Archives for August 20, 2020

Beer In Ads #3445: Bière Phénix Pure Malt & Hops Guarantee

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Thursday’s ad is for Bière Phénix, from the early part of the 20th century. From the late 1800s until the 1980s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. I’ve been posting vintage European posters all last year and will continue to do so in 2020. This poster was created for Brasserie du Phénix, which was founded in 1886 in Marseille, which is located in the Bouches-du-Rhône area in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southern France. A brewery had been on the same site since 1821, and a new one was rebuilt in 1872, and 14 years later it was bought by a new owner, who called it the Brasserie et Malterie du Phénix. They later changed their name to the Brasserie de la Valentine, and today it is owned by the Heineken Group. The text at the bottom reads “Garantie pur malt & houblon,” which Google translates as “Pure malt & hops guarantee.” I don’t know who the artist is who created this poster.

Historic Beer Birthday: Fritz Goetz

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Fritz Goetz (August 20, 1849-May 3, 1917). He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but moved to Chicago as a young man, eventually going into the copper business, which changed names a few times, but settled on the Goetz Company. In addition to copper brewing equipment, they also sold tanks, and general brewing and bottling equipment. The business was so successful that in his obituary, it was noted that “There is hardly any brewery, bottlery or malting plant in the United States or Mexico where there is not some machine or apparatus manufactured by the Goetz Company.”

Here is his obituary from the American Brewers’ Review for 1918:

Historic Beer Birthday: John Eichler

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of John Eichler (August 20, 1829-September 3, 1915). He was born in Rothenburg, Germany and trained as a brewer there, and moved to the U.S. in 1853, settling in New York City. In 1865, he bought Kolb’s Brewery, which had been founded three years before by brothers Henry Kolb and Christian Gottlieb Kolb, renaming it the John Eichler Brewery (and later the John Eichler Brewing Co.). It weathered prohibition, but was bought by Rheingold in 1947.

This biography of Eichler is from the “History of German Immigration in the United States and Successful German-Americans,” published in 1905:

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Eichlers-Extra-Light-Beer-Labels-John-Eichler-Brewing-Company--2nd-Brewery

This account of the history of the John Eichler Brewery is from 100 Years of Brewing:

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Historic Beer Birthday: Bernhard Stroh

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Bernhard Stroh (August 20, 1822-June 24, 1882). He was born in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, and after a detour in Brazil, emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Detroit.

This biography is from Find-a-Grave:

Businessman. He left Germany in 1848, and joined a group of German settlers in Brazil for three years before arriving in America. He landed in Buffalo, New York heading by way of the Erie Canal. The boat he was on docked in Detroit. So Stroh took it upon him self to venture into the city. He liked what he saw and decided to stay. With a few hundred left from the Brazilian business venture he started a small brewery at 57 Catherine Street in Detroit. Soon after establishing his German brewery local patrons in Detroit aquired a desired taste for his German lager beer. Bernhard Stroh would have his sons personally cart small kegs of beer to his customers by wheelbarrow. For over a century now, local Detroiters have enjoyed the same “fire-brewed” taste that the Stroh Family created over 150 years ago.

The Stroh family around 1871.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about Stroh’s early days through Julius Stroh’s tenure:

The Stroh family began brewing beer in a family-owned inn during the 18th century in Kirn, Germany. In 1849, during the German Revolution, Bernhard Stroh (1822-1882), who had learned the brewing trade from his father, emigrated to the United States. Bernhard Stroh established his brewery in Detroit in 1850 when he was 28 and immediately started producing Bohemian-style pilsner, which had been developed at the municipal brewery of Pilsen, Bohemia in 1842. In 1865, he purchased additional land and expanded his business and adopted the heraldic lion emblem from the Kyrburg Castle in Germany and named his operation the Lion’s Head Brewery. (The lion emblem is still visible in its advertising and product labels.)

Bernhard Stroh’s original beer selling operation consisted of a basement brewing operation and was then sold door-to-door in a wheelbarrow. The new beer (Stroh’s) sold door-to-door was a lighter-lager beer, brewed in copper kettles.

The Stroh Brewery around 1864.

This short account about Bernhard is from the Entrepreneur Wiki:

The Stroh family has a long history of brewing beer, which first began in Germany. However, due to the German Revolution, in 1849, Bernhard Stroh moved the business to the United States after three years of living in Brazil. He started his company with a budget of $ 150.00.

Stroh selected Detroit, Michigan as the location for his brewery and settled there in 1850. Stroh was 28 years old at the time. The company was known for making a Pilsner (also known as Pilzen) style beer. Pilsner beers are fire-brewed and lighter than traditional beers. In 1855, the company increased in size, and then shortly thereafter became known as Lion’s Head Brewery. The company had been known as Stroh’s Brewery until this time.

The most popular beer sold, Stroh’s, was first peddled via wheelbarrow. The new beer was brewed in copper kettles to enrich the flavor. The company name was then changed to B. Stroh Brewing Company when Bernhard passed in 1882, and his son, Bernhard Junior, took over the business. In 1988, Forbes estimated that the Stroh family had an estimated worth of 700 million dollars. The brewing company stayed in the Stroh family until the year 2000.

Beer Birthday: Julie Radcliffe Atallah

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks 3 Comments

Today is the birthday of Julie Radcliffe Atallah, co-owner of what was one of the nation’s premiere beer stores, Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina. Unfortunately, they decided it was time to close the store earlier this year. We took a family vacation to Asheville several years ago and got to know Julie and her husband Jason. They were great hosts and terrific ambassadors for the beer in their community. Julie is also among the elite twitterati within the beer world online and writes the Bruisin’ Ales Blog. Plus, we’re both from Pennsylvania. Join me in wishing Julie a very happy birthday.

Julie and me showing off my gift of Pliny the Elder I brought when I was vacationing in Asheville last fall.

Julie and Sam Calagione.

Julie and her husband and business partner Jason at their wedding in 2000.

Last Halloween dressed as the beer Sexual Chocolate from Foothills Brewing.

Julie surrounded by an awful lot of hair at her high school graduation.

Julie at the prom!

Note: Many of these photos purloined from Facebook and other sources.

Historic Beer Birthday: John Hauck

August 20, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of John Hauck (August 20, 1829-June 4, 1896). He was born in Bavaria, but came to the U.S. as a young man. He “worked for his uncle, Cincinnati brewer George M. Herancourt, before starting his own brewery in 1863, the John Hauck Brewery

Here’s a short biography from Find-a-Grave:

Brewer. A native of Germany, he was born in Rhenish, Bavaria and came to America when with his family when he was a child. After leaving school, Hauck found employment in a brewery with his uncle, Mr. Herancourt. Hauck returned to Europe for a few years before returning to the United States and worked for another uncle, Mr. Billiad, in a brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and established a brewery of his own, the Dayton Street Brewery, which became known for its “Golden Eagle” brand. Hauck’s brewery was extremely successful and he rose to prominence as one of Cincinnati’s famous brewers. His business was later renamed as the John Hauck Beer Bottling Company in 1863 and produced thousands of barrels by the end of the 19th century. Hauck went into business with Conrad Windisch from 1863 to 1870. He was also president of the Western German National Bank in Cincinnati. John’s son, Louis Hauck, became president of the company in 1893. Hauck died in Newport, Kentucky in 1896 when he was 66 years old. His residence on Dayton Street later became a museum.

Hauck’s uncle, George Herancourt, owned the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team in 1884 and 1885, but declared bankruptcy in 1885. Hauck “took over as principal owner of the team. He delegated to his son, Louis, the day-to-day management of the club.”

Here’s a short history of Hauck’s brewery from the Heritage Village Museum”

Cincinnati has been the home to many breweries throughout its history, one of those being the John Hauck Brewing Company. John Hauck was born in Germany in 1829 and moved to America when he was a child. After completing school and returning to Europe for a few years, Hauck came back to America and worked for his uncle in a Philadelphia brewery. He eventually moved to Cincinnati and began his own brewery with John Windisch in 1863, called the Dayton Street Brewery. The brewery was located on Dayton Street close to the Miami-Erie Canal, which they used to fill the steam boilers, providing power to the machinery. In the first year of business, the Dayton Street Brewery produced 10,000 barrels of beer. By 1881, they were producing 160,000 barrels of beer and had become Cincinnati’s second largest brewery. John Hauck bought out Windisch’s shares of the company and renamed it the John Hauck Brewing Company. By 1884, the brewery was covering the entire city block bounded by Central Avenue, Dayton Street, York Street and Kewitt Alley. Hauck’s brewery was highly successful and he rose to prominence as one of Cincinnati prominent brewers. Hauck was a big supporter of the community and supported Cincinnati institutions, such as the Cincinnati Zoological Society. Hauck was also president of the Western German National Bank in Cincinnati. Louis Hauck, John’s son, took control of the brewing company in 1893. John Hauck died in Newport, Kentucky in 1896. The Hauck residence on Dayton Street remains and is owned by the Cincinnati Preservation Association.