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Historic Beer Birthday: Samuel Adams

September 27, 2023 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

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Today is the birthday of Samuel Adams (September 27, 1722-October 2, 1803). He “was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American republicanism that shaped the political culture of the United States. He was a second cousin to President John Adams.” He was also at least a maltster, and possibly a brewer.

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A portrait of Samuel Adams by John Singleton Copley.

Copely was one of the most famous early American painters, especially of portraits. He also did paintings of John Hancock, John Adams and Paul Revere, as well. The painting hangs in Boston’s Museum of Fine Art, and I had a change to see the original in 2009, when the CBC was in Boston. It was smaller than I expected at 49 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. and is believed to have been painted around 1772. Its first owner, after the artist, was none other than John Hancock. His wife later gave it to Adams’ grandson and in 1876 it was given to the City of Boston. In the painting, he’s pointing at the Massachusetts Charter, which Adams believed was a constitution that protected peoples’ rights.

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An engraving of Samuel Adams, by Alonzo Chappel, from 1858.

Whether or not Adams was in fact a brewer is open to some debate. Stanley Baron’s Brewing in America suggests that he may have been involved in his father’s malting business, making him a Malster. In the footnote in the Wikipedia entry on Samuel Adams, it tells the following story.

Baron, Brewed in America, 74–75; Alexander, Revolutionary Politician, 231. However, Stoll (Samuel Adams, 275n16) notes that James Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company, reports having seen a receipt for hops signed by Adams, which indicates that Adams may have done some brewing.

It seems to me we might rarely hear of Sam Adams’ connection to the world of beer were it not for the Boston Beer Co. Historically, it doesn’t seem like that was a driving force in his life. What does seem clear, is that his father, Samuel Adams Sr., was most certainly a maltster, and also probably a brewer.

Here’s Michael Burgan, author of Samuel Adams: Patriot and Statesman, discussing Samuel Adams Sr., Samuel Adams’ father.

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On the New England Historical Society’s website, on a page about Samuel Adams, entitled Sam Adams Walked Into a Tavern and Started a Revolution. Part of that has the heading “Sam the Maltster.”

Sam the Maltster

Sam’s Adams’ father, Deacon Samuel Adams, was a man of wealth and respect. He made his living selling malt to beer makers from a malt house in his backyard. Deacon Adams was a leader of the populist political party known as the Boston Caucus, whose members met in taverns.

Young Sam Adams entered Harvard in 1736 at 14, graduated in 1740 and received a master’s degree in 1743. He didn’t want to be a lawyer or a minister, so he tried working in Thomas Cushing’s counting house. He hated it. He ended up living at home on the income from his father’s malt house.

sam-adams-green-dragon He haunted the taverns of Boston, honing his political skills and making his political connections. His cousin John Adams noted taverns were where ‘bastards, and legislators, are frequently begotten.’

Sam didn’t become a legislator. First he was elected clerk of the market, then town scavenger, then tax collector, a position he held for nearly a decade. Later he became clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, delegate to the Continental Congress, president of the Massachusetts Senate, lieutenant governor and governor.

When Sam was 24, his father died. The next year, British naval officers kidnapped 50 men on the Boston waterfront to impress them into service. A riot ensued, the prisoners were released and Sam Adams became a journalist. He started a newspaper, The Independent Advertiser, in which he portrayed the rioters as an assembly of people defending their natural right to life and liberty.

He also organized the Sons of Liberty, which flourished in Boston’s tavern-based political culture.

In 1769, Sam Adams, James Otis, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Benjamin Edes and 350 Sons of Liberty celebrated the fourth anniversary of resistance to the Stamp Act at the Liberty Tree Tavern in Dorchester. They dined in a tent set up for the occasion and drank 45 toasts. John Adams, who was there, noted that no one got drunk (beer could be pretty weak) and grudgingly approved of the affair. “Otis and Adams are politick, in promoting these Festivals, for they tinge the Minds of the People, they impregnate them with the sentiments of Liberty.”

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Samuel Adams in 1795 when he was Governor of Massachusetts.

Most accounts of Samuel Adams focus on his political activities and rarely mention his association with brewing at all. Here, for example, is a short biography from U.S. History.org, one of the 56 on the website done for each of the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Samuel and John Adams’ names are almost synonymous in all accounts of the Revolution that grew, largely, out of Boston. Though they were cousins and not brothers, they were often referred to as the Adams’ brothers, or simply as the Adams’. Samuel Adams was born in Boston, son of a merchant and brewer. He was an excellent politician, an unsuccessful brewer, and a poor businessman. His early public office as a tax collector might have made him suspect as an agent of British authority, however he made good use of his understanding of the tax codes and wide acquaintance with the merchants of Boston. Samuel was a very visible popular leader who, along with John, spent a great deal of time in the public eye agitating for resistance. In 1765 he was elected to the Massachusetts Assembly where he served as clerk for many years. It was there that he was the first to propose a continental congress. He was a leading advocate of republicanism and a good friend of Tom Paine. In 1774, he was chosen to be a member of the provincial council during the crisis in Boston. He was then appointed as a representative to the Continental Congress, where he was most noted for his oratory skills, and as a passionate advocate of independence from Britain. In 1776, as a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence. Adams retired from the Congress in 1781 and returned to Massachusetts to become a leading member of that state’s convention to form a constitution. In 1789 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the state. In 1794 he was elected Governor, and was re-elected annually until 1797 when he retired for health reasons. He died in the morning of October 2, 1803, in his home town of Boston.

Finally, an article on the History Channel’s website, The Sudsy History of Samuel Adams, comes to pretty much the same conclusion, that Samuel Adams did inherit his father’s malting business, but if he was involved at all, his heart wasn’t in it. While it’s possible he also did brew, most likely for his household as was common in his day, there’s little, if any, compelling evidence for it. But thanks to Jim Koch, for the foreseeable future at least, his name will be inextricably linked to beer.

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Filed Under: Art & Beer, Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Massachusetts, Politics

Beer Birthday: Dann Paquette

August 16, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the 55th birthday of Dann Paquette, who along with his wife Martha Holley-Paquette, founded the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. It was a fairly unique idea. They didn’t own a brewery but they didn’t contract brew either. They rented the brewery and Dann did all the work brewing the beer. Certainly other contract beers were similar, but I liked that Pretty Things makes such a point of the distinction that it’s essentially beyond reproach. Oh, and did I mention he made some of the best beers I’ve tasted? Unfortunately, they recently decided to wind up the business and stop brewing while they decide what the next chapter of their lives will be. From the several philosophical discussions I’ve had with Dann, I consider him a kindred spirit. Their newest project is in Sheffield, England, and is called The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert. Join me in wishing Dann a very happy birthday.

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Dann with Andy Couch and Todd Alström showing off Pretty Things’ Baby Tree at the Hungry Mother, in Boston.
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Dann doing his Snidely Whiplash impersonation.
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Tomme Arthur, Will Meyers, Dann, Patrick Rue and Rob Tod.
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Dann with his business partner and wife Martha at (I think) Beer Advocate’s Craft Beer Festival.

Note: Last three photos purloined from both Dann and Martha’s Facebook pages.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Boston, Massachusetts

Beer Birthday: Aaron Mateychuk

August 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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Today is also the birthday of Aaron Mateychuk, former brewmaster of Watch City Brewing in Waltham, Massachusetts. I met Aaron during CBC week when the Craft Brewers Conference was in Boston in 2009, and we almost got together when he was in San Francisco a couple of years ago, but kept crossing paths instead. More recently, Aaron’s running the Lookout Farm Brewing & Hard Cider Co. in Natick, Massachusetts. Join me in wishing Aaron a very happy birthday.

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Giving a tour in 2009 during the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston.

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Aaron with his wife Jennifer, in a Toronado t-shirt.

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And at the Toronado.

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Aaron at his new gig.

Note: The second and third photos purloined from Facebook, and the last is from Lookout’s website.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Massachusetts

Historic Beer Birthday: Charles F. Russert

July 24, 2023 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Charles F. Russert (July 24, 1861-July 8, 1920). He was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of a brewer, and from him learned the family craft. When he was 17, in 1878, he emigrated to the U.S., originally finding work at a brewery in New York City. A few years later he became the brewmaster of A.J. Houghton & Co., which was also known as the Vienna Brewery, located in Boston, Massachusetts. He was still employed there when he passed away.

Here’s a short obituary of Russert from the Western Brewers Journal:

Here’s a short description of the brewery’s history from Curbed Boston:

From 1870 to 1918, the “Vienna” brewery churned. It took over the site of the old Christian Jutz brewery, built in 1857. Their Vienna lager, concocted from a German recipe, came into favor in the 1850s and ’60s and displaced the heavier English and Irish ales. This is the ONLY landmark brewery in Boston that’s protected by the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, Massachusetts

Historic Beer Birthday: Alonzo Gilford Van Nostrand

July 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Alonzo Gilford Van Nostrand (July 4, 1854-November 5, 1923). He was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, William Tredwell Van Nostrand bought the Bunker Hill Breweries, which had been founded in 1821, and in 1878, Alonzo Gilford became a partner and took over the brewery from his father. It was originally known as the John Cooper & Thomas Gould Brewery, and Crystal Lake Brewery, but Alonzo’s father renamed it the Wm. T. Van Nostrand & Co. Brewery in 1877, though they used the trade name Bunker Hill Breweries Brewery from 1890 on. It remained open until prohibition, but reopened briefly after repeal as the Van Nostrand Brewing Co., but lasted less than a year, closing in 1934.

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Here’s a short biography from Find-a-Grave:

Some records say he was born on Jul 3rd 1854, but on a passport application Alonzo himself says he was born on July 4th 1854 in New York. He graduated from the English High School of Boston, Mass. From 1872 to 1875 he was employed in his father’s brewery and was admitted as a partner in 1878. Following his father, he was the proprietor of the very famous Bunker Hill Breweries of Charlestown (Boston), Massachusetts, which was in business in Massachusetts from 1821 until prohibition. The plural “Breweries” does not indicate locations in different towns, but rather was used because there were two facilities in Charlestown which made beer (using bottom fermenting yeast) and ale (using top fermenting yeast). in 1879 Alonzo originated the “P & B” (Purest & Best) Trademark for his ale. He started bottling ale in the English fashion to compete with Bass. At the time, “P&B ale had a reputation second to none and was the only malt liquor used in the Massachusetts General and City Hospitals and others for the sick and convalescent.” Before closing, Bunker Hill was undoubtedly the most prolific advertiser among the Boston area breweries. Brands included Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty, Van Nostrand’s Porter, and P.B. (Purest Best) Ale, Bock, Lager, Porter, Stock Ale, and Stout. PB Ale reappeared briefly after prohibition circa 1933 or 1934, as shown on post prohibition items including a tin over cardboard sign and 2 different labels from the Feigenspan Brewery of Newark New Jersey and a label from the Dobler Brewery of Albany New York. Alonzo died in the Vanderbilt Hotel, Park Avenue and 34th Street, Manhattan, New York. He was a member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and the Bostonian Society. He traveled extensively, and in 1907 made a trip around the world. He was a member of the Merchants Club, the Boston City Club, the Eastern Yacht Club, the City Club of New York, the Beverly Yacht Club, the Sphinx Club and various other clubs and societies.

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And this is from “Who’s Who in New England,” published in 1909:

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This account of Van Nostrand is from “Herringshaw’s American Blue-book of Biography: Prominent Americans of 1919:”

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And this is a history of the Bunker Hills Breweries from “100 Years of Brewing History:”

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The Bunker Hill brewery in 1987.

This biography is from the breweriana website, Rick’s Bottle Room:

ALONZO G. VAN NOSTRAMO

Dutch forbears, can turn to the maternal line and trace his ancestry from those who settled in New England, who suffered the deprivations of the early colonists, who participated in the wars with the Indians and French and finally in the Revolution, and who helped to make this part of the United States what it is to-day. Mr. Van Nostrand’s mother’s maiden name was Mehetabel Bradlee. She is the daughter of Thomas and Ann (Howard) Bradlee, and was born in the old house at the corner of Tremont and Hollis Streets in Boston, from which her grandfather and other patriots disguised as Indians sallied forth as members of the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Her ancestor in direct line was Daniel Bradley, who came from London in 1635 in the ship Elizabeth, settling in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he was killed in the Indian Massacre of August 13, 1689.

Alonzo G. Van Nostrand was born July 4, 1854. He was not quite eighteen years of age when, graduating from the English High School, he was given a clerkship in the small brewery on Alford Street. During the three years following he worked his way through every department, gaining a comprehensive and practical knowledge of the business and its possibilities. In 1875 he was taken into partnership by his father. Thereafter the development of the plant and the business was steady and significant. It was in 1875 that the P. B. trademark was originated and adopted. A bottling building was erected, with a storage capacity of 240,000 bottles. In 1891 the brewing of Bunker Hill Lager was begun in a new brewery. Later another brew house was completed at a cost of $100,000 to meet the increasing demand. At the present time the breweries cover an entire block of four acres and there is no room for further expansion, except by increasing the height of buildings. Mr. Van Nostrand made a trip around the world in 1907. He is married and has one son now in Harvard College. Mrs. Van Nostrand’s maiden name was Jane Bradford Eldridge. She is a daughter of Captain Eldridge, of Fairhaven, and is a lineal descendant of Governor Bradford, of the Plymouth Colony, who landed from the Mayflower in 1620. Mr. and Mrs. Van Nostrand occupy the Van Nostrand residence at 482 Beacon Street. Mr. Van Nostrand holds membership in a score or more of clubs and associations, including art and historical societies in Boston and New York, and is a member of the leading yacht clubs.

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He considers that the best advice that he can offer to young men just starting in life can be tersely stated as follows:

“Be honest, and particularly with yourself. Concentrate your efforts on one thing at a time. Undertake only what you believe you can accomplish, but when once started, never give up.”

Mr. Van Nostrand has developed a group of splendid, modern brewery buildings, each equipped for a special purpose, but those buildings would be useless, that equipment would rust in idleness, were it not for the fact that, in the midst of intense competition and in resistance of the constant temptation to consolidate forces and reduce standards, he has chosen his own path, has sought to produce, without regard to cost, malt beverages that will surpass any of domestic brewing and will compare with the best of Europe, and has made the P. B. Brewery the standard by which all others in New England are gaged, or seek to be gaged, in public estimate. And that takes us back to the original point that pride of ancestry is a good thing and that business ability is better; but that, when pride of ancestry and superlative business ability are blended and aged in the vat of commercial experience, the output is inevitably as good as can be asked for, the best that can be obtained.

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Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite old beer names: “Owl-Musty Good Old Ale.” What a crazy name. Who would want something “owl-musty?” But it was obviously popular, so who knows? Hoo! Hoo!

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Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Boston, History, Massachusetts, New York

Beer Birthday: Jim Koch

May 27, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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Jim Koch, the founder of Boston Beer Co., known primarily for their Samuel Adams beers, is celebrating his 74th birthday today. Jim was instrumental, of course, in spreading the word about craft beer, especially in the early days when Samuel Adams was often the first one to be available in many pockets of the country. Join me in wishing Jim a very happy birthday.

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Daniel Bradford and Amy Dalton, both with All About Beer, sandwiching Jim Koch, and flanked by drinks writer Rick Lyke, who writes online at Lyke 2 Drink.

Me and Jim Koch
Jim and me at the annual media brunch and Longshot winner announcement at GABF in 2009.

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After judging the finals for the Longshot Homebrew Competition in Boston. From left: Jason Alstrom (from Beer Advocate), Tony Forder (from Ale Street News), Bob Townsend (a food & drinks columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Jim Koch (founder of the Boston Beer Co.), yours truly (on assignment for Celebrator Beer News), Julie Johnson (from All About Beer magazine), and Todd Alstrom (also from Beer Advocate).

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Jack McAuliffe and Jim at Boston Beer’s annual media brunch during GABF week several years ago.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Boston, Eastern States, Massachusetts, Samuel Adams

Historic Beer Birthday: Albert C. Houghton

April 13, 2023 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Albert C. Houghton (April 13, 1844-August 11, 1914). He was born in Stamford, Vermont, the eldest of nine children. He also appears to have served as a private in the Massachusetts 16th Infantry, Company C during the Civil War. His father was Andrew Jackson Houghton, who founded the A.J. Houghton & Co. Brewery with John A. Kohl in 1870, in Boston, Massachusetts. Albert took over the brewery and was its president after his father died in 1892. It was also known as the Vienna Brewery at various points of its history, before closing for good in 1918 when Prohibition went into effect.

Here is his biography, from Wikipedia:

Albert Charles Houghton was born April 13, 1844 in Stamford, Vermont to James and Chloe Houghton. He was the youngest son in a family of nine children. Houghton married Cordelia J. Smith, of Stamford, Vermont in 1866. They had four children, all of whom studied in Germany.

Houghton died as a result of injuries five days after a car accident that also killed his daughter Mary and her friend Sybil Cady Hutton. The chauffeur, John Widders, killed himself the next morning.

Houghton was engaged in various business dealings. Before he was 21, he founded the Houghton Chemical Works of Stamford with his brother J.R. Houghton. By 1868, he was doing work in real estate and operating the Parker Mill in North Adams, Massachusetts. Houghton and his family moved to North Adams permanently in 1870.

Houghton owned the North Pownal Manufacturing Company in North Pownal, Vermont. He became president of the Arnold Print Works in 1881. He was president and owner of the A.J. Houghton Brewing Company of Boston, upon the death of founder A.J. Houghton in 1892. In 1877, he bought the Williamstown Manufacturing Company. In 1878 he bought the Eclipse Mill and Beaver Mill, both cotton manufacturing mills. In 1895 he became director of the Boston & Albany Railroad. He was also a trustee of Williams College, and sat on the boards of various banks. Five days prior to his death in 1914, Houghton purchased the Mausert Block.

In 1868, Houghton was a member of the state legislature in Vermont, representing his hometown of Searsburg. When North Adams was incorporated as a city in 1895, Mr. Houghton was nominated by “all parties” and elected its first mayor.

And this account is from Ghost Adventures Wiki:

Albert Charles Houghton, born 1844 in nearby Vermont, made his fortune as president of Arnold Printworks, the largest employer in North Adams. He was elected the town’s first mayor in 1896, and the Houghton Mansion was built for his family.

On August 1st, 1914, Mr. Houghton and his daughter Mary Houghton decided to go to Bennington for a pleasure drive in a brand-new Pierce-Arrow touring car, driven by the family’s longtime chauffeur John Widders and accompanied by a doctor, Mrs. Hutton from New York. About 9:30AM, they came up what is now Oak Hill Road and came across a team of horses parked on the right side of the road. Widders turned the car left around it, but the engine started to race at a shoulder bend and the car toppled down a hillside, rolling over three times until it came to rest in an upright position in a farmer’s field. Mr. Houghton and Widders escaped with minor injuries, but Mrs. Hutton was killed instantly and Mary Houghton died of her injuries at 3:00PM.

Mr. Houghton, heartbroken over the death of his daughter, died in the mansion 10 days after the accident.

So why was Houghton’s biography on a Ghost Adventures website? Well, that’s more fully explained in yet another website article with the provocative title “Photo Tour: Investigate the haunted, historic Houghton Mansion in North Adams, Mass.” There’s also quite a few photos of the Houghton mansion there, too.

On August 1st, 1914 Widders was driving A.C. Houghton, his daughter Mary and a family friend, Sybil Hutton to Vermont. They came upon a road crew on a mountain road, so Widders swerved to the edge of the road to avoid them. The vehicle hit a soft shoulder and rolled down a steep embankment, flipping over 3 times.

Sybil died at the scene and Mary Houghton died enroute to the hospital. Both John Widders and A.C. Houghton suffered minor injuries. The next day, in the early morning hours, John Widders was found dead in the barn behind the mansion. He had committed suicide by shooting himself with a horse pistol, unable to forgive himself for the accident that he felt was his fault. Albert Houghton died just 9 days later, some say of a broken heart.

The tragic accident and subsequent suicide have had a deep and lasting effect on the property at 172 Church Street in North Adams. It is said to this day that the home is still occupied by the spirits of A.C. Houghton and his daughter Mary. Mary is usually seen on the upper-floors of the mansion, while Albert still enjoys the run of the beautiful, historic home. The tragic John Widders is also said to be seen, in the form of shadows throughout the property.

The property was eventually sold to the Masons in 1920. They soon erected a huge Masonic Temple at the rear of the house. The mansion is still in use as a Masonic Temple today and is maintained by the Lafayette Graylock Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. and the Naomi Chapter of the Eastern Star — non-profit associations that support many charitable organizations.

Portrait of A.C. Houghton by Paul K. M. Thomas, completed in 1915.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Massachusetts, Vermont

Historic Beer Birthday: Sampson Salter

March 21, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Sampson Salter (March 21, 1692-April 6, 1778) who in the early 18th century operated one of the most popular breweries in Boston. Considering it was apparently so popular, there’s very little specific information about either Salter or his brewery. Most histories seem to only mention him in passing. For example, “Historic Taverns of Boston” by Gavin Nathan, says only this:

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Boston in 1722.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Massachusetts, Pubs

The First Tavern In America

March 4, 2023 By Jay Brooks

Today, March 4, in 1634 is when the first licensed tavern in Colonial America opened in Boston, which is why today is also considered “American Tavern Day.” Given that record-keeping was spotty back then, you probably won’t be surprised that it’s not absolutely certain it was the first, although it seems to have been the first in New England at least. Apparently, there is some evidence that another may have opened earlier in Jamestown, Virginia, but I’ve not seen the evidence for that, so here we are.

The account of it opening comes from Boston magistrate John Winthrop, who wrote in his journal under the date 4 March 1634 that “Samuel Cole set up the first house for common entertainment,” this being the first public house or tavern in the colony.

This definitely not Samuel Cole’s Inn but it is typical of taverns of that time period and often shows up in stories about early taverns.

This account is from 1917, and appeared in the book “Old Boston Taverns and Tavern Clubs,” by Samual Adams Drake.

SAMUEL COLE’S INN

Samuel Cole came to Boston in the fleet with Governor Winthrop, and he with his wife Ann were the fortieth and forty-first on the list of original members of the First Church. He requested to become a freeman October 19, 1630, and was sworn May 18, 1631. He was the ninth to sign the roll of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1637 and in the same year was disarmed for his religious views. In 1636 he contributed to the maintenance of a free school and in 1656 to the building of the town house. In 1652 he was one of those chosen to receive monies for Harvard College. In 1634 he opened the first ordinary, or inn. It was situated on Washington Street, nearly opposite the head of Water Street. Here, in 1636, Sir Henry Vane, the governor, entertained Miantonomo and two of Canonicus’s sons, with other chiefs. While the four sachems dined at the Governor’s house, which stood near the entrance to Pemberton Square, the chiefs, some twenty in all, dined at Cole’s Inn. At this time a treaty of peace was concluded here between the English and the Narragansetts.

In 1637, in the month of June, there sailed into Boston Harbor the ship Hector, from London, with the Rev. John Davenport and two London merchants, Theophilus Eaton and Edward Hopkins, his son-in-law, two future governors of Connecticut. On the same vessel was a young man, a ward of King Charles I., James, Lord Ley, a son of the Earl of Marlborough (who had just died). He was also to hold high positions in the future and attain fame as a mathematician and navigator.

The Earl of Marlborough, while in Boston, was at Cole’s Inn, and while he was here was of sober carriage and observant of the country which he came to view. He consorted frequently with Sir Henry Vane, visiting with him Maverick, at Noddle’s Island, and returning to England with Vane in August, 1637.

His estate in England was a small one in Teffont Evias, or Ewyas, Wilts, near Hinton Station, and in the church there may still be seen the tombs of the Leys. He also had a reversion to lands in Heywood, Wilts.

In 1649 he compounded with Parliament for his lands and giving bond was allowed to depart from England to the plantations in America.

On the restoration of Charles II. in 1661, the Earl returned to England and in the next year was assisted by the King to fit out an expedition to the West Indies. In 1665 he commanded “that huge ship,” the Old James, and in the great victorious sea fight of June 3 with the Dutch was slain, with Rear Admiral Sansum, Lords Portland, Muskerry, and others.

He died without issue and the title went to his uncle, in whom the title became extinct, to be revived later in the more celebrated Duke, of the Churchill family.

It was shortly after the Earl’s departure that Cole was disarmed for his sympathy for his neighbor on the south, Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, and he was also fined at the same time for disorders at his house. In the following spring he was given permission to sell his house, to which he had just built an addition, and he disposed of it to Capt. Robert Sedgwick in February, 1638.

Cole then removed to a house erroneously noted by some as the first inn, situated next his son-in-law, Edmund Grosse, near the shore on North Street. This he sold in 1645 to George Halsall and bought other land of Valentine Hill.

Although it was always known as Cole’s Inn, writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow mentions it throughout his play “John Endicott,” but calls it the “The Three Mariners.” For example, from Act IV:

Now let us make a straight wake for the tavern Of the Three Mariners, Samuel Cole commander; Where we can take our ease, and see the shipping, And talk about old times.

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Bars, Boston, History, Massachusetts, New England

Historic Beer Birthday: John A. White Jr.

February 17, 2023 By Jay Brooks

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.

John from a family portrait in 1899

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

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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.

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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.

berkshire-beer-truck

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.

berkshire-brewing-sign

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