Historic Beer Birthday: Conrad Windisch

March 26, 2026 By Jay Brooks 5 Comments

Today is the birthday of Conrad Windisch (March 26, 1825-July 2, 1887) who was a co-founder, along with Gottlieb Muhlhauser of the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewing Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, which was known as the “Lion Brewery.” He was originally a partner in the more famous Christian Moerlein Brewery, but in 1866 was bought out by Moerlein. During the same period, he also owned and ran the C. Windisch & Co. Brewery, located in the Covington, Kentucky, but it closed after just one year, in 1862. After leaving the Christian Moerlein Brewery, he partnered with Muhlhauser on the Lion Brewery, which remained open until prohibition.

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

Brewer. A native of Germany, he was born in the village of Eggloffstein in Bavaria. At the age of 13, after an education in the common schools, he began to work full time for his father, Ulrich Windisch, at the family’s brewery and farm. During the German Revolution of 1848, he left his homeland and emigrated to America. Windisch first settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and worked for a brewer for a brief period of time before moving west to work at breweries in Belleville, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri. He eventually came to Cincinnati in 1850 and found similar work. Windisch worked for Koehler at the Buckeye Street Brewery for three years until he became a partner with Christian Moerlein in 1853. He also started his own brewery in 1862 and sold his interest to Moerlein in 1866 to devote his time to his own interests. With his brother-in-law, Gottlieb Muhlhauser, as well as Muhlhauser’s brother, Henry, the Muhlhauser-Windisch & Company was established. It was more commonly known as the Lion Brewery because of two stone carved lions atop each of the two gables at the entrance. The business soon became one of Cincinnati’s foremost brewers. They were among the first to introduce ice machines and was the city’s second largest during the 1880’s. In 1854, Windisch married Sophia Wilhelmina Kobmann, who was also from his native village and lived on an estate in present day Fairfield in Butler County, Ohio. He died at his residence in 1887 when he was 62 years old. The brewery continued with his son, William A. Windisch and later with another son, Charles Windisch and remained in operation until 1920 when Prohibition caused the doors to close.

Their brewery became known as the “Lion Brewery” because of the two lions that rested atop the brewery’s gables and many of their beer names used a lion in the name and on the labels.

The History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio has a short history of the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewing Company:

Paired Creation also has a history of the brewery.

Beer In Ads #5180: Bring Back My Gam Bock To Me

March 23, 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.

Monday’s first ad is for Gambrinus Bock Beer, which was published on March 23, 1951. This one was for the August Wagner Breweries, Inc., of Columbus and Chillicothe, Ohio and was founded in 1906 as the Gambrinus Brewing & Bottling Co. This ad ran in The Springfield News-Sun , of Springfield, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5178: Wow! The Public Is Really Getting A Boot Out Of Gold Bond Double Bock Beer

March 22, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Sunday’s first ad is for Gold Bond Double Bock Beer, which was published on March 22, 1950. This one was for Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co., of Cleveland, Ohio, and was founded in 1852 by C. W. Schmidt and Robert Hoffmann. This ad ran in the Cleveland Press, of Cleveland, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5174: The Spring Mellow-Dy! Bock Beer Is Here

March 20, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Friday’s first ad is for Royal Canadian Bock Beer, which was published on March 20, 1937. This ad was for a bar called Stone’s Grill (on 61 S. 6th St.), presumably of Zanesville, Ohio, since that’s where the newspaper was published. I couldn’t find a brewery listed on the ad and nothing specific turned up in searching for the Royal Canadian Bock name, and in fact the only mention of the beer I could find was a few more ads for Stone’s Grill, although there was another Stone’s Gill listed in Portsmouth, Ohio, and I’ve found numerous other locations throughout Ohio. But the beer doesn’t show up anywhere else. This ad ran in the Zanesville Signal, of Zanesville, Ohio.

Historic Beer Birthday: Joseph Schaller

March 19, 2026 By Jay Brooks 6 Comments

Today is the birthday of Joseph Schaller (March 19, 1812-June 25, 1888), Schaller was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, but appears to have emigrated to Cincinnti, Ohio in 1837. He was a co-owner on the Eagle Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was known by various names names, such as the Schaller & Schiff Brewery and later the Schaller-Gerke Brewery. In addition, before he retired from brewing, he helped his three sons start the Schaller Brothers Main Street Brewery.

Accounts seem to vary about his involvement, and especially with the names of the brewery as they changed, but here’s the timeline from the Queen City Chapter’s page, entitled Cincinnati Brewing History-Preprohibition 1811-1919:

1829: William Lofthouse and William Attee operate THE EAGLE BREWERY located on Fourth Street from 1829 until 1843. William Lofthouse becomes the sole proprietor of the brewery after William Attee dies in 1843 and he operates the brewery until his own death in 1850. His widow leases the brewery to Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff who continue to use the EAGLE BREWERY name and operate the facility from 1850 to 1857.
1854: Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff purchased land on the Miami-Erie Canal near Plum Street and construct a new brewery which they operate from 1854 to 1866. They continued to use the EAGLE BREWERY name. In 1866 Schaller buys out Schiff and he becomes a partner with John Gerke. The brewery name becomes SCHALLER & GERKE, EAGLE BREWERY. They continue in business together until 1882.
1861: Joseph Schaller buys out his partner, Johann Schiff, and continues to operate THE EAGLE BREWERY. In 1866, John Gerke becomes a partner in the business and the brewery operates until 1882.
1882: After John Gerke‘s death, his son, George, takes his place in the brewery and the business is incorporated as THE GERKE BREWING CO. In 1904, a new building is erected but is soon sold to the French-Bauer Dairy and the Gerke Brewing Co. is out of business by 1912.

For example, Lagering Cellar 1861 has some Gerke Brewery History that includes Schaller.

Joseph Schaller came to America as a young man. Working as a laborer in Cincinnati and on the Erie Canal, he saved his money to start a vinegar works. He purchased the old Lofthouse Brewery (located on 4th Street) with Johann Schiff in 1850. While not trained as a brewer, he hired well. They quickly grew the business and built the Eagle Brewery at the corner of Plum and Canal in 1854.
The brewery was located at the Plum Street bend of the Miami & Erie Canal, and had large arched windows unique to Cincinnati breweries. These windows are duplicated in the doors to the elevator room you came through. Partnering with John Gerke, he grew the brewery to be one of the largest and most modern in the city, producing about 140,000 barrels of beer a year. Before retiring, he helped his three sons start the Schaller Brothers Main Street Brewery. Gerke continued brewing until 1912. Brewery was replaced with the French Bauer Ice Cream Factory in 1917, which still exists as the Court Street Center building today.
Gerke continued brewing until 1912.
Schaller & Schiff, Eagle Brewery (4th Street) 1850 – 1857
Schaller & Schiff, Eagle Brewery 1854 – 1866
Schaller & Gerke, Eagle Brewery 1866 – 1882
Gerke Brewing Company 1882 – 1912

The first brewery on this corner was the Eagle Brewery from 1854 to 1866, owned by Joseph Schaller and Johann Schiff. In 1866, Schiff left the company and John Gerke joined in. The name was changed to Schaller & Gerke, Eagle Brewery and they continued together until 1882. The Schallers left the business then to purchase the Main Street Brewery and after the death of his father John, George Gerke continued the business at Canal and Plum Streets.

Founded in 1854 as the Eagle Brewery closer to the Ohio River, Joseph Schaller and John Gerke built a new brewery at the bend of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1866. Beer was brewed there until 1910. The brewery equipment was sold at auction October 15, 1913.

But the Schaller Brothers Main Street Brewery continued long after Joseph passed away, and they kept the Main Street Brewery name until 1896, after which time it was called the Schaller Brewing Co. After closing for prohibition, it reopened in 1933 and remained in business until 1941.

Beer In Ads #5169: The Best Of The Bocks

March 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Tuesday’s second ad is for Gold Bond Double Bock Beer, which was published on March 17, 1953. This ad was for the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1904 as the Fishel Brewing Co. This ad ran in The Plain Dealer , also of Cleveland, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5168: Hey! It’s Bock Beer Day To-Day!

March 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Tuesday’s first ad is for Nick Thomas Bock Beer, which was published on March 17, 1936. This ad was for the Miami Valley Brewing Co. of Dayton, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1866 by John Wager. This ad ran in The Dayton Daily News , also of Dayton, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5166: Hey! It’s Bock Beer Day To-Morrow!

March 16, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Monday’s first ad is for Nick Thomas Bock Beer, which was published on March 16, 1936. This ad was for the Miami Valley Brewing Co. of Dayton, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1866 by John Wager. This ad ran in The Dayton Daily News , also of Dayton, Ohio.

Historic Beer Birthday: Robert Meinrad Juerze

March 15, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Robert Meinrad Juerze (March 15, 1847-?). In 1889, he was named president of the Gerke Brewing Co., in Cincinnati, Ohio. Unfortunately, that’s it for the information I could find about Juerze. No bio, no photos, just a line in an old trade magazine that included his birthdate.

The Eagle Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was known by various names names, such as the Schaller & Schiff Brewery and later the Schaller-Gerke Brewery and finally the Gerke Brewing Co. Here’s a timeline from the Queen City Chapter’s page, entitled Cincinnati Brewing History-Preprohibition 1811-1919.

Founded in 1854 as the Eagle Brewery closer to the Ohio River, Joseph Schaller and John Gerke built a new brewery at the bend of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1866. Beer was brewed there until 1910.

The brewery equipment was sold at auction October 15, 1913.

Historic Beer Birthday: Louis Burger

March 15, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Louis Burger (March 15, 1842-February 13, 1901). He was born in Wurtemburg, Germany (though another source says Heilbrunn, Bavaria), but moved to America in 1863, when he was 21, and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, A few years later, in 1879, he started working in the malting business, but shortly thereafter he formed a partnership with his brother Charles and co-founded the Burger Brewing Co. It became one of the more successful breweries in Cincinnati, and survived prohibition, but in 1973, announcing its closure, Hudepohl Brewing bought the brand.

Here’s a short biography, containing some conflicting information, from Find-a-Grave:

Beer Baron. A native of Germany, he emigrated to America and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1874, he established the Burger Brewing Company and operated the brewery until his death in 1901 when he was 67 years old. The brewery continued as such until it closed for good in 1973, minus the prohibition years from 1919 through 1933.

Given its early success, there’s a surprising lack of information about the brewery’s history before prohibition, even in books on Cincinnati’s brewing history. Why that might be seems unclear, but certainly part of the problem is that burger is not only a common name, but also shares its name with a popular sandwich, making searching more difficult.