Beer In Ads #5009: You Like Valley Forge Bock Beer

June 25, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Last year I decided to concentrate on Bock ads. 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.

Wedneday’s ad is for Valley Forge Bock Beer, sort of. I guess it was at the end of Bock season so they used the success of their bock beer to suggest switching to Valley Ford Light Beer for the summer. The ad was published on June 25, 1954. This one was for the Adam Scheidt Brewing Co., which was located in Norristown, Pennsylvania and was originally founded in 1866. This ad ran in The Jersey Journal, of Hudson County, New Jersey.

Beer Birthday: Andy French

June 25, 2025 By Jay Brooks 2 Comments

Today would have been the 57th birthday of Andy French, former brewmaster at Southern Pacific Brewing in San Francisco, one of the new wave of breweries that opened in the city a few years ago, but unfortunately he past away in late summer 2023. . I first met Andy when he brewed at Speakeasy, and after that would see him from time to time at Zeitgeist, though he first started brewing back East in the DC area. When his roommate Chris Lawrence, who also worked for Speakeasy once upon a time, decided to open his own brewery, he tapped Andy to work the mash paddles, and things had been going great since they opened a few years ago, though I’d heard Andy was now back doing shifts at Zeitgeist before learning of his untimely passing. Join me in raising a toast to Andy.

P1050466 — Andy at his brewhouse in 2012.

The back bar at Rio Nido Roadhouse was recently named Frenchy’s in his honor with a new sign and plenty of friends in attendance to christen it. [Thanks to Mario Rubio for the photo.]

Beer In Ads #5008: “Bock,” Himself, Wants A Beer

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Tuesday’s ad is for not technically for a specific Bock Beer. Instead it’s an captioned photo that was published on and around June 24, 1924 as part of the coverage of the Democratic National Convention, which was held that year in Washington, D.C. When I searched today for Bock ads, this photo repeated endlessly in too many newspaper across the country to count. In all my searching this year, this one hands down was published in the most newspapers. This specific one ran in The Washington Daily News, of D.C. Who knew the Democrats once used a goat as their mascot? Not me, that’s for sure.

Historic Beer Birthday: Peter Ganser

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks 2 Comments

peter-ganser
Today is the birthday of Peter Ganser (June 24, 1836-August 5, 1915). He was born in Germany, but settled in Steele County, Minnesota, buying the Knobloch & Mannheim brewery and founding the Peter Ganser brewery in Owatonna, along with his brother Adam. It was generally known as the Peter Ganser, City Brewery, off and on from 1865, before it finally closed a few years into prohibition.

peter-ganser

Here’s his obituary, from the American Brewers Review:

Local brewer Peter Ganser sits on an ornate chair, holding two of his daughters. On the left is Adeline, who later became Mrs. William Zamboni; on the right is his daughter, Catherine, who later married Harry Brown (from the Steele County Historical Society).

And here’s another account from the “History of Rice & Steele Counties, Minnesota, Illustrated, Vol. II,” and published in 1910:

Peter Ganser, proprietor of the Owatonna City Brewery, is one of those substantial citizens, who, in building the foundations for their own fortunes, find the time to take an interest in all worthy causes that tend toward the development of the community. He combines liberality with shrewd common sense and business ability and from his first settlement here he has had an unbounded faith in Owatonna’s future. Mr. Ganser was born in Prussia, Germany, June 24, 1836. He received his early education in the public schools and remained in his native country until 1854, when he came to America and located in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he lived for a time and then went to California. In 1863 he returned to Wisconsin and there remained until 1865 when he came to Owatonna and, together with his brother, Adam, purchased the city brewery, which they continued together until 1872, at which time the brother died. The subject of this sketch then became the sole owner and proprietor. In 1878 the brewery was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of about $12,000. Undaunted by this loss, Mr. Ganser rebuilt, but in 1884 again suffered a similar disaster. The present building, to which additions and improvements have been made from time to time, was erected in 1884. In 1879, Mr. Ganser, in company with Jacob Glaeser, erected the building then known as the Germania Hall. Mr. Glaeser has carried on a large and increasing business from year to year. In 1894 he sold out his business for six years lived a retired life. In 1900 he again came into possession of the brewery, which he has since conducted. Mr. Ganser was married in 1867 to Mary Knight, who was born in Indiana. The fruit of this union was three children, viz: Margaret, now the wife of William Fleckenstein of the Fleckenstein Brewery at Faribault; Adeline, now Mrs. W. C. Zamboni; Kate, now Mrs. H. D. Brown, of Owatonna. Mr. Ganser is a Democrat in political faith. He takes an active interest in public affairs, and served as a mayor of Owatonna one term, and alderman of the fourth ward for two years. Mr. Ganser is a self-made man, enterprising in business, and has won his position by persevering efforts. He lives in a very find residence at 508 South Oak street.

ganser-brau-near-beer Ganser Brau Near Beer.

And this is from Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota:

Historic Beer Birthday: Steve Harrison

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks 8 Comments

Today would have been longtime Sierra Nevada employee Steve Harrison’s 74th birthday. Unfortunately, Steve passed away in August of 2007. He was Sierra Nevada employee number one, and was responsible for a lot of their early success. I first got to know Steve in the mid-1990s when I was the chain beer buyer at BevMo. He was a terrific person and universally respected and beloved in the industry. Sierra Nevada had to hire two or three people to take over his responsibilities. Join me in raising a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to Steve’s memory today. Here’s to you, Steve.

The last time I saw Steve was at a CSBA meeting in San Diego in 2007, though we talked on the phone a few more times after that because he’d asked me to do some freelance work for him shortly after that CSBA meeting. You can almost make him out in the photo below. He’s in the middle, toward the back, in a blue shirt. He’s in between Tom McCormick (in a green shirt) and a man in a black shirt raising his glass below the giant boulder in the background.

csba-sd — CSBA Meeting at Stone Brewing in San Diego in 2007.

steve-harrison-and-mj — A very young Steve, at right, with Michael Jackson and Lou. (Photo by Tom Dalldorf, from the Celebrator Beer News.)

Steve-Harrison-Memorial-Arch — The Steve Harrison Memorial Arch, which is at the northern entrance to the Steve Harrison Bike Path, which is located not very far from the brewery in Chico. (The photo was taken in 2010 by Jack Peters, and sent to me by Miles Jordan. Thank you, gentlemen.)

“Karl Ockert, BridgePort’s original brewmaster, is seen in the center of this photograph from 1985 when BridgePort was still known as Columbia River Brewery. Flanking him are other figures from Portland’s craft brewery vanguard. **From left, Steve Harrison, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.**; Fred Eckhardt, beer columnist; Fred Bowman, Portland Brewing Co.; Paul Shipman, Independent Brewing Co.; Karl Ockert, Columbia River Brewery; Tom Baune, Hart Brewing Co.; Jim Temple, General Brewing Co.; Mike McMenamin, McMenamins; and Kurt Widmer, Widmer Brewing Co.” [From the Multnomah County Library.]

And here’s his obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle.

And this oddity is an ad for the Italian Cottage Restaurant in Chico, inexplicably featuring Steve that ran, once as far as I can tell, in the Enterprise Record, also of Chico.

Historic Beer Birthday: Magdalena Jung Sohn

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Magdalena “Lena” Jung Sohn (June 24, 1857-July 25, 1940). She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the sister of Daniel Jung, who founded the Jung Brewery in Cincinnati. She later married brewery owner William Sebastian Sohn. He was 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. After his death in 1902, she took over the brewery and ran it until 1907, which 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.

She was considered one of the beer barons of Cincinnati and left a legacy

Lena Jung Sohn was one of the most influential figures in the beer industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and she wasn’t afraid to show it as president and owner of William S. Sohn Brewing Co. and later as owner and co-director of Mohawk Brewery.
Here’s a biography of her by Sean E. Andres for Queens of Queen City.

Magdalena, or “Lena,” Jung was born on 24 June 1857 to Magdalena Oeh and blacksmith Philipp Jung. Little Lena’s maternal aunt was Barbara Oeh Moerlein, second wife of Christian Moerlein. Nine of the Moerlein children were Lena’s full first cousins. Her paternal uncle Daniel owned the Jung Brewery. Her sister Katherine married Jacob Born, and her first cousin Magdalena Moerlein married Conrad Born, both Borns of the Born brewing family in Columbus. It seems that Lena was destined for the brewing business.
In 1876, Cincinnati’s most established brewer and mentor to the other brewers John George Sohn died, leaving John Kauffman to be the senior-most brewer in Cincinnati, having been in it for 31 years. Just a week after J.G.’s death, a bullet shot through the Sohns’ parlor window, narrowly missing his widowed wife Barbara and dropping beside her. Was it a person in favor of temperance? A wronged worker? A rival? A jealous family member who wants all her money? Suspiciously, it was just after the reading of the will. Sohn left his estates and house to Barbara, money to his daughters Ida, Carolina, and Mathilda, and the brewery to his sons, J.G., Jr. and William Sebastian.
William Sebastian Sohn and Magdalena “Lena” Jung married in 1877 at a time when the brewing industry was being attacked by the temperance movement, supported by the Gazette, feeding anger and fear against the brewers, amidst rumors that they used poison instead of malt and hops and that the cost per barrel would rise. Lena, already heavily exposed to the brewing industry, would come to learn the industry first-hand through her husband while also keeping house and raising four children – Walter, Alma, Elsie, and Edna.
Aside from Barbara’s near-death experience, during this time, a number of terrible events occurred at the brewery, including an engineer’s gruesome death in the fly wheel and the repeated burning of the Orpheus building. However, the Jungs and Sohns were also among the few worldwide to invest in new washing-machine technology in the late 1880s. They were always looking to innovate their business practice.
William bought out his brother’s interest and took over the business in 1900. J. G., transferring the Sohn & Co property to William S. Sohn Brewing Company in 1900 with William and Lena being co-owners. Lena’s family by blood and marriage was running the Cincinnati brewing industry at this point.
William died on 26 February 1902, leaving the brewery to Lena, and she was voted in as president. Lena was actively using her name as President of the William S. Sohn Brewing Company, after Marianne Kauffman hid hers under initials and women before her staying out of being mentioned at all. Lena didn’t mind the spotlight and enjoyed the labors of the beer baronesses before her. She did her best to take care of her employees and show them they were like their own family. If an employee or their family died, she ensured that the entire brewery pitched in for donations of some sort as well as her family.
In addition to making a happier, more caring place to work, Lena continued the tradition of making the brewery state-of-the art. In 1904, the brewery began constructing a new bottle shop, “modern in every detail and the machinery and equipment of the latest and most improved on the market.” Lena also began selling off what didn’t make the company money. That meant selling off some of the enterprises they owned—like a saloon, grocery, and boarding house. What she couldn’t sell, she rented out instead, becoming an effective landlord. This allowed her to earn income, even after stepping down as president of the brewery in 1907 with George H. Osterfield replacing her. Her son Walter remained as secretary and treasurer. Lena remained as the owner of the brewery and its properties, even during its transfer to new presidents and new names.
Alma, Elsa, and Edna lived with their mother at Marion Ave and Winding Way and later 212 Ludlow Avenue, but they enjoyed trips to Atlantic City. After all, they were women of a more unsavory reputation, being in the brewing industry, so it was a fitting city for vacations. At home, Lena also invested in new (and most definitely loud) technology, installed by Pogue’s. She was an early adopter of Williams Oil-o-Matic Heater, developed by the company because of the oil shortage during WWI. The heater burned used automobile engine oil.
Lena’s oldest daughter Alma married a longtime friend on 29 January 1912, distiller Robert C. Heinzman, who patented many inventions to innovate the distilling industry throughout his life, perfect for a family that was always looking for innovations. Robert moved in with the family and continued living with them, even after Alma’s death from a pulmonary embolism on 29 October 1918, a little over a month after her infant died.
The family deeply grieved over the loss of Alma, and Prohibition brought about even more change the following year. The family had to adjust to life during Prohibition, but they only had to change how they appeared. The Mohawk Brewing Company continued to make near-beer and full beer under Walter’s supervision, until 3 August 1925 when the brewery was raided by federal agents. This forced Walter to step down from an active role in the brewery, and the brewery continued on as an ice house and malt beverage makers.
When Prohibition ended, the owners of Mohawk Brewery didn’t want to re-open. Lena was old, and Robert was retired. Shareholders voted to dissolve the Mohawk Brewery, and co-directors Lena, Robert, and Norbert J. Sprengard dissolved the brewery on 1 June 1936, and sold it to the owners of what would become Clyffside Brewing. This was the end of Lena’s business ventures. Lena, after some vacationing to Atlantic City with her daughters, died at her home on 24 July 1940, at the age of 83. Walter lived until 1962. Edna and Elsa lived in Cincinnati and Atlantic City until their respective deaths in 1979 and 1981.
When the beer baronesses married inside the alcohol industry, they could continue with their children. But when the women in the alcohol industry didn’t marry, there was no one in the family to continue the brewing business. As a brewing woman, you had a limited selection, being an improper lady. That meant you had to marry someone who didn’t care about social status, marry another man in the brewing industry, or not marry at all. Many of the women chose or were forced into that last option. Because Lena’s lineage did not continue with her children, neither did her direct family’s stronghold on the brewing industry, severely exacerbated by Prohibition. The men may have made the industry, but it was the women who kept it going.

Here’s another short biography from Tavern Trove

Magdalena (Lena) Jung Sohn, one of the “Beer Barons of Cincinnati” was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. As the niece of Daniel Jung of the Jung Brewery Lena Jung was already Cincinnati brewery royalty. In 1877 she married Johann Georg ‘J.G.’ Sohn, who was a member of another Cincinnati brewing dynasty. When her husband died in 1902 Magdalena took over the expansive operation and renamed it the Mohawk Brewing Company and ran it successfully until Prohibition shut it down in 1920. Magdalena (Jung) Sohn died on July 24, 1940. She was 83 years of age.

Historic Beer Birthday: Christian Schmidt

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

Today is the birthday of Christian Schmidt (June 24, 1833-September 6, 1894). Schmidt was born in Magstadt, Wurtemberg, Germany but moved to Philadelphia as a young man. In 1859, he became a partner with the Robert Coutrennay Brewery but bought him out the following year, renaming the brewery the Christian Schmidt Brewing Company until his sons joined the brewery in 1892, when it became known as C. Schmidt & Sons.

Here’s a biography of both Schmidt and his brewery from Workshop of the World — Philadelphia:

Christian Schmidt, an immigrant from Wurtemberg, Germany, purchased the Robert Courtenay brewery which primarily produced ale at this site in 1860. The acquisition of other breweries, such as Peter Schemm, in addition to the production of lager beer, boosted output to 100,000 barrels by 1892. A marked expansion of the physical plant kept pace with the brewery’s growth.
The last quarter of the nineteenth century was Philadelphia’s shining era for large and small breweries. Bergner and Engel (120,000 barrels), and William Massey and Company (75,000 barrels), were the third largest and eleventh largest breweries respectively in the U. S. in 1877. By 1895, Bergner and Engel with 250,000-300,000 barrels had fallen to 15th place; the largest local brewery. Other major companies were Engels and Wolf, Betz and Bergdoll. Christian Schmidt was succeeded by his son Edward who headed the company from 1895 until 1944. There were 421 employees at Schmidt’s in 1943. It had survived and thrived through new technologies—refrigeration, and political impediments, even Prohibition, which decimated other breweries both locally and nationally. Only 26 breweries operated in Pennsylvania in 1960. Philadelphia lost brands such as Esslinger, Poth, Gretz and Class and Nachod.
Schmidt family ownership ceased in 1976 with the sale of the brewery to William H. Pflaumer. By the late 1970s Schmidt’s was the tenth-largest American brewery. It operated a plant in Cleveland, Ohio which facilitated mid-west regional sales. Valley Forge Brewing Company was acquired in the 1960s, Duquesne Brewing Company (Pittsburgh) in 1972, and label and brewing rights to Reading and Bergheim were purchased in 1976, Rheingold in 1977, Erie Brewing Company, with its Koehler brands in 1978. In 1981, Ortlieb, the only other Philadelphia brewery, was purchased by Pflaumer. Schmidt’s, unable to cope with the marketing muscle of the giant national brewers even though it employed 1,400 and produced three million barrels of beer as recently as 1984, sold its brands to G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, in April 1987. Production of the Schmidt’s labels slumped to about $1.6 million barrels in 1986, less than one percent of the total U. S. Market. The demise of Schmidt’s marked the end of the large brewery in Philadelphia.

In Rich Wagner’s Philadelphia Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Cradle of Liberty, he has this to say about Christian Schmidt:

schmidts-1930s — The Schmidt’s brewery in the 1930s.

And in One Hundred Years of Brewing, published in 1903, this was the entry for C. Schmidt & Sons.

Historic Beer Birthday: Hans Steyrer

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Hans Steyrer (June 24, 1849-August 26, 1906). Born in the Allach district of Munich, by profession he was a butcher and an innkeeper. He became known as a “man of strength,” and was also known as “The Bavarian Hercules.” In addition, he also sported one impressive mustache, and became popular at many Oktoberfests in the late nineteenth century.

This is a short biography of him from his German Wikipedia page, translated by Google:

The son of a master butcher and innkeeper learned the butcher’s trade from his father. Even as an apprentice, he was able to lift every calf and every quarter of oxen on the hook and place a hectolitre on the ganter without help.
In 1879 the Herzog circus was looking for the strongest Bavarian and poster this campaign across Bavaria. Hans Steyrer won all competitions and finally went one better: With the strength of his right middle finger, he was the only one able to lift a 508 pound stone for a few seconds. Since then he has been called “the Bavarian Hercules.”
As a publicity stunt, Steyrer first wanted to pull festively decorated cars from his inn on Tegernseer Landstrasse through the whole of Munich to Theresienwiese in 1879. He himself drove on a four-in-hand truck loaded with beer barrels, followed by seven couples who carried the staff and the musicians. However, he did not arrive at the Oktoberfest at the time – in the city center he was stopped by the police and forced to turn back. The subsequent court proceedings ended with the innkeeper being sentenced to a fine, which, however, could not prevent him from repeating the move in the following years.
For years, Hans from Steyr was the tenant of the forester’s lodge at the Englischer Garten (Steinfeldstrasse 15, demolished), which had been converted into the “Wilhelm Tell” tavern, and ran a beer tent at the Oktoberfest as an Oktoberfest host.

And this account is from Munichkindl:

The Steyrer Hans invented the entry of the Oktoberfest hosts on the first Oktoberfest Saturday. He, who was called the ” Bavarian Hercules,” had leased a festival booth from the Pschorr brewery and drove for the first time in 1887 with brass music, his tap boys and the waitresses on seven decorated pairs and one four-in-hand towards Theresienwiese.
But the magistrate was not enthusiastic about this first small, privately organized pageant and let the Steyrer Hans stop when he stopped in the valley at the Weißbräu for a “standing measure.” He was sentenced to a heavy fine for ” gross mischief “and” disturbing public order,” which, however, was rather conducive to his popularity.
Soon afterwards, the Oktoberfest innkeepers officially moved in and the Steyrer Hans was the first to use silver-clad pompous harnesses for the Haflingers of his brewery team.
From 1879 to 1903, the Steyrer Hans was the host of the Oktoberfest twenty-five times. In the 1890s he was able to secure two adjacent booths and serve “Kraftbier” from the Spaten brewery there.
He was a trained butcher and landlord of several Munich inns, including the inn “Zum bayerischen Herkules” in Lindwurmstrasse. His later parent company was the “Tegernsee Garden” in Obergiesing.
He was a real Munich unique, also because he could lift a 528 pound stone with his middle finger or heave a 40-liter beer keg on the bar with his thumb and forefinger. His body mass index was not the best because he was just 1.70 m tall and weighed almost 130 kg. He was a real Kollos and wore a huge mustache , which the people of Munich said he had just sniffed an “Oachkatzl.”

According to Oldetime Strongman, “’The Bavarian Hercules Hans Steyrer is shown here with his signature lift: a one-finger lift of a heavy stone block, usually 500 pounds or more, combined with a muscle-out of a 50-pound kettlebell. Either one of these feats would be impressive by themselves, but doing them both at the same time put Steyrer in a league by himself. It should also be noted that Steyrer was the very first strongman ever photographed using kettlebells (at least to our knowledge.) This was around 1880 or so.”

Beer In Ads #5007: Lucky Lager Bock Beer vs. Karate

June 23, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Monday’s ad is for Lucky Lager Bock Beer. The ad was published on June 23, 1980. This one was for the Lucky Lager Breweries, which was located in Vancouver, Washington, among other places, and was originally launched in 1934. This ad ran in The Spokane Chronicle, of Spokane, Washington. This ad is isn’t all bock. In fact, bock seems more of an afterthought with the text “Ask for Lucky Lager Bock Beer” on the left edge of the ad. It’s really more of a “Sports Calendar” sponsored by Lucky Lager. But I do love the karate fight going on at the bottom between a bottle of Lucky Lager and a man employing “full contact karate.”

Historic Beer Birthday: Joseph Seelinger

June 23, 2025 By Jay Brooks 9 Comments

eagle-erie
Today is the birthday of Joseph Seelinger (June 23, 1863-October 17, 1939). He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph F. Seelinger, who owned the Erie City Brewery for a time. Originally founded in 1861 by George Frey, Seelinger bought in 1870, renamed it the Joseph F. Seelinger Brewery in 1872, but closed it for good the same year, and relocated to Norfolk, Virginia and opened the Onyx Saloon.

This short obit is from Find-a-Grave:

Joseph Seelinger aged 76, operator of one of Norfolk’s Bygone popular restaurants, and who entertained such prominent personages as President Grover Cleveland, when the latter came to Norfolk on duck hunting trips, died yesterday afternoon at 4:30 at his residence, 318 Mowbray Arch.
Mr. Seelinger came to Norfolk in his early life from Erie Penn. and became widely know throughout the city by the fastidious diners with whom cost was not a factor. In the gay days of Norfolk his place was the center of fashionable gatherings, especially around the holiday seasons.
Mr Seelinger was an active member of Norfolk Lodge No. 38, BPOE. He was the son of F Joseph and Elizabeth Stemmer Seelinger, he is survived by his sons Sherman E and Joseph P Seelinger and two daughters Mrs. C J Aydlette and Mrs C C Dixon.

The family never looked back and found success with the restaurant saloon in Virginia. There’s also an entertaining account of the time Saloon Owner “Joe” Went Gunning with Grover Cleveland. That may be Seelinger in the trade card below, but nobody seems to be able to confirm it.

« Previous Page