Today is the birthday of Henry Hess (August 1, 1859-July 25, 1909). Hess was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and in 1901 bought the Germania Brewing Co. in Philadelphia, which has originally been founded in 1875 by Philip J. Laubner, and it was known then as the Philip J. Laubner Brewery. Hess renamed the Henry Hess Brewing Co. and remained opened until it closed in 1911, presumably due to his death two years before. He appears to have been involved in another location that was also called the Henry Hess Brewing Co. from 1909-1912. Before 1909, it was known as the Consumer’s Brewing Co. and afterwards was known as the Premier Brewing Co., which closed in 1920 due to prohibition. In 1933, it re-opened as Trainer Brewing and in 1937 became known as the Otto Erlanger Brewing Co. until 1951, when it closed for good.

Here is an obituary of Hess from the “Brewers Journal, Volume 34 for the Year 1909:”

And this is about his brewery from the book “1000 Years of Brewing:”