Jay R. Brooks on Beer
Saturday’s ad is for the Frank Fehr Brewing Co., from 1950. The Louisville, Kentucky brewery is advertising their Fehr’s XL Beer as a pairing with ribs. The ribs are laid out on a red and white checkerboard tablecloth with bread and a bowl of sauce. I’m not sure about the horseshoe handles on the baskets, which make it look like a yee-haw sort of restaurant, but if the food is tasty, then why not.
Today is the birthday of Louis J. Hauck (June 30, 1866-April 30, 1942). His father, John Hauck, founded the John Hauck Brewing Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1863. In 1879, Hauck bought out his partner and a few years later changed the name of the brewery. Louis became president in 1893, when his father retired. It continued as the John Hauck Brewery or the Dayton Street Brewery until prohibition. After it ended, it reopened as the Red Top Brewing Co. and continued until closing in 1956.
Here’s a short history of the brewery Louis’ dad founded, from Emily Brickler at Cincinnati Historic Destinations:
John Hauck and John Ulrich Windisch teamed up to start their brewery back in 1863 located on Dayton Street near Central Avenue. They ended up purchasing five acres located close to the Miami-Erie Canal which the water was used to fill the steam boilers and provide the power for the machinery. Both guys at one point called their business the Dayton Street Brewery which was producing 10,000 barrels of beer in their first year. By 1877, they were producing 32,000 barrels and two years later he bought Windsch’s shares of the brewery.
In 1881, the brewery was producing 160,000 barrels of beer. By 1882 the brewery was officially the John Hauck Brewing Company. There was also a John Hauck Beer Bottling Company that was established that same year. John Hauck was against bottling his beer though saying that it changed the flavor of the beer but in order for him to do business with more distant markets he had to agree with the bottling of his beer. By 1884 the brewery was covering the block which was bounded by Central, Dayton, York Streets and Kewitt Alley. The only remaining building from this brewery is the bottling works which stands on Central Avenue bear Dayton Street. The Hauck and Windisch farm actually still stands as well located near Crescentville Road. Louis Hauck then had the original Hauck farm house replaced in 1904 with a mansion located at 12171 Mosteller Road.
The John Hauck Brewery, a.k.a. the Dayton Street Brewery.
A caricature of Louis J. Hauck done around 1903.
Today is the 43rd birthday of Hildegard Van Ostaden, brewmaster at Urthel, one of only a handful of female brewers working in Belgium. Inspired by a trip to Alaska’s barleywine festival, she also brewed the first American-style Imperial IPA in Belgium. Her beers are all great, and I love the illustrations on the labels that her husband Bas does. Join me in wishing Hildegard a very happy birthday.
Hildegard with Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing at the Beer Chef’s Urthel dinner.
Outside the Falling Rock, fellow GABF judges Carl Kins, from the EBCU (on left), and Hildegard (on right) along with her husband Bas (in the middle) during GABF in 2007.
Bas van Ostaden, Bruce Paton and Hildegard after their dinner in 2007.
Friday’s ad is for the Frank Fehr Brewing Co., from 1950. The Louisville, Kentucky brewery is advertising their Fehr’s XL Beer as a pairing with Boston baked beans and bacon. I think is well before the days when advertising agencies hired professional food stylists to make the food look perfect, and as appetizing as possible. And while they’re still using their tagline, “It’s Al-ways Fehr Weather,” I confess I don’t understand why there’s a hyphen in always.
Today is the birthday of Pablo Díez Fernández (June 29, 1884-November 17, 1972). He was born in Vegaquemada, León, Spain. His mother died when he was three, and was raised by his grandparents. “He studied Classical Literature and Philosophy at the Instituto Municipal de Boñar, and when he turned 16 he joined the Dominican Monastery of Cangas de Narcea. Soon after his 20th birthday, when he was about to be ordained, Pablo Díez decided that the priesthood was not his true calling in life and moved to Madrid. In 1905, with the help he got from the Dominican Friars themselves, he sailed out to Mexico.” In Mexico, he became a successful businessman and in 19292 helped to start the brewery, Cervecería Modelo, which would later become Grupo Modelo.
Here’s his biography from his Wikipedia page:
Pablo Díez Fernández was the son of Ceferino Díez and Gregoria Fernández, Pablo Diez was born in Vegaquemada, León, Spain, on June 29, 1884. After the death of his mother when he was only three years old, he was raised by his paternal grandparents in the town of Palazuelo de Boñar. He studied Classical Literature and Philosophy at the Instituto Municipal de Boñar, and when he turned 16 he joined the Dominican Monastery of Cangas de Narcea. Soon after his 20th birthday, when he was about to be ordained, Pablo Díez decided that the priesthood was not his true calling in life and moved to Madrid. In 1905, with the help he got from the Dominican Friars themselves, he sailed out to Mexico.
Once in Mexico, he took on a job as book keeper at the Venegas bakery. In 1911 he became the manager of another bakery called La Primavera. As a result of his hard work, he was able to save enough money to first partner with and then, in 1912, buy that business from its previous owners. The following year, Diez Fernández became one of the founding shareholders of Leviatán y Flor, a company which has been recognized as the first compressed yeast factory in Mexico.
In 1918, he married Rosario Guerrero Herrero, whom he had met during one of his many visits to Spain.
Four years later he became part of the community of distinguished businessmen, industry experts, and bankers that would put up the capital to start the business which was later to become Grupo Modelo: Cervecería Modelo. A shareholder since the very beginning and member of its Board of Directors since 1926, the businessman from the region of León in Spain continued to care for his bread and yeast production businesses while also promoting other new adventures. One of them, Pan Ideal, is famous for having been the first mechanical bread producing plant in Mexico.
In 1928, Pablo Diez was appointed to the Board of Directors of El Crédito Español de México, SA and of other important businesses of the Spanish community in Mexico. That same year, Braulio Iriarte entrusted him with the responsibility of being the legal representative of Cervecería Modelo. He was 44 years old at the time.
Diez Fernández founded seminars, sanctuaries, and hospitals in his country of origin, for which he was highly recognized. The latter is also true for Mexico, where his philanthropic work left a profound mark on the development of nursing homes and hospitals. Among them the most recognized are the Sanatorio Español, the Red Cross’s central hospital in Mexico City and the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología; he made important donations to help build all these institutions.
In 1955, don Pablo Diez crowned the Virgin of Guadalupe as the Queen of Work, sharing in the devotion shown for the Virgin by the workers in the largest of his companies: Cervecería Modelo.
In recognition of this philanthropic work and his entrepreneurial accomplishments, in 1969 Don Pablo Diez received the highest honor granted by the Mexican government: the Orden del Águila Azteca.
He was also a relevant shareholder in other companies in Mexico including IEM, Condumex, Fundidora Monterrey, Celanese Mexicana and Banco Nacional de México, and he served as the first Vice-president for this bank. In Spain, Cervecería Cruz Campo and Banco Central Hispano held his most relevant investments.
Just before he retired from public life, although he remained as Honorary Chairman of Grupo Modelo, Diez Fernández turned over the business to the people close to him who had managed it for several years. The main shareholders of the new company that controlled Cervecería Modelo, a company whose sales in 1970 were estimated somewhere between 850 and 900 million pesos, were Juan Sánchez Navarro, Manuel Álvarez Loyo, Nemesio Diez, Secundino García, Antonino Fernández, Pablo Aramburuzabala and other employees of the brewery which would later on become Grupo Modelo, the seventh largest beer group in the world, when it was headed first by Don Antonino Fernandez and, then, by Carlos Fernandez Gonzalez.
Don Pablo Diez Fernández died on November 17, 1972 in Mexico City.
Here’s a Company History of the first fifty years from Funding Universe:
Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V. is the largest beermaker in Mexico, holding 55 percent of the national market in 1998, when it was the 12th-largest beer producer in the world and the most profitable brewer in Latin America. Its best known brand is Corona Extra, a light brew that ranked first in sales among beers imported to the United States in 1997 and fifth in the world in total production. The company also produces nine other brands of beer. A holding company, it is vertically integrated, beginning with its overseeing of the selection of seeds and germination of hops, and including brewing and bottling plants and distribution by trucks and ships. Grupo Modelo was, in the late 1990s, 50.2 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world’s largest beer-producing company, and it was the exclusive importer of Anheuser-Busch’s products in Mexico, including Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch did not, however, hold a majority of Grupo Modelo’s voting shares.
The First Fifty Years
Beer was the basis for the holdings of the Sada and Garza extended families, whose Monterrey Group became the most powerful business combine in Mexico. Cervecería Cuauhtemoc was founded in Monterrey in 1890. Its chief rival was Cervecería Moctezuma, founded in 1894. Cervecería Modelo, which eventually outstripped the other two in production and sales, was founded in 1925 in Mexico City by Braulio Iriarte, with the help of President Plutarco Elias Calles.
Cervecería Modelo soon came under the control of Pablo Díez Fernández, who became its director general in 1930 and its majority stockholder in 1936. Born in Spain in 1884, Díez Fernández emigrated to Mexico at the age of 21 with money he borrowed from the Dominican fathers under whom he studied. He first worked as an accountant for a bakery, established the first mechanized bakery in Mexico, and then became part-owner of the first yeast factory for bread in Mexico. He went on to become co-founder and major stockholder of Celanese Mexicana in 1944 and a director of Banamex, one of Mexico’s largest banks,
Diez Fernandez kept Modelo a private company that financed its expansion into producing malt, bottles, bottle caps and corks, and cartons through earnings rather than borrowing. He also acquired the regional breweries producing Victoria (1935), Estrella (1954), and Pacífico (1954). Modelo spent heavily on advertising during the late 1940s and early 1950s, much more so than its rivals. By 1956 it was the leading brewer, passing Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc and Moctezuma, with 31.6 percent of total beer production in Mexico. Modelo established plants in Ciudad Obregón (1960), Guadalajara (1964), and Torreón (1966) and created a national distribution network. Antonio Fernández Rodríguez, also Spanish-born, succeeded Díez Fernández as director general of the firm in 1971. Under his leadership, Modelo’s share of the Mexican market grew from 39 percent in 1977 to 45 percent in 1985.
A statue of Pablo Díez Fernández in his hometown of Vegaquemada in Spain.
Today is the birthday of Jacob Paul Rettenmayer (June 29, 1881-February 24, 1927). He was born in Ellwanger, Württenberg, Germany, and came to the U.S. when he was 20, in 1901. He settled on the West Coast, and bounced back and forth between California and Washington, working at various breweries. He eventually settled in San Francisco, helping to start Acme Brewery, becoming its first brewmaster and president. His little brother Franz, or Frank, Rettenmayer became brewmaster a few years later, and JP opened a second Acme brewery in Los Angeles. Just before, and during, prohibition he diversified into several other businesses.
This biography was written by Rettenmayer himself later in his life, as reprinted on Gary Flynn’s Brewery Gems:
“Served apprenticeship as Brewer and Maltster at the plants of Minneapolis Brewing Company, Minneapolis Minnesota, under Mr. Armin L. Neubert who was then Master Brewer and superintendent of that company. Upon the completion of my apprenticeship I worked in that plant for six months as a journeyman, and then went to Los Angeles where I found employment with the Los Angeles Brewing Company. I worked in various departments of that plant for six months and then secured employment at the plant of Maier and Zobelein. I was employed by that firm from 1903 to 1905 when I left to attend Wahl-Henius Institute in Chicago. The course I took was the first six months duration and the first course given in the new Institute building. I was the honor graduate with a record of 99 in thirteen studies. Upon the completion of my course I returned to Maier and Zobelein in Los Angeles, remaining there until July 1, 1906.
Upon obtaining my citizen papers in Los Angeles I went to Tacoma, Washington where I was employed by the Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. for a period of six weeks. Mr. Peter G. Schmidt, now President of the Olympia Brewing Company, invited me to go to Salem and I was affiliated with Salem Brewery Association for a period of four months. In the meantime the late Leopold M. Schmidt returned from Europe and he asked me to go to San Francisco to become associated with him in the Acme Brewing Company. Upon the organization of that company I became vice-president and a year later was elected to the presidency. I served in that capacity, as well as Master Brewer, from 1907 to 1917, when the Acme Brewing Company merged with five other breweries under the name California Brewing Association. I was elected President and General Manager of the consolidated enterprise and served until the advent of prohibition. Before the formation of California Brewing Association I was instrumental in organizing the Cereal Products Refining Corporation and planned and developed the syrup and compressed yeast business to the manufacture of which a part of the plant of California Brewing Association was converted.
In the latter part of 1924 I turned in my resignation as president and General Manager of California Brewing Association and its affiliated enterprises to engage in other activities. In the Fall of 1934 Mr. Armin K. Neubert prevailed upon me to become associated with Salinas Brewing & Ice Company and on the first of December, 1934 I assumed the position of General Manager of the enterprise. In October of 1935, in cooperation with Armin K. Neubert, Mr. Wm. Voss, and others associated with us, we acquired the interests of Mr. Armin L. Neubert. Upon the consummation of the deal Mr. Armin L. Neubert resigned as president of Salinas Brewing and I succeeded him in that capacity.”
Rettenmayer appears to have been quite active in the U.S. Brewers Association and digests are filled with his committee reports and other mentions.
J.P. is somewhere in the two halves of this photograph taken on September 30, 1915, at the German House in San Francisco during the 27th annual convention of the Master Brewers Association.
At Brewery Gems, Gary Flynn has a fuller account of the life of Jacob Paul Rettenmayer, and it’s worth reading in its entirety.
Today is the birthday of Peter Weyand (June 29, 1821-July 17, 1875). Along with Daniel Jung, he founded the Western Brewery on Freeman and Bank Streets in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was unable to find any photos of Weyand, and very few of the brewery when it used his name, too, but then only appears to be for a few years, from 1854-1857 according to some sources.
Here’s Weyand obituary from “Early Nineteenth-Century German Settlers in Ohio.”
When it was first opened in 1857, along with partner Peter Weyand, it was called the Western Brewery (some sources say 1854). In 1879, they added a third investor, and it became the Weyand, Jung & Heilman Brewery. It 1885, with Jung apparently sole owner, it is renamed the Jung Brewing Co., which it remained until 1908, when it went back to being the Western Brewery, before closing due to prohibition in 1919.
In 1879, Weyand and Jung partnered with Max Hellman and operated the brewery until 1885. In 1885, following the deaths of Peter Weyand and Daniel Jung, the brewery was renamed the Jung Brewing Company. The Jung Brewing Company operated from 1885 to 1890. In 1890, the brewery was sold and merged with Cincinnati Breweries Company.
Thursday’s ad is for the Frank Fehr Brewing Co., from 1951. The Louisville, Kentucky brewery is advertising their Fehr’s XL Beer as a pairing with fish. I do love how they’ve cut the lemons on the fish so they look like flowers, that’s a nice touch. I’m not sure about the sides, though, which seem to include lima beans and what I think are some sad-looking French fries. They’re getting a lot of mileage out of their tagline. “It’s Always Fehr Weather.”
Today is the birthday of John Schneider (June 28, 1849-?). I believe he was a son of Louis Schneider, who founded the Louis Schneider Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. After taking on a partner, Henry Foss, it later became known as the Foss-Schneider Brewing Co. It closed during prohibition, but reopened when it was repealed in 1933, though closed for good in 1939. While I was unable to find much information on John, it seems that he was elected second vice-president of the Brewers Association at their sixth convention in 1893.
Here’s a short history of the brewery, from “100 Years of Brewing:”
Today is the birthday of John Schreihart (June 28, 1842-January 6, 1925). He was born in Austria, but moved to Wisconsin when he was 25, in 1867. Along with a partner, Frederick Pautz, bought the William Fricke Brewery, which had been founded in 1862. In 1879, John become soler proprieter, re-naming it the John Schreihart Brewery, and later the Schreihart Brewing Co. John Schreihart died during prohibition, and the brewery re-opened as the Bleser Brewing Co. in 1937, closing for good in 1942.
Schreihart apparently liked to sing. That’s him in the front row, seated on the left.
Here’s his obituary from Find-a-Grave:
J. SCHREIHART, PIONEER DIES, TODAY, AGED 82
Pioneer Brewer Who Came Here in ’67, Is Called Death early today claimed John Schreihart, pioneer brewer of the city and for many years identified with business life of the community, Mr. Schreihart passing away at his home at 1017 South Eleventh street at the age of 82 years. Up to a few weeks ago Mr. Schreihart, despite his age, had been in good health and was active, but five weeks ago suffered a decline which caused him to fall rapidly and brought death today. For a week he was a patient at the hospital but later, at his request, returned to his home where the end came.Funeral services for Mr. Schreihart will be held Friday morning at 9 o’clock from St. Boniface church, the Rev. Kersten officiating. Burial will be at Calvary cemetery.
Came to City in ’67
Mr. Schreihart was born at Duerngren, Austria, June 28, 1842 and spent his early life there. In 1866 he was married to Frances Wilfer there and a year later came to America, retiring after a short stay to bring Mrs. Schreihart to this country and the couple came directly to Manitowoc where they have since resided. On February 2, 1916, they celebrated their golden wedding at their home here.In 1871 Mr. Schreihart, who had been seeking a business formed a partnership with Mr. Pautz and the two purchased what was known as the old Fricke brewery plant with which Mr. Schreihart was identified until 1885 when, on occasion of a trip to Europe, he leased, but he again resumed management of the property upon his return and in 1890 a new association was formed with Mr. Schreihart, Frank Willinger and Gustave Mueller as partners, Mr. Willinger retiring from the company in 1891 after which the business was operated under name of the Schreihart & Mueller Brewing Company until 1904 when the business was incorporated under the name of the Schreihart Brewing Company, Mr. Schreihart having continuously been director of its affairs. In 1911 Charles Kulnick purchased the Mueller interest in the concern and H.J. Schreihart became president of the company, its founder retaining interest but not giving attention to active management of the business.
In later years the plant became a part of a merger of three brewing concerns of the city, the Schreihart, Rahr Sons and Kunz & Bleser company and the merger incorporated under name of the Manitowoc Products Company by which title it is still known. With the advent of the prohibition law, the brewing plant of the Schreihart Company on Washington street was transformed into a plant for manufacture of ice cream and soft beverages and still continues in that operation. Mr. Schreihart retained his interest in the company.
Built Schreihart Block
During his long career as a business man in the city Mr. Schreihart was widely known and enjoyed the respect of the community had been active in support of building of the city and contributed freely to the enterprises which aimed to this end. He build the Schreihart block at Tenth and Washington, one of substantial business blocks of the city.After his retirement from active life, as his advanced years necessitated, Mr. Schreihart continued to take an interest in civic affairs and up until a short time of his last illness, was about as usual.
And this is biography is from the “History of Manitowoc County Wisconsin,” by Dr. L. Falge, 1911-1912, v.2, p.74:
John Schreihart, who is one of the well known brewers of Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, is a native of Austria, and came to this county in 1869, working for others for two years, and then forming a partnership with a Mr. Pautz. He eventually purchased the Fricke Brewery, which he rented in 1885 when he went on a trip to Europe, but in 1890 assumed management of it again with Frank Willinger and Gus Miller. In 1891 Mr. Willinger sold his interests to Mr. Schreihart, and it was operated by the other partners until 1904, when the firm was incorporated under the style of Schreihart Brewing Company. On January 1, 1911, Charles Kulnick bought the Miller interests, and at this time H. J. Schreihart, who up to that time had been brewmaster of the concern, was made president; Otto Senglaub was elected secretary; and Charles Kulnick, treasurer and manager. The plant has a capacity of thirty thousand barrels per year and produces the well known “Weiner” and “Old German Style” beers, employing fifteen men. John Schreihart married Frances Wilfer, a native of Germany, and they had five children, namely: Mrs. Charles Kulnick; H. J.; Ed, who is engineer at the brewery; Helene; and Adolph, who is studying for the priesthood. Ed Schreihart married Miss Schroeder of Milwaukee. H. J. Schreihart attended the Hanthe Brewing School of Milwaukee, now known as the Industrial Chemical Institute, after leaving which he entered his father’s brewery as brewmaster, a position which he held until his election as president in 1911. He has served as supervisor of the third ward for two years, and is prominent in business and fraternal circles. He was married to Miss Hattie Hartwig, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Pautz’s Brewery was built in 1849, by Mr. Hottleman, he being the first to brew beer in the county. G. Kuntz purchased the brewery of him in 1865. Messrs. Fred. Pautz and John Schreihart became the owners in 1875. In November, 1878, the former purchased the interest of the latter, and is now conducting the business alone. The capacity of the brewery is about 1,600 barrels of beer per annum.
Schreiharts’s Brewery. In 1879, John Schreihart established himself in business, and is now conducting a brewery on Washington street. He has been brought up in the business and understands it.
From what I can piece together about the brewery itself, it appears to have been built in 1849, and went through several name changes from the William Fricke Brewery, the Christian Fricke Brewery, and then the Carl Fricke Brewery. It seems to have been called by the latter name when Frederick Pautz and John Schreihart bought it in 1875, but it didn’t become the John Schreihart Brewery until he bought out Pautz in 1879. A few years later, in 1884 until the following year, it was known as the John Schreihart & George Kunz Brewery, presumably because Schreihart took on George Kunz as a partner. Then there’s a gap in the record, but by 1891 it was known as the Schreihart Brewing Co. until it was closed by prohibition in 1920. The building apparently lay dormant after repeal in 1933, but from 1937-1942 housed the Bleser Brewing Co., which I assume was because they leased or bought the building where the Schreihart had brewed.
