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Archives for November 4, 2020

Beer In Ads #3519: Phoenix Bok Bier

November 4, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Wednesday’s ad is for Phoenix Bok Bier, from the 1930s. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster was created for Phoenix Brouwerij, which was located in Amersfoort, which is part of the province of Utrecht, in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1872 as the Amersfoortsche Beiersch-Bier-Brouwerij, but changed its name to the Phoenix Brouwerij in 1890. In 1961, Phoenix was merged into the United Dutch Breweries d’Oranjeboom, but a few years later, in 1967, that was taken over as the Dutch branch of the British Allied Breweries, who closed the Phoenix brewery and demolished it in 1970. This poster was created by Dutch graphic designer Nicolaas Petrus de Koo, who signed his work N.P. de Koo. At some point in the 1920s or 30s he “became the in-house designer for the Phoenix Brouwerij Amersfoort for which he made price lists, brochures, calendars, posters, wall signs, beer coasters and labels.”

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, The Netherlands

Historic Beer Birthday: Alfred Heineken

November 4, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

heineken-white
Today is the birthday of Alfred “Freddy” Heineken (November 4, 1923-January 3, 2002). “He was the grandson of Gerard Adriaan Heineken, who was the founder of the brewery Heineken” in 1864. Under his management, it became a global company and today one of the largest breweries in the world.

a-heineken

He entered the service of the Heineken company – which by then was no longer owned by the family – on June 1, 1941 and bought back stock several years later, to ensure the family controlled the company again. He created the Heineken Holding that owned 50.005% of Heineken International; he personally held a majority stake in Heineken Holding. By the time of his resignation as chairman of the board in 1989 he had transformed Heineken from a brand that was known chiefly in the Netherlands to a brand that is currently famous worldwide.

Freddy-Heineken-holding-a-beer

Heineken married Lucille Cummins, an American from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers. Heineken died unexpectedly from pneumonia on January 3, 2002 at the age of seventy-eight in his home in Noordwijk. The businessman died around 6pm in the presence of his immediate family, including his daughter Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken. Heineken struggled for some time with deteriorating health, in 1999 he suffered a mild stroke but recovered. Shortly before his death he broke his arm in a fall. Heineken was buried at the General Cemetery in Noordwijk. Heineken’s daughter, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, inherited his fortune. Heineken was a member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

One dark period of life occurred when he was kidnapped and held for ransom in 1983.

Freddy Heineken and his driver Ab Doderer were kidnapped in 1983 and released on a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders (about 16 million Euros). The kidnappers Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Jan Boelaard, Frans Meijer, and Martin Erkamps, were eventually caught and served prison terms. Before being extradited, Van Hout and Holleeder stayed for more than three years in France, first on the run, then in prison, and then, awaiting a change of the extradition treaty, under house arrest, and finally in prison again. Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for years, until he was discovered by Peter R. de Vries and imprisoned there. In 2003, Meijer halted resisting his extradition to the Netherlands, and was transferred to a Dutch prison to serve the last part of his term.

There have been two films about the incident, one in the Netherlands starring Rutger Hauer, and a more recent one starring Anthony Hopkins, entitled “Kidnapping Mr. Heineken , released in 2015.

FreddyHeineken

Here’s his obituary from the New York Times:

Alfred Henry Heineken, who built an Amsterdam brewer into one of the world’s biggest beer companies, died on Thursday at his home in the Dutch coastal town of Noordwijk. He was 78 and died of pneumonia.

Mr. Heineken, who was known as Freddy, created the green bottle that helped Heineken become synonymous with imported beer in the United States. Aided by the company’s marketing, Heineken was the best-selling import in the United States for many years before it was dethroned by Corona of Mexico in 1998.

Born in Amsterdam in 1923, Mr. Heineken began working for his family’s brewing company at the age of 18, during World War II. The company was started in 1863 by his grandfather Gerard Heineken, who persuaded his mother to back him financially by arguing that there would be fewer displays of drunken behavior on the streets if the Dutch were able to drink a good beer instead of gin.

His grandson Freddy would prove himself equally gifted in the art of persuasion, directing Heineken’s advertising and marketing efforts. ”Had I not been a beer brewer I would have become an advertising man,” he once said.

Shortly after the war, he went to New York and walked the streets of Manhattan presenting samples of Heineken to bartenders. His two years in New York changed Mr. Heineken’s life. Not only did he learn about the export market that would make the company one of the three global giants in beer — behind Anheuser-Busch of the United States and neck-to-neck with Interbrew of Belgium — he also found the partner of his life. In 1948, he married Lucille Cummins, the daughter of a whiskey-making family in Kentucky.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Heineken is survived by his daughter, Charlene, and five grandchildren. Family members continue to control Heineken Holding, which owns 50.1 percent of the brewing company, Heineken N.V.

Freddy Heineken began working at the company’s headquarters in Amsterdam in 1951, and set up its advertising department. He made Heineken’s brand color a bright green and oversaw the bottle’s distinctive design, with the red star logo and a black banner bearing the Heineken name. ”I don’t sell beer, I sell warmth” was his motto.

His talents were not limited to sales and marketing. In 1954, he succeeded in regaining the family’s controlling interest in the brewing company, which his father had sold in 1942.

From 1971 to 1989, Mr. Heineken served as chairman of Heineken, setting the company’s long-term strategy nearly single-handedly. Under his leadership, Heineken grew into a global powerhouse.

Heineken, which says it was the first brewer to export to the United States after Prohibition, had particularly strong growth in the American market. In 1960, the company sold a million cases of beer in the United States; 40 years later, the company sold more than 53 million cases, according to Impact, a beverage industry publication.

The company acquired a Dutch rival, Amstel, in 1968, and Murphy’s of Cork, Ireland, a brewer of stout, in 1970. Today, Heineken has 110 breweries in more than 50 countries. Its beer can be found in more than 170 countries.

Mr. Heineken became one of the wealthiest men in Europe and enjoyed near royalty status in the Netherlands.

But his life was turned upside down in November 1983, when he and his chauffeur were kidnapped. The two men were chained to neighboring concrete cells for three weeks before the Dutch police raided a warehouse in Amsterdam and freed them. The rescue came after a ransom, said to be more than $10 million, was paid.

Afterward, Mr. Heineken limited his public appearances and became very protective of his family’s private life. In 1989, he relinquished his control of the brewing company but he continued to play a role in its running right up to his death.

In November, he resigned as chairman of the holding company that owns a majority stake in Heineken N.V. His daughter, Charlene, was supposed to take over some of Mr. Heineken’s responsibilities at a shareholders meeting in April, but will now do so immediately, the company said. His family will retain its majority ownership of the company.

Outside of brewing, Mr. Heineken played an active role in promoting science and the arts. In 1964, in honor of his father, he founded the Dr. H. P. Heineken Foundation, which awards cash prizes for pioneering work in biochemistry and biophysics. In the 1980’s, Mr. Heineken started a second foundation in his own name that awards cash prizes to the sciences and the arts.

commissaris-heineken

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Heineken, History, The Netherlands

Historic Beer Birthday: Carl Sedlmayr

November 4, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

spaten-hops
Today is the birthday of Carl Sedlmayr (November 4, 1847-February 1, 1915). Carl was the grandson of Gabriel Sedlmayr and the third son of Gabriel Sedlmayr II. Carl’s father inherited the Spaten Brewery, along with his brother, when his father died, but Gabriel became sole owner after his brother Joseph left to start his own brewery, Franziskaner. Two of Carl’s older brothers died before their father, so when Gabriel II passed away, he and his two brothers Johann and Anton inherited the family brewery.

Carl-Sedlmayr

And here he’s mentioned in a History of Beer:

Spaten Brewery in Munich launched a pale lager in 1894. Their brewer at that time was Carl Sedlmayr, son of the renowned brewmaster Gabriel Sedlmayr Jr. who was an advocate of the use of the steam engine in the brewery. Along with the Austrian brewer Anton Dreher he had toured dynamic England and Scotland in 1833 and managed to gain access to a few breweries. The visitors were fascinated by the industrial methods they observed and the fact that British brewers could produce beers of consistent strength, achieved with the aid of the saccharometer. Dreher’s Schwechater Brewery in Vienna became the first to brew bottom-fermented Vienna-style lager in 1841, which soon proved very popular.

sedlmayr_gabriel_1874

The caption of this photo, from German Wikipedia, translates to “Delivery of the Spade brewery to the sons Johann, Carl and Anton Sedlmayr 1874,” although I can’t say which one is Carl.

SPATEN-Geschichte

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

Historic Beer Birthday: Gottfried Krueger

November 4, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

kruger
Today is the birthday of Gottfried Wilhelm Ephraim Krueger (November 4, 1837-November 7, 1926). He was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, but he emigrated to America, settling in New Jersey. In 1858, along with his uncle, John Laible, he founded the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co. When his uncle died in 1875, Krueger became sole owner. In 1908, the brewery merged with Anton Hupfel and Peter Hauck breweries to form the United States Brewing Company. “The company dissolves, but Gottfreid Krueger Brewing Co. retains the facilities of Trefz Brewers, The Home Brewing Co., Union Brewing Co., and Lyons & Sons Brewery, all of Newark, New Jersey.” After Kruger died in 1926, the brewery reopened after repeal, and in 1935 famously became the first brewery to put their beer in cans, making them highly sought after to breweriana aficionados today. It continued in business until it was sold and the Newark brewery closed in 1961.

Gottfried-Krueger

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

Businessman. He founded Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company in Newark, New Jersey, and directed its rise to popularity in the first half of the 20th century. In 1933 the company pioneered the practice of putting beer in cans, being the first brewery to do so.

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And this is from “Decadence & Decay,” Paul Robeson Galleries Program, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, 2009, entitled “Gottfried Krueger: Epitome of a German-American Brewer,” by Carl Miller:

On the evening of September 25, 1883, the hottest party in Newark was at Gottfried Krueger’s brewery on Belmont Avenue. The crowd of 5,000 included congressmen, senators, assemblymen, judges, mayors and police officials. Anyone lacking directions needed only to look for the novel glow of electric lights and the 140-foot tall Gothic malt tower, topped by an American flag and the initials “GK”. Why the celebration? It was the grand opening of Gottfried Krueger’s spectacular new brewery. While music and good cheer filled the courtyard outside, guests inside the brewery marveled at the shiny copper brew kettles, gigantic oak fermenting casks and the endless array of pipes, pumps, hoses and vats. Liberal samples of the brewery’s product flowed as proud employees educated their guests on the finer points of beer-making.

The new plant was the latest milestone in a family brewing tradition that would span more than a century in Newark. It began in 1853, when a teenage Gottfried Krueger arrived in America fresh from his birthplace on the banks of Germany’s famous Rhine River. Newark, like most major cities, boasted dozens of breweries by mid-century. One such venture was the firm of Adams & Laible, who established a brewery on Belmont Avenue at West Kinney Street in 1851. It was here that young Gottfried would learn his craft, starting as a brewmaster’s apprentice to Laible, his uncle.

Just at this time, the brewing of beer on this side of the Atlantic was on the verge of a radical transformation. While heavy British-style brews like ale, porter and stout had been the norm in America for generations, an exploding population of European immigrants spurred a demand for the lighter, less alcoholic German-style lager beer. Within a short time, German immigrant brewers had perfected a uniquely American version of lager beer—a light, effervescent, golden brew that would soon capture the nation’s palate and build great fortunes for its makers.

After climbing to the position of brewmaster working for his uncle, Krueger purchased the brewery on Belmont Avenue in 1865 in partnership with Gottlieb Hill. As the popularity of lager beer soared, so did the brewery’s sales. When the two partners took over the business, it was producing no more than 4,000 barrels (31 gallons per barrel) of lager beer annually. By 1875, sales had blossomed to 25,000 barrels per year, requiring almost constant enlargement of the brewing facilities. During that same year, Hill retired and Krueger became the brewery’s sole owner.

The ever-burgeoning condition of their industry offered German-American brewers inroads to positions of leadership within the community. Of this, Gottfried Krueger took full advantage. He was first elected Freeholder, and then, in 1876 and 1879, served as a New Jersey Assemblyman. In 1891, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals, a position he held for 11 years. Known forever afterward as “Judge Krueger” by his friends and business associates, the brewer served on the boards of a variety of corporations and was president of the New Jersey Brewers Association.

As the 20th century dawned, the first generation of German-American brewers could reflect with great pride on what they had accomplished over the previous fifty years. The consumption of beer in America had exploded from a paltry 750,000 barrels in 1850 to over 39,000,000 barrels in 1900. Small, wood-frame breweries had long ago been replaced by palatial Victorian-style edifices that stood as monuments to the grand success of the German-American brewers. Lager beer had, indeed, become the national beverage. It would now fall upon the next generation to carry the industry through its next half century.

At the Krueger brewery, sons John F. and Gottfried C. Krueger had each joined their father in the family business by 1903. It was this generation that would face the brewing industry’s first great challenge. While beer was busy embedding itself into American culture, the ever-present temperance movement had been making strides of it’s own. Groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League had grown to include tens of thousands of members nationwide, and their influence was felt by brewers everywhere.

The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 only made matters worse, as a rampant anti-German sentiment swept the nation. In Pennsylvania and Texas, well-publicized investigations of the brewers in those states painted the entire industry as unpatriotic and pro-German. Lubricated by the feverish wartime climate, the push for National Prohibition glided through Congress and the state legislatures with astonishing ease. It was the brewers’ worst nightmare come true.

On January 16, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution took affect and the manufacture of beer became a federal crime. Many brewers turned to soft drinks, dairy products and low-alcohol near beer. Among other offerings, the Krueger brewery produced a near beer called Krueger’s Old Essex Brew, which mimicked the taste of real beer, but contained less than the 1/2 of 1 percent of alcohol permitted by law.

Largely through President Theodore Roosevelt’s prodding of Congress, beer again became legal at 12:01 am on April 7, 1933—an event that revelers dubbed “New Beer’s Eve.” Around the country, beer drinkers celebrated as brewery whistles blared and old-fashioned beer wagons paraded through city streets. As one of only a few New Jersey breweries still making near beer, the Krueger brewery was in a prime position to supply “the real stuff” the moment it became legal. In the first eighteen hours, the Krueger brewery sent out 35,000 barrels of beer and still had orders it could not fill. Sadly, Gottfried Krueger did not survive to see the banner day. He had died in 1926 at age 89.

As the initial hoopla over beer’s triumphant return began to fade, brewers were left facing a harsh new reality. Congress had re-legalized beer mainly to provide new revenue streams, and so a hefty $5.00 per barrel tax was imposed. State taxes, which averaged $1.17 per barrel during the 1930s, were another new menace. Then, too, the nation was in the midst of a Depression. While some predicted that beer sales would quickly reach their pre-prohibition levels, that would not happen for many years. Over-capacity and slim profit margins created a high mortality rate within the industry. Between 1935 and 1945, the number of America breweries fell from 766 to 468.

Nevertheless, optimism ran high at the Krueger brewery. Despite the tough conditions, a good beer, a strong financial position and an innovative marketing strategy could bring success. Under president William Krueger, the company scored an important victory when it became the first brewer to sell beer in cans in 1934. Before prohibition, the vast majority of beer was served over bar tops. But with the advent of iceboxes in the household, the consumption of beer inside the home grew enormously, and the beer can was a perfect fit. Cans chilled the beer faster, took up far less space than bottles, required no return/deposit, and were significantly lighter and easier to transport.

But, in the end, massive sales volume was the only means of survival. By the mid-1950s, nationally-shipping brewers like Anheuser-Busch, Pabst, Schlitz and others had grabbed significant shares of the beer market in virtually every city in the nation. Their economies of scale, low production costs, streamlined distribution systems, and astronomical advertising budgets eroded the fragile markets of small, regional brewers.

They began to drop like flies. In 1961, the Krueger brewery drained its tanks of their last trickles of beer and closed its doors for good. Relentless competition added the Krueger brewery to its long list of victims. The venerable Krueger label was sold to the Narragansett Brewing Company, which brewed its version of the brand in Rhode Island and shipped it back to Newark to tap any lingering demand for the century-old brew. But, of course, it was never the same. Krueger Beer—true Krueger Beer—was gone forever.

krueger-brewery-1909

And this account of the brewer is from “One Hundred Years of Brewing:”

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krueger-100yrs-2

krueger-family
Gottfried Krueger and his two sons who joined them in the business, Gottfried Jr. and John.

And here’s another biography from geneology.com:

Gottfried Krueger was born in Sulzfeld, Baden in Germany on November 4, 1837 and migrated to America at the age of 15 on February 13, 1853. Krueger was a poor lad when he landed at Castle Garden in New York City but circumstances later prompted admirers to see his subsequent rise as a Horatio Alger-like rags-to riches tale.

He went directly to Newark where he started work in the Belmont Avenue brewery of his uncle, John Laible and his partner Louis Adam. Krueger started from the bottom in his apprenticeship. Through hard work and determination, Krueger prospered over the next decade and at the age of twenty-one, Liable and Adam made him the plant foreman. He began saving his money and thinking seriously about his future. In 1860 he became a naturalized American citizen and in the same year he married Catharina Horter, the daughter of another Baden citizen. In 1865 Louis Adam, who had bought out Liable, offered to sell Krueger his interest in the business. Krueger had saved $2,000 and found a partner in Gottlieb Hill and with an additional $8,000 that Krueger was able to borrow, the brewing firm of Hill and Krueger was born. The partnership lasted a decade and the brewery prospered, however in 1875 Hill’s health collapsed and forced him into retirement. He died shortly thereafter. Gottfried Krueger managed to raise another $55,000 and buy out Hill’s heirs at the age of thirty-eight.

Although his business fortunes brightened in the 1860s and 1870s, tragedy dogged his private life. Between 1861 and 1873, Gottfried and Catharina had eight children but only two- Gottfried Karl and Johan Frederick survived into adulthood. None of the others lived past six years of age and three lived less than a year. Catharina died in September 1873. Krueger remarried within a year after her death. On April 24, 1874 he married Bertha Johanna Liable. She was a cousin and relation of his uncle John Liable. They eventually had ten children-seven of whom survived- a son and six daughters. They all lived on the second floor of a house that adjoined the brewery.

Krueger continued to expand his business and his brewery became a city landmark.

Krueger continued to expand his business and his brewery became a city landmark.

Krueger built his home at the top of one of the highest points in the City and in one of the most exclusive residential sections of Newark. The new home was handsomely furnished and Gottfried, though not an active collector, took considerable pride in the paintings he hung on his new walls. It was a beautiful home in keeping with Krueger’s status as one of the leading families of Newark.

Krueger built his home at the top of one of the highest points in the City and in one of the most exclusive residential sections of Newark. The new home was handsomely furnished and Gottfried, though not an active collector, took considerable pride in the paintings he hung on his new walls. It was a beautiful home in keeping with Krueger’s status as one of the leading families of Newark.

Krueger made many trips with his family back and forth to Germany, however he was forced to spent a number of years behind the German lines when The Great War broke out. He, an old man and his wife, returned to Newark in 1919. The house was much too big for them now- the children has grown up and were on their own. Krueger moved to his summer house in Allenhurst, N.J. His wife died in 1921 and he died at home surrounded by his family on November 7, 1926.

Krueger made many trips with his family back and forth to Germany, however he was forced to spent a number of years behind the German lines when The Great War broke out. He, an old man and his wife, returned to Newark in 1919. The house was much too big for them now- the children has grown up and were on their own. Krueger moved to his summer house in Allenhurst, N.J. His wife died in 1921 and he died at home surrounded by his family on November 7, 1926.

krueger-1935-kent

Krueger-BeerAles-Coasters-G-Krueger-Brewing-Company

Krueger-Cream-Ale-Labels-G-Krueger-Brewing-Co

Krueger-Beer-Labels-G-Krueger-Brewing-Co

Filed Under: Beers, Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, History, New Jersey

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