Beer In Ads #5208: Jax Bock Beer Is Here Again!

February 18, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Thursday’s first ad is for Jax Bock Beer, which was published on February 18, 1949. This ad was for the Jackson Brewing Co. of New Orleans, Louisiana, which was originally founded in 1890 by Lawrence Fabacher. This ad ran in The Times Picayune , of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Below is the inset larger iving their version of “The Story of Bock Beer.”

Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Weinhard

February 18, 2026 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

Today is the birthday of Henry Weinhard (February 18, 1830-September 20, 1904). He was born in Württemberg, which today is in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, but moved to nearby Stuttgart where he was an apprentice brewer. According to Wikipedia, he was a German-American brewer in the state of Oregon. After emigrating to the United States in 1851, he lived in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and California before settling in the Portland, Oregon, area. He worked for others in the beer business before buying his own brewery and founded Henry Weinhard’s and built the Weinhard Brewery Complex in downtown Portland.”

Here’s Weinhard’s obituary, from a 1904 newspaper, the Morning Oregonian.

Henry Weinhard, the pioneer brewer of the Pacific Coast, whose name has become a household word in Oregon, died at 11:10 o’clock last night at the age of 74 years. He was suffering from an attack of uremic coma, the third with which he has been seized in recent years, and for several days his life has been despaired of. The disease stopped the action of his kidneys three days ago and he had been unconscious during that period, except for a slight glimmer yesterday afternoon. The end came without struggle and apparently without pain.
Mr. Weinhard was a typical Western man, with all the social qualities of the Western man and German. He succeeded by close application to a business which he made one of the largest industries of the city with a fame extending beyond the bounds of the United States. He was ready to lend to the city and state for the promotion of the success of the community the energy and ability which had made his own success, and he readily contributed to every charitable and public enterprise. As disease has crept upon him with age, he has gradually entrusted his business more and more to his sons in law, who have associated with him from their early manhood, so that thee will be no break in the management of his great interests. The arrangements for his funeral will probably made today. As he was a Mason, the Masonic body will doubtless take a leading part in the ceremonies.
The story of Henry Weinhard’s life is the story of success achieved by a young German who came to the United States equipped with youth, energy and thorough knowledge of his business. Born at Lindenbrohn, Wurtemburg in 1830, he was educated there and was apprenticed to the brewing business. Then he determined to seek a broader field for his activity and in 1852 came to the United States. After being employed for four years at a brewery at Cincinatti, O., he came to the Pacific Coast by way of the isthmus in 1856. He first worked at his trade in Vancouver, Wash., for six months and then in 1857 moved to Portland and, in partnership with George Bottler, erected a brewery at Couch and Front streets.
The growth of the business did not satisfy him, and not long after sold his interest and returned to Vancouver. He finally settled in Portland in 1862, when he bought Henry Saxon’s business on First, near Davis street, but in the following year bought the site of his present plant at Twelfth and Burnside streets, together with the small buildings occupied by George Bottler’s small plant.
Since then his business has steadily grown until his beer has a market throughout the Pacific states and he has built up a large trade export. The capacity of the plant has been steadily enlarged until it now covers two and three quarters blocks and produces 100,000 barrels of beer a year, the refrigerating machines alone making 42 tons of ice a day. How rapidly the business has grown is indicated by the fact that the storage capacity has also been greatly enlarged. Mr. Weinhard was always progressive and never hesitated to adopt the latest improvements in his business, he was very conservative in his investments. He erected ice plants at Eugene and Roseburg in place of local breweries which he bought out, and storage buildings at Oregon City, Baker City and Aberdeen, all of which with the sites were his own property.
He had of late years made large investments in real estate, but they were all in Portland and the immediate vicinity, and he has covered his city property with valuable buildings, but he never began any of them until he had the money on hand to complete them, for he never went into debt. His largest buildings, in addition to the breweries and its various buildings are the large seven story building bounded by Oak and Pine, Fourth and Fifth streets, the second half of which is nearing completion; the Grand Central Hotel, five stories high, at Third and Flanders, streets; the five story Hohenstaufen building, 50 by 100 feet, at Fourth and Alder streets, a two story building, 50 by 100 feet, at Fourth and Madison streets, and a farm of 620 acres in Yamhill County, known as the Armstrong farm.
Mr. Weinhard married in 1859 Louise Wagenblast, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, who survives him, and by whom he had three children, one of them a boy died at the age of 2 1/2 years, on September 13,1862. His other children were Annie C. who married Paul Wessinger, the superintendent of the brewery, and Louise H., who is the wife of Henry Wagner, his accountant. Mrs. Wessinger is the mother of two children, a girl of nearly eighteen and a boy of sixteen and a half years, and Mrs. Wagner is the mother of a boy of ten years. His only other relatives in this country is Jacob Weinhard, a well to do maltster at Dayton, Wash., who is his nephew.
Mr. Weinhard was a member of the Willamette Lodge, A. F. & A. M. of Portland, and the Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trade and Manufacturers Association. He always took an active interest in all measures aimed at promoting the development of the state and was a liberal contributor to all public enterprises.

The Oregon Historical Society also has a biography of Weinhard and Brewery Gems also has a thorough history of the brewery.

Henry-Weinhard-advert-1908 — A view of the brewery in 1908.

And here’s part one of a three-part documentary about the brewery. This part tells the story from the brewery’s founding up through prohibition. Part two covers the Blitz merger through the 1970s, and part three is about what they call “The Premium Reserve Years,” presumably from the 1970s to the present of when the film was made, which looks like late eighties or nineties.

Historic Beer Birthday: Simeon Hotz

February 18, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Simeon ‘Simon’ Hotz (February 18, 1819-November 6, 1881). He was born in Fützen, Germany, near the Swiss border in the southern part of the country. He was originally trained as a cobbler, or shoemaker, and when he emigrated the U.S. in the late 1840s, that was the work he continued to do. After marrying a widower, Barbara Williams, in Iowa City, he bought into a grocery store, where he continued to work as a cobbler, but eventually the grocery added a brewery, which Hotz launched with Louis Englert, but later involved his his son-in-law, Anton Geiger, which then became known as the Hotz & Geiger Brewery,” but traded under the name Union Brewery.

This biography of Hotz is fronm the University of Iowa:

Simeon Hotz was born on February 18, 1819, in Fützen, Germany which is in the southern region of Germany close to the Swiss border. He was part of the 48er’s in Germany which where a group who supported the revolution in Europe and wanted a more democratic government and unification of the German peoples. Simeon Hotz was a part of Brentano’s Army and was given a high rank when one of the officials had left to do something else. Simeon Hotz came to the United States in 1850 because of the revolution in Germany, and he also had the opportunity to gain American citizenship as well as like the democracy system in the United States. Like many Germans at the time Simeon Hotz came to New York City, but he ended up going to Rochester, New York then moved to just south of Memphis, Tennessee. He then moved to Holly Springs, Mississippi, which isn’t far from Memphis, and then he finally settled in Iowa City in 1857 for the rest of his life. During these years of travelling, he worked as a shoemaker since that is what he was trained as and worked as in Germany.
In 1852 Simeon Hotz married Barbara (Becker) William who was from Bavaria, but they met each other in the United States. Barbara was a widow as she was married to George Williams before he died. She had four children with him and then she and Simeon Hotz had 7 children together. Their names were Caroline, Anna, Ella, Julia, Elizabetha, and George, the seventh kid didn’t live very long, so their name is unknown to us.
Simeon Hotz and his family were members at St. Mary’s Church, and Simeon was even a founding member of the church. He was heavily involved in the church community and was even apart of the St. Joseph’s society. Simeon Hotz was also a prominent man in the Iowa City
community as he was also heavily involved in politics and was a very present and generous man. He aligned himself with the Democratic party. He was described as someone who would always give money to those in need, especially since he had acquired a lot of wealth from owning a brewery.
In 1857 Simeon Hotz joined in a partnership with Louis Englert in his brewery and ended up making his own beer. In 1868 Hotz and his son in law Anton Geiger built the Union Brewery on the corner of Linn and Market St, and they opened for business in 1869. The Brew Master of the brewery was Conrad Graf who ended up marrying Simeon Hotz’s daughter Anna. Although the brewery was called Union Brewery it was commonly known as Hotz & Geiger. Hotz & Geiger was an important place for the Iowa City community and was the biggest brewery. Hotz and Geiger expanded the brewery several times to the point that Hotz almost owned the entire street.
Simeon Hotz died in 1881 from injuries due to a house fire. Simeon Hotz is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. After his death Barbara Hotz continued to manage the brewery for 2 years and the Conrad Graf bought the brewery and ran it until his death in 1893. His sons then ran the brewery and once prohibition was on the horizon, they started to switch to a soft drink company, but this didn’t work out financially, so the brewery officially closed in 1917.

Here, Tavern Trove picks up the story:

In 1864 Hotz took on his son-in-law, Antone Geiger, in the brewery. The brewery was renamed the Union, and the two continued in partnership until Geiger died in 1876. At this point Hotz leased his brewery to brewers Joseph Schultze and Conrad Graff, another son-in-law to Hotz. Eventually Simeon Hotz was drawn back into brewing business and he took over management of his old firm in 1878. By this time he had grown the brewery into one of the largest in Iowa.
About this time Hotz was involved in a railroad accident in which he received severe burns. This was compounded by further burns caused by a mishap while making salve for his previous injuries. Holz’s health declined from this point and he died at age 62 on November 6th of 1881.
From that day the brewery Simeon Hotz founded was run by his wife Barbara, who was administatrix of the estate. In 1885 Conrad Graf purchased the Union and ran the brewery until Iowa state Prohibition finally got around to closing it down in 1888.

On May 3rd 1893 Iowa’s Mulct Law went into effect and Conrd Graf reopened the brewery on a small scale. When Graf died in 1894 the brewery became managed by his widow who soon brought in Chris Senner to do the oversee the brew house. Senner eventually married the widow Graf and at this point her sons took over brewery operations. The family switched over to the manufacturing of soft drinks during the Prohibition years, but the firm closed upon repeal in 1933 and never reopened.

Beer In Ads #5207: Good News! Good Cheer! Dawson’s Bock Beer Is Here!

February 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Wednesday’s second ad is for Dawson’s Bock Beer, which was published on February 17, 1943. This ad was for the Dawson’s Brewery, Inc., of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which was originally founded in 1899. This ad ran in The Boston Globe, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Historic Beer Birthday: George Younger

February 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of George Younger (February 17, 1722-September 28, 1788). Well, not exactly. His exact birthdate was not recorded, but he was baptized today, so that’s the best date we have to use.

Here’s a biography from the University of Glasgow’s Scottish Brewing Archive.

George Younger (1722–1788), a member of a family of saltpan owners in Culross, Fife, Scotland, was brewing in Alloa, Scotland from 1745. He established his first brewery, later known as Meadow Brewery, in Bank Street, Alloa, in about 1764. After his death the business was passed on from father to son, trading as George Younger & Son. Additional premises adjacent to the brewery were acquired in 1832 and 1850.
The Candleriggs Brewery, Alloa, owned by Robert Meiklejohn & Co, was leased in 1852 and bought outright for GBP 1,500 in 1871. The Meadow Brewery ceased brewing in 1877 and was turned into offices for the business. Craigward Maltings, Alloa, were built in 1869 and a new bottling department was established at Kelliebank, Alloa, in 1889. The Candleriggs Brewery was badly damaged by fire in 1889 and rebuilt on a larger scale to cover nearly 2 acres, becoming the largest brewery in Scotland outside Edinburgh.
George Younger & Son Ltd was registered in February 1897 as a limited liability company to acquire the business at a purchase price of GBP 500,000. The company traded extensively to the North of England, West Indies, Australia and North America and from the 1880s to India, the Far East and South Africa. It took over R Fenwick & Co Ltd, Sunderland Brewery, Low Street, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, England, and Robert Fenwick & Co, Chester Brewery, Chester–le–Street, Durham, England (closed 1934), in 1898.
The first chilling and carbonating plant in Scotland was installed at Kelliebank Bottling Stores in 1903. The company’s own bottling works was established there in 1908 and a new export bottling plant opened in 1912. The company built up large supply contracts with the armed forces at home and abroad and by 1914 had a lucrative regimental canteen business at Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
It acquired the Craigward Cooperage of Charles Pearson & Co, Alloa; George White & Co, Newcastle–upon–Tyne, Tyne & Wear; and the Bass Crest Brewery Co, Alloa, in 1919. During the same year the Kelliebank bottle manufacturing plant was floated as a separate company and eventually became known as the Scottish Central Glass Works. The Grange Brewery closed in 1941 and the Sunderland Brewery was rebuilt, being sold in 1922 to Flower & Sons Ltd, Stratford–upon–Avon, Warwickshire, England.
The company took over Blair & Co (Alloa) Ltd, Townhead Brewery, Alloa, in 1959. It was acquired by Northern Breweries of Great Britain Ltd in April 1960 and became part of the combined Scottish interests of that company, Caledonian Breweries Ltd, later United Caledonian Breweries Ltd, which merged with J & R Tennent Ltd, Glasgow, Strathclyde, in 1966 to form Tennent Caledonian Breweries Ltd. The Candleriggs Brewery ceased to brew in December 1963.

And here’s another short account from the Scottish Antiquary.

george-younger-scottish-antiquary

Here’s his Meadow Brewery around 1890, before it became known as George Younger & Sons.

George-Younger-meadow-brewery

Ron Pattinson has a post about Boiling at George Younger in the 1890’s, and also about the early years of George Younger.

Historic Beer Birthday: Joseph Ibach

February 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Joseph Warr Ibach (February 17, 1832-January 24, 1908). He was born in Leiberstung, Buehl, Baden, Germany, but moved to the U.S. as a young man and opened a short-lived brewery in Mankato, Minnesota known as the Joseph Ibach Brewery in 1878. Two years later he inexplicably re-named it for his wife, the Mrs. Margaret Ibach Brewery. In 1887, it was destroyed by fire and was not rebuilt.

This biography is from the “History of Blue Earth County and biographies of its leading citizens,” by Thomas Hughes, published in 1909:

IBACH, JOSEPH. This retired brewer and substantial citizen of Mankato is a native of Baden, Germany, born February 17, 1832, the son of Joseph and Celestia (Spier) Ibach, also born in the Fatherland. The father died before he had reached middle age, leaving different members of the family to make their way in the world according to their abilities and foresight. The mother afterward came to the United States, and of her two sons one was drowned.
Under such circumstances it is but natural that Joseph’s education should have been limited, and that he should have commenced to earn his own living at quite an early age. In 1853, when he had just passed his majority, he came to the United States, and, in company with several companions, reached Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa, in search for some permanent means of livelihood. At the latter place the friends entered into a debate whether they should journey north or south, the majority deciding in favor of a northward course. They therefore started up the Mississippi River for St Paul, and while enroute the captain of the boat offered Mr Ibach a position as fireman at fifty dollars per month. This offer was eagerly seized and resulted in extending his career as a boatman on the river and the Great Lakes over a period of five years.
Mr Ibach settled down as a landsman in 1858, when he located at Preston, Minnesota, and there engaged in the brewing business until 1874, when he disposed of his plant and removed to Mankato. He then purchased the brewery of the late Stephen Lamm, and, after operating it for a year, sold out and rented the Pete Welsh establishment, which he conducted for three years. In 1878, Mr Ibach established a brewery near what is known as Tinkcom’s Addition and operated it profitably until it was destroyed by fire in 1887. The plant was not rebuilt, but since that time he has been engaged in taking care of his property and enjoying the comforts of a business man, who by many years of arduous labor has earned a period of rest in the declining years of his life.
Mr Ibach was married September 4, 1860, to Miss Margaret Kreamer, daughter of Jacob and Barbara Kreamer, of Stratford, Ontario, Canada and by this union has had the following children Louisa, wife of Anton Oberly, of Decoria Township, Blue Earth County; Savina, now Mrs Thomas Lewis, a resident of Judson Township this county; Antilla, Mrs Walter Anderson, of Mankato; Herman, living in Washington, District of Columbia; Andrew, of Chicago; and Rudolph and Arthur, both residents of Mankato.
Mr Ibach is one of the staunchest and oldest Democrats in this section of the county, casting his first presidential vote for Pierce in 1852; in local affairs, however, he considers the personal qualifications of the candidate rather than party affiliations. Fraternally he is a member of the I00F.

And this is from the Blue Earth County Historical Society:

Ibach Brewery was a little-known brewery was once located on James Avenue at the present site of Jefferson School in Mankato. Joseph Ibach was born on February 17, 1832, in Baden, Germany, one of 12 children. In 1853 he emigrated to America whereupon he and several companions reached Davenport, Iowa, and Dubuque. They started up the Mississippi to St. Paul and while on the way the boat captain offered Joseph a position as a fireman at a salary of $50 a month. His work thus began on the river and the Great Lakes for five years. Joseph’s education was limited by the necessity of supporting his widowed mother and his brother in America.
Joseph settled for a time in Preston, Minnesota, where he met his future wife, Margaret Kramer. They were wed in Preston and six children resulted from this union. One son, Rudolph, was engaged as an agent for the Mankato firm of Rosenberger and Currier Confectioners. He preceded Joseph in death. While in Preston, Joseph entered the brewing business until 1874, then sold it and moved to Mankato. He purchased the brewery owned by Stephen Lamm and operated it for a year, sold out, and leased the Peter Welsh brewery, located at the crossing of the Blue Earth River in West Mankato for three years.
In 1878 Joseph purchased a brewery located on Fairfield Street in Tinkom’s Addition for Anton Jacoby and operated it for him. Soon Joseph bought the brewery outright. Back of the Ibach brewery, in the steep hill, was a man-made cave, lined with brick, and it was used to store the product, beer. Joseph built his home, a huge mansion which he named “Chateau D’Amour”, across the street from his brewery. The house had both a magnificent interior décor as well as wonderful architecture without. The brewery lasted until 1887 when it was destroyed by fire. On January 28, 1908, Joseph Ibach passed on from La Grippe (influenza) and anemia. The funeral service was conducted in German and English, and the Twentieth Century Band rendered several selections.

Ibert’s obituary from the Keister Courier.

Beer In Ads #5206: What Is Rainier Bock Beer?

February 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Tuesday’s first ad is for Rainier Bock Beer, which was published on February 17, 1934. This ad was for the Rainier Brewing Co., of Seattle, Washington, which was originally founded in 1878. This ad ran in The Reno Gazette-Journal, of Reno, Nevada.

Historic Beer Birthday: John A. White Jr.

February 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of John A. White Jr. (February 17, 1878-August 4, 1925). He was the son of John A. White, who in 1866 bought the M. Benson Brewery, along with Jacob Gimlich, which they called Gimlich & White, and which later became known as the Berkshire Brewing Association. Junior’s father died just before prohibition, and as far as I can tell he continued in his father’s footsteps until it was closed by Prohibition in 1918, and never reopened after repeal.

This is a short history of the brewery from 100 Years of Brewing:

Here’s a story of the brewery from the website iBerkshires.com:

One can only wonder what John White and Jacob Gimlich would have thought as federal officers poured 15,000 gallons of locally crafted beer into the sewer on an early May morning in 1922.
Gimlich and his brother-in-law White had first purchased a small brewery on Columbus Street in 1868 from Michael Benson. First called simply “Jacob Gimlich & John White,” the business began at an output of just six barrels a day, but would grow to be a major manufacturer in the West Side Pittsfield neighborhood.
Both men had immigrated to the country from Germany in their youth, and both served tours in the Civil War. Gimlich worked briefly for the Taconic Woolen Mills before going into the beer business with his sister Rachel’s husband.
By 1880, operating as Gimlich, White & Co., the brewers erected a much larger facility in a five-story brick building measuring 40 by 80 feet. The expanded plant employed from 15 to 20 men and was shipping about 16,000 barrels a year.
Gimlich and White built houses directly across the road from their plant on John Street, and as their fortunes grew became increasingly prominent members of the community. Gimlich in particular became enmeshed in a variety of financial and civic affairs. From 1884-1885, he served as the city’s representative in the Legislature, and was one of the organizers and directors of City Savings Bank. Gimlich likewise served on the board of the Berkshire Loan and Trust Co. and of the Co-Operative Bank, was a past chancellor of the local lodge, Knights of Pythias, and member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and of the local Sons of Veterans.
“Pittsfield has been pleased with the success of Gimlich & White and they are counted among the town’s leading, liberal, and most public spirited citizens,” states one Pittsfield Sun editorial of the time.
By the early 1890s the torch was being passed to the next generation, with sons David Gimlich along with Fred and George White taking on more leadership of the company when it reincorporated as Berkshire Brewing Association in 1892. An additional four-story building was added, with the brewing complex now taking up the full block along Columbus Avenue between Onota and John Street to Gilbert Avenue.

The White brothers in 1899. John is in the upper right.

Among Berkshire Brewing’s most popular products were Mannheimer Lager Beer, Berkshire Pure Malt Extract, Lenox Half Stock Ale, and Berkshire Pale Ale, considered to be one of the finest India pale ales then on the market. The plant also churned out bottled mineral waters, ginger ale and other soft drinks.
The elder Gimlich and White passed away in 1912 and 1916, respectively, but the enterprise they founded continued to see steady growth. The only brewery of the kind within 50 miles of Pittsfield, Berkshire Brewing Association had something of a monopoly in the region, along with a thriving distribution throughout the east coast as far south as the Carolinas. At its peak, it employed 150 workers and put out 75,000 to 100,000 barrels worth of beer annually. Records indicate between 1910 and 1920, Berkshire Brewing Association paid $1 million in federal taxes, in addition to state and local taxes and fees, including $1,200 a year for a brewer’s license and $800 for an annual bottling license.
The company was not without its occasional hiccups, such as a lengthy strike in the fall of 1911 by the Pittsfield Brewers Union, culminating in the reinstatement of a dismissed employee.
Real crisis came at the end of the decade, as increasing restrictions on alcohol grew into total national prohibition. They first ceased brewing beer temporarily in December 1918, after a directive from the National Food Administration following the passage of the the Wartime Prohibition Act. Even after the passage of the Volstead Act the following fall, BBA voted to remain in business, focusing on bottled soft drinks while hoping the ban to be a brief legislative phase.
They also continued to brew beer, as did several major brewers throughout the country at first, seeing the government’s lack of resources tasked to enforce the rule. Finally in spring 1922, federal officers arrived to turn off the taps, disposing of 15,000 gallons worth and estimated $15,000 to $20,000 at the time.
Ironically, the company waited it out until nearly the end of the failed domestic policy, the board of directors voting to close down in January 1929.
The brewery building was dismantled soon after; for a time, the Siegel Furniture Co. operated out of the former bottling building, which later became the Warehouse Furniture Co. In 1975, this, too, was cleared as the land passed to the Pittsfield Housing Authority, which developed the Christopher Arms housing project that occupies the former site of the brewery today.

And this biography is from Western Massachusetts; a history, 1636-1925 (Volume 3):

JOHN A. WHITE — Napoleon used to say that in his army every soldier carried the marshal staff among his belongings, and he meant to convey that the successive rise from the bottom to the top rung of the ladder was, and by rights ought to be open to any man able to prove his worth and his competence to occupy and successfully hold a leading post. John A. White, sole owner of the John A. White Motor Company, of No. 576 North Street, Pittsfield, and vice-president and secretary of the Berkshire Brewery Association rose through his own merits and personal qualifications from
the position of bottle washer, which he occupied at the age of eleven years, in the above brewery to the leading posts in the same concern.
He was born February 17, 1878, at Pittsfield, a son of John and Rachel (Gimlich) White, and was educated in the public schools of Pittsfield. In 1923 Mr. White’s spirit of enterprise prompted him to take up a new line
in addition to the brewery, and he decided to go into the auto business. On Januarj’ i, 1924, he formed the present company, which is not incorporated, as Mr. White has no desire to share its ownership with anybody else. He has the exclusive agency of the Grey touring and the Auburn touring cars for the southern half of Berkshire County, and is the representative for the entire Berkshire County of the Grey trucks and Sanford trucks. Throughout his territory Mr. White is represented by agents, who are doing a very satisfactory business. Mr. White, who is a very popular citizen of Pittsfield, has numerous fraternal connections, such as membership of the Crescent Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Berkshire Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; the Berkshire Council and Commandery of Knights Templar; the Melha Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Pittsfield Lodge, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Turn Verein. Mr. White, who is very fond of outdoor sports, is never so happy as when he can go on a day’s holiday or play a game of baseball, in which he is quite an expert. He used to be one of the best semi-professional baseball pitchers in his section of Massachusetts, and his pitching was largely responsible for the high standing of the Pittsfield ball team in many games. In September, 1904, Mr. White married Mable F. Durkee, and with her has one daughter, Evelyn, a for- mer graduate of Pittsfield High School, now a student
of Columbia University.

Beer In Ads #5205: Bock Time Is Schmidt’s Time

February 16, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Monday’s ad is for Schmidt’s Bock Beer, which was published on February 16, 1940. This ad was for the C. Schmidt & Sons, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1860 by Christian Schmidt. This ad ran in The North Penn Reporter, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Historic Beer Birthday: Wilhelm Bierbauer

February 16, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Today is the birthday of Captain Wilhelm ‘William’ Bierbauer (February 16, 1826-November 30, 1893). He was born in Einselthum, Donnersbergkreis, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany into a family of brewers and had five brothers. The family moved to upstate New York when he was 23, in 1849, where his brother Charles opened a brewery. Wilhelm, who later called himself William, along with his brother Jacob, moved to Mankato, Minnesota and opened their own brewery in 1856, called William & Jacob Bierbauer, trading under the name City Brewery. By 1863, William appears to be going it alone. They brewery was closed by prohibition, reopened afterwards as the Mankato Brewing Co. and eventually closed in 1966.

This biography is from Mankato: It’s First Fifty Years, published in 1902:

BIERBAUER, Capt William, was born in Einseltburn, Bavaria, February 26, 1826. He was well educated and served a term in the German army. He became involved in the German Revolution of 1848 with Carl Schurz, and others, and was forced to leave his native country, and landed in New York in 1849. He soon became interested in the brewery business, first at Seneca Falls, and subsequently at Milwaukee, with Philip Best. In 1856, he came to Mankato, and with his brother Jacob, established a brewery, which grew to be a large and prosperous plant. At first he occupied a small frame building erected in 1858 on North Front street, but in 1873 removed to the present site. William Bierbauer was a patriotic citizen, and when the Indian outbreak of 1862 occurred, he promptly raised a Company, of which he was made captain, and went to the relief of New Ulm, where he rendered valiant service. He was a gentleman of fine presence, good judgment and with a high sense of honor.
In 1858, he was married to Miss Louisa Dornberg, daughter of Dr A G Dornberg, of this city. To this marriage, there were born seven children, six of whom are now living, viz: Albert, Bruno, Rudolph, William, Addie and Ella. Capt Bierbauer died in this city universally respected and lamented November 30, 1893, and is buried in Glenwood cemetery.
The Bierbauer brewery in 1888.
And this obituary of Bierbauer was published in the Saint Paul Globe:

This is a biography of him from Tavern Trove:

Captain Wilhelm “William” Bierbauer was born to a family of brewers in Einselthum, Pfalz, Bavaria. He and his five brothers, Charles, Louis, Jacob, Henry, and Simon, emigrated to America in 1849. They settled in Oneida County New York, where they likely worked in Charles’s brewery on the West End of Utica.
After living in New York for five years, William and Jacob moved to Mankato Minnesota. In 1856 they established the first brewery in Blue Earth County. In 1863 Jacob left the partnership to deal in grain, and later malt. The brewery continued with William as sole proprietor for another 31 years, until his death on March 1st, 1896.
Upon his death the Mankato Brewery was run by his estate, then in 1903 his wife Louisa assumed control. The firm not only survived these tumultuous times but thrived. It even survived National Prohibition for thirteen years. Brewing operations resumed in 1933 after repeal. In 1951 the company was purchased by the Cold Spring Brewery, who ran it for a few years as a branch before shutting it down for good in 1954.

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