’s biggest breweries, Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. In fact, before prohibition, it was one of the nation’s ten largest. But like many breweries, it was closed by prohibition, and wasn’t re-introduced until 1981. In 2004, the brand was purchased by Greg Hardman, a local resident of the Greater Cincinnati area, who also bought several other local beer brands in addition to Moerlein.

And here’s an additional biography.

Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Hubach

January 27, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Henry Hubach (January 27, 1843-June 16, 1915). He was born in Germany but moved to the U.S. in 1865. It appears he may have been involved in the Wayne Street Brewery of Fort Wayne, Indiana, at least between 1874-1876. One breweriana reference states that it was actually known as the Henry Hubach Brewery for those two years. Although 100 Years of Brewing mentions that Hubach had been in the U.S. for twelve years before buying the brewery in Ohio, which would mean he emigrated in 1865 at the age of 22. They further state that he had previously worked in breweries in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Milwaukee, not listing Indiana at all. So it’s possible, however unlikely, that there were two different Henry Hubachs.

At some point, our Henry Hubach moved to Tiffin, Ohio, which is in the northern part of the state. In 1877 he bought the Fred Giege & Jacob Schumucker Brewery, renaming it the City Brewery, though in 1906 it became known as Hubach’s Brewery Co. Some sources indicate City Brewery was its original name when it first opened around 1855, while others claim its original names was the Siegrist Brewery. The brewery operated until 1916, the year after Hubach died, and appears to have not survived his passing.

There’s surprisingly little biographical information about Hubach, although the Brewers Journal in 1915 did publish a brief obituary which sheds some light:

A local pamphlet-size book entitled the “History of Tiffin’s Breweries and Bottling Works,” by Joseph Terry has the most information I could find on Hubach.

The brewery building six years before it was destroyed by a fire in 1966.

Most accounts seem to say that Hubach bought his Ohio brewery in 1877, but it appears that he may have simply rented it for the first six years, only completing the purchase of it in January of 1883.

And speaking of the flood, some of the brewery’s best photos I could find are from the flood, known as the Great Flood of 1913.

“The brewery built on Tiffin, Ohio’s Madison Street near the Sandusky River was in operation by 1859. By 1878 the business was owned by Henry Hubach. The building withstood the 1913 flood; it was destroyed by fire in the 1960s.”

Historic Beer Birthday: Jacob Knecht

January 25, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Jacob Knecht (January 25, 1821-May 9, 1910). He was born in Lampertheim, Kreis Bergstraße, Hessen, Germany, and at some point emigrated to the United States in the 1850s, settling in Chillicothe, Ohio, which is located in the south-central part of the state. He bought into the P. J. Loepel in 1877, which Loepel founded three years earlier, in 1874. From 1877-1883 it was known as Knecht & Muehling, but after that became associated only with Jacob Knecht and/or his sons. After changing hands a few times, it closed in 1953, although more recently in 2021 a craft brewery opened using the name Old Capitol Brewing.

Here’s his obituary from the Chillicothe Gazette in May 1910:

Historic Beer Birthday: Gottlieb Muhlhauser

January 24, 2026 By Jay Brooks

lion-brewery-ohio
Today is the birthday of Gottlieb Muhlhauser (January 24, 1836-February 9, 1905), who co-founded the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had two partners in the venture, his brother-in-law Conrad Windisch and his brother Heinrich Muhlhauser.

G-Muhlhauser

Here’s a short biography from Find a Grave:

Beer Baron. A native of Muggendorf, Bavaria in Germany, he came to America in 1840 with his father, Frederick Muhlhauser, and settled on a farm near Portsmouth, Ohio. They moved to Cincinnati in 1845. After his father’s death in 1849 when he was 13 years old, he assumed the responsibility of the family as the oldest child and left school to work at a pottery. He then entered the mineral water business and became the plant’s foreman in 1852 when he was 16 years old. Muhlhauser went into the same business for himself in 1854. Business was very successful and he branched out to Chillicothe in 1855 and to Hamilton, Ohio in 1857. He also was married in 1857, to Christina Windisch, the sister of his future business partner. In 1858, he erected a mill for crushing malt and another for steam flouring with the aid of his brother, Henry Muhlhauser. During the Civil War, he supplied flour to the Union Army and the Cincinnati Home Guard. Around this time he suffered from a gunshot wound, but it was not severe enough to keep him from operating his businesses. In 1866, he organized the Lion Brewery with his brother Henry and his brother-in-law, Conrad Windisch. The million dollar beer company became the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewing Company in 1882 and Muhlhauser was the president and general manager. He died in 1905 in Cincinnati when he was 69 years old.

And this is him in another portrait, when he was a little older.

Their brewery became known as the “Lion Brewery” because of the two lions that rested atop the brewery’s gables and many of their beer names used a lion in the name and on the labels.

Lion-Brewery1

The History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio has a short history of the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewing Company:

Lion-brewery-history

Paired Creation also has a history of the brewery.

A label from Lion Lager (date unknown).

Beer In Ads #5176: Springtime Prescription From Old Doc Bock

January 19, 2026 By Jay Brooks

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.

Monday’s ad is for Wiedemann Bock Beer, which was published on January 19, 1962. This ad was for the George Wiedemann Brewing Co. of Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, which was originally founded by George Wiedemann in 1860 in Louisville, Kentucky, and later also opened a brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. This ad ran in The Cincinnati Post , of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5153: Lithia Christmas Bock

December 27, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Last year 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.

Saturday’s holiday ad is for Lithia Bock Beer, which was published on December 27, 1935. This ad was for the West Bend Lithia Brewing Co. of West Bend, Wisconsin, which was originally founded in 1856 by Christopher Eckstein. It was known as the West Bend Lithuia Brewing Co. from 1911-1920, and then the West Bend Lithia Co. from 1920 until closing in 1972. This ad ran in The West Bend News, covering Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana.

Historic Beer Birthday: Rudolph Rheinboldt

December 27, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Rudolph Rheinboldt (December 27, 1827-October 30, 1916). He was born in Germany, came to Cincinnati, Ohio, and was involved with helping to found what would become the John Kaufman Brewing Co., though for a short time, from 1856-58, it was known as the John Kaufman Rudolph Rheinboldt Brewery. It’s possible he was related to Kaufman, though it’s unclear how, although Rheinboldt did marry Magdalena Kauffman in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 13, 1859, when he was 31 years old.

Kauffman-brewery-letterhead Here’s the letterhead from the John Kauffman Brewing Co.

Since he appears to have been involved for only a short time, I was unable to find very much about him, no photos, and almost nothing after he left the brewing industry.

Here’s part of the John Kaufman Brewing Co. that involves Rheinboldt, from Cincinnati Brewing History:

In 1856 John Kauffman, George F. Eichenlaub, and Rudolf Rheinboldt purchased the Franklin Brewery on Lebanon Road near the Deer Creek from Kauffman’s aunt. Her husband, John Kauffman, estabished the brewery in 1844. He died in 1845. In 1859 under the name Kauffman and Company, they began to build a new brewery on Vine Street and soon left the Deer Creek location. The first structure on Vine was completed in 1860.
In 1871 the Kauffman Brewery was the city’s fourth largest with sales amounting to $30,930. It was located on both the west and east sides of Vine north of Liberty and south of Green Street.
In 1860 Kauffman also bought the Schneider grist mill on Walnut Street near Hamilton Road (McMicken Avenue), but leased it out before long to another company.
In its first year on Vine Street, the brewery produced only about 1000 barrels. By 1877 the number grew to 50,000 barrels of beer. Kauffman’s beer was sold in Nashville, Montgomery, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans.
In 1865 Eichenlaub retired from the business and he was followed by Rheinboldt in 1877. John Kauffman then took over the leadership by himself. After his oldest son Johnn studied brewing in Augsburg, Germany, he went to work at the family brewery. Emil Schmidt, Kauffman’s son-in-law, was superintendent by 1877.
In 1882 the brewery was incorporated as the John Kauffman Brewing Company with a paid-in capital stock of $700,000. In 1888 the brewery building at 1622 Vine was enlarged. Note it is occupied by the Schuerman Company today. The office and family residence was at 1625-27 Vine, which was razed and replaced about 75 years ago.

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