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Historic Beer Birthday: Clarence C. Geminn

September 22, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Clarence C. Geminn (September 22, 1915-April 21, 2006). He was born in Belleville, Illinois, and his German immigrant grandfather worked in a brewery and his father became a brewer at the Star-Peerless Brewing Co. in St. Louis, and Clarence apprenticed there, too, before getting his beer education at the Siebel Institute. After his graduation in 1951, he was hired by Genesee Brewing in Rochester, New York, and in 1959 became their Brewmaster. The following year at Genesee he developed the recipe for Genesee Cream Ale, which not only became their best-selling beer, it was also for a time the best-selling beer in America, all the more amazing because it was distributed primarily in the Northeast. Tom Acitelli has a nice history of the beer he wrote for All About Beer entitled “How Cream Ale Rose: The Birth of Genesee’s Signature.” In 1995, he retired after 36 years as brewmaster.

This is his obituary that’s been posted at his Find-a-Grave page:

It’s a trade that is often passed through the family, and it’s not unusual to hear that the son of a brewmaster has married the daughter of a brewmaster of another brewery. Keeps it in the family. Clarence Geminn, who’s of German descent, was brewmaster of Genesee Brewery from 1959 to 1978, one of only four brewmasters at Genesee since it started brewing in 1933. Born in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis, his father was a brewmaster and his grandfather a brewery worker. In 1934, Geminn started work as an apprentice brewer at the same brewery where his father worked, the Star-Peerless Brewing Co. in St. Louis. Later, he went to the Siebel Institute, now in Chicago, and took a nine-month course to obtain a brewmaster’s diploma.

“It’s sort of a finishing school after you’ve had the practical training,” Geminn said. In 1951 he left Star-Peerless for Genesee. “You could see the handwriting on the wall. That little brewery wasn’t going to make it.” Geminn knew about Genesee because he met William Hoot at Siebel. Hoot is now president of Genesee and Wehle’s cousin. THE ROLE of the brewmaster has changed, Geminn said. Operations such as bottling are outside the realm of the brewmaster, and there are positions above the brewmaster, such as vice president of production, the position Geminn now holds. When Geminn worked in St. Louis, all the trappings of a brewmaster’s power were evident. “In the old days, the brewmaster had a residence on the property. He had free rent and free light. The brewmasters had their own formulas and they were very secretive. That’s where they got their power. “The owner must have known what was going on, but sometimes he didn’t. There were some tricks of the trade, like how you add the yeast and how to blend to achieve a uniform product that was the brewmaster’s secret.” – But even when Geminn came to Genesee in 1951, not all the traditions were gone. Asked if the brewery workers tipped their hats to him, Giminn smiled and said: “Yes, I had that happen to me. Nobody would come into my office until they took their hat off, and the foremen would practically click their heels.”

And here’s his obituary from the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York on April 24, 2006.

And this article about Geminn is from the Belleville News Democrat of Illinois from March 10, 1964.

Filed Under: Beers, Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Genesee, History, New York

Beer In Ads #2810: Genesee In The Jungle

October 31, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, is a poster done in the style of French post-impressionist painter Henri Rousseau, specifically his many naïve or primitive paintings set in the jungle.

Genesee-rousseau

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

Beer In Ads #2809: Genesee Fisherwoman

October 30, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from 1964, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features a woman fishing who just caught a sizeable bass, or is that a trout. I don’t really know my fish. Anyway, she looks really happy about it.

Genesee-fisherwoman-1964

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

Beer In Ads #2808: Genesee Horses

October 29, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features a horse, standing majestically and staring off into the distance. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

Genesee-horse

They must have really liked the horse motiff, because they did a second one with a mare and her foal.

Genesee-horses

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

Beer In Ads #2807: Black Hat Genesee

October 28, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Sunday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features a woman staring at us, wearing a great big black hat. She also has on long black gloves and is holding a glass of beer in one hand.

Genesee-woman

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

Beer In Ads #2806: Swimmer’s Beer Break

October 27, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Saturday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features a swimmer in a pool, who’s just come from air, and perhaps he has the bends from a very deep pool. Because upon pushing out of the water and into the air, he’s seeing a vision of glass of beer suspended on the water, floating above the pool. It’s a miracle.

Genesee-swimming-pool

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

Beer In Ads #2805: Genesee Pike

October 26, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters by artist Sherm Pehrson, features a Pike (I think) fish swimming underwater below some smaller fish. It almost looks like he’s hunting them, but then fish behavior is not my strong suit.

Genesee-pike

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

Beer In Ads #2804: Farmer’s Beer Break

October 25, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Thursday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features a farmer who’s taking a break from his work. It appears to be a hot day, and he’s sweating profusely, but luckily he’s got a glass of beer to quench his thirst.

genesee-real-old-fashioned-goodness

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

Beer In Ads #2803: Genesee Rainbow Trout

October 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters by artist Sherm Pehrson, features a Rainbow Trout fish that’s lept out of the river in hot pursuit of a dragonfly he’s hoping to have for dinner.

Genesee-trout

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

Beer In Ads 2802: Here’s Looking At You

October 23, 2018 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, which was founded in Rochester, New York, originally along the Genesee River, but in 1878 they moved up into Rochester proper. Their Genesee Cream Ale, in the simple green can, was one of our go-to beers when I was in high school. Since 2009, the brewery has been part of North American Breweries. This ad, from the 1970s, part of a series of framed promotional posters, features an older gentleman in overalls, wearing a hat and clutching a corn cob pipe. He’s also holding a glass of beer and pointing at us and giving us some serious side eye.

Genesee-pointing-man

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

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