Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Historic Beer Birthday: Fritz Goetz

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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

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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.

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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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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Historic Beer Birthday: John Hauck

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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

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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.”

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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.

Beer In Ads #5057: Ephrata Is Saying: Give Me White Bock Every Time

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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.

Tuesday’s ad is for Hornung’s White Bock Beer, which was published on August 19, 1937. This one was for the Jacob Hornung Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1885. This ad ran in The Ephrata Review, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Historic Beer Birthday: George Younger

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Today is the birthday of George Younger (August 19, 1790-September 25, 1853). He was the son of James Younger and the grandson of George Younger, who founded the brewery that would become George Younger and Son in 1764. It was located in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, in Scotland. There’s surprisingly little information about this George Younger. His father, James, expanded the brewery, and presumably, this George kept it going but there’s almost no details about him or his life that I could find.

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

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

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Beer Birthday: Claudia Pamparana

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Today is the 51st birthday of Claudia Pamparana, arguably the unsung hero of Faction Brewing in Alameda, California. I first met Claudia when she worked at 21st Amendment, and I clearly remember when she started dating Rodger Davis, who’s now her business partner at Faction and husband. I especially recall Rodger being very … well, Rodger, at the Falling Rock during GABF and drunk-dialing Claudia to tell her he loved her. Happily, for him, she reciprocated, and they were married in 2006. As great a brewer that Rodger is, if it weren’t for Claudia’s calm and hard work, who knows where Faction would be today. Join me in wishing Claudia a very happy birthday.

Visiting Faction in 2017.
 Claudia with Rodger and me at the California Beer Summit in 2018.
On stage with Rodger picking up a medal for The Penske File st GABF.
Rodger and Claudia at an event in Santa Rosa

Beer In Ads #5056: Geo. F. Spenger’s Extra Bottled Malt Beverages

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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.

Thursday’s ad is for Extra Malt Wine or Bock Beer, or more generally for Geo. F. Sprenger’s Extra Bottled Malt Beverages, which was published on August 18, 1879. This one is for the Sprenger Brewery of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1850. This ad ran in The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, also of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Beer Birthday: Don Feinberg

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Today is Don Feinberg’s 70th birthday, along with his wife Wendy Littlefield, ran the Belgian export company Vanberg & DeWulf. Their portfolio included such great beer lines as Dupont, Castelain and Dubuisson (Bush). They were also the original founders of Brewery Ommegang. Several years ago they celebrated their 30th anniversary of being involved in the beer industry and bringing great beer to America. Plus, they’re great fun to hang out and drink with. Unfortunately, several years ago they sold Vanberg & DeWulf, and are taking some time off, before deciding on their next project. It’s been a while now, but hopefully, we’ll learn something soon. Join me in wishing Don a very happy birthday.

Don, along with the Dubuisson brewmaster, being poured Lambrucha in Chicago in 2010.
Wendy and Don at a dinner in Belgium a few years ago.
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Wendy Littlefield, Don and Greg Engert at a Vanberg & DeWulf tasting in Washington, D.C.
(photo by Chuck Cook)
Don Feinberg, Anne (from New York’s Ginger Man) and Wendy in Belgium.
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Wendy and Don in 1979.

Beer In Ads #5055: Weihnachts Bock Monk

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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.

Sunday’s poster is for Falken Schaffhauser’s Weihnachts Bock, and was published in 1931. This one was made for the Bierbrauerei Falken Schaffhausen, or Falcon Brewery, of Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The brewery was founded in 1799, and is still in business today, and is “considered the only independent brewery in the Schaffhausen region,” and is Switzerland’s 5th largest brewery. This one is for their Schaffhauser Weihnachts Bock (Christmas or WInter Bock) and shows a monk taking a walk in the snow. Of course, he took a mug with him because you never know if you’ll run across a keg of bock in the wilderness. It was created by Swiss artist Arnold Oechslin.