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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #5012: It’s A Sign Of Spring

June 30, 2025 By Jay Brooks

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.

Monday’s ad is for Lisner Bock Beer, which was published on June 30, 1915. This one was for the Simon Linser Brewing Co. of Zanesville, Ohio, which was originally founded in 1846. This ad ran in the Times Recorder, also of Zanesville, Ohio.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: Louis J. Hauck

June 30, 2025 By Jay Brooks

john-hauck
Today is the birthday of Louis J. Hauck (June 30, 1866-April 30, 1942). His father, John Hauck, founded the John Hauck Brewing Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1863. In 1879, Hauck bought out his partner and a few years later changed the name of the brewery. Louis became president in 1893, when his father retired. It continued as the John Hauck Brewery or the Dayton Street Brewery until prohibition. After it ended, it reopened as the Red Top Brewing Co. and continued until closing in 1956.

louis-hauck

Here’s a short history of the brewery Louis’ dad founded, from Emily Brickler at Cincinnati Historic Destinations:

John Hauck and John Ulrich Windisch teamed up to start their brewery back in 1863 located on Dayton Street near Central Avenue. They ended up purchasing five acres located close to the Miami-Erie Canal which the water was used to fill the steam boilers and provide the power for the machinery. Both guys at one point called their business the Dayton Street Brewery which was producing 10,000 barrels of beer in their first year. By 1877, they were producing 32,000 barrels and two years later he bought Windsch’s shares of the brewery.

In 1881, the brewery was producing 160,000 barrels of beer. By 1882 the brewery was officially the John Hauck Brewing Company. There was also a John Hauck Beer Bottling Company that was established that same year. John Hauck was against bottling his beer though saying that it changed the flavor of the beer but in order for him to do business with more distant markets he had to agree with the bottling of his beer. By 1884 the brewery was covering the block which was bounded by Central, Dayton, York Streets and Kewitt Alley. The only remaining building from this brewery is the bottling works which stands on Central Avenue bear Dayton Street. The Hauck and Windisch farm actually still stands as well located near Crescentville Road. Louis Hauck then had the original Hauck farm house replaced in 1904 with a mansion located at 12171 Mosteller Road.

dayton-st-brewery-2
The John Hauck Brewery, a.k.a. the Dayton Street Brewery.

A caricature of Louis J. Hauck done around 1903.

Louis-J-Hauck-caricature

John-Hauck-Beers

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: Peter Weyand

June 29, 2025 By Jay Brooks

weyand-and-jung
Today is the birthday of Peter Weyand (June 29, 1821-July 17, 1875). Along with Daniel Jung, he founded the Western Brewery on Freeman and Bank Streets in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was unable to find any photos of Weyand, and very few of the brewery when it used his name, too, but then only appears to be for a few years, from 1854-1857 according to some sources.

weyand-and-jung

Here’s Weyand obituary from “Early Nineteenth-Century German Settlers in Ohio.”

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weyand-bio-2

When it was first opened in 1857, along with partner Peter Weyand, it was called the Western Brewery (some sources say 1854). In 1879, they added a third investor, and it became the Weyand, Jung & Heilman Brewery. It 1885, with Jung apparently sole owner, it is renamed the Jung Brewing Co., which it remained until 1908, when it went back to being the Western Brewery, before closing due to prohibition in 1919.

western-brewery

In 1879, Weyand and Jung partnered with Max Hellman and operated the brewery until 1885. In 1885, following the deaths of Peter Weyand and Daniel Jung, the brewery was renamed the Jung Brewing Company. The Jung Brewing Company operated from 1885 to 1890. In 1890, the brewery was sold and merged with Cincinnati Breweries Company.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: John Schneider

June 28, 2025 By Jay Brooks

foss-schneider
Today is the birthday of John Schneider (June 28, 1849-?). I believe he was a son of Louis Schneider, who founded the Louis Schneider Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. After taking on a partner, Henry Foss, it later became known as the Foss-Schneider Brewing Co. It closed during prohibition, but reopened when it was repealed in 1933, though closed for good in 1939. While I was unable to find much information on John, it seems that he was elected second vice-president of the Brewers Association at their sixth convention in 1893.

john-schneider-ohio
Here’s a short history of the brewery, from “100 Years of Brewing:”

foss-schnedier-100yrs
foss-schneider-2

Foss-Brewery-bock

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: Leo Ebert

June 28, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Eberts
Today is the birthday of Leo Ebert (June 28, 1837-February 22, 1908). Ebert was born in Bavaria into a family of brewers, and emigrated to the U.S. and opened the Leo Ebert Brewing Co. in 1863, which also traded under the name the Eagle Brewery, at least until prohibition, when it closed for good.

OhioProgSons1905P470Ebert
Here’s a biography from Ohio Breweriana;

Leo Ebert, of Ironton, Ohio, founder and still president of the company of that name, was born in Klingenbergon-the-Main, Bavaria, June 28, 1837. The descendant of a family of brewers, he learned his trade at his father’s establishment, and began his career as a journeyman brewer in September, 1854. He worked at his trade in different places in Bavaria, Baden and Hanover, returning home in 1857, to accept a position as brewmaster in the plant of Jos. Amreihn, at Lohr, Bavaria. He remained there until May, 1859, and then left for the United States, arriving in New York July 16, of that year. He secured employment at Gillig’s brewery, remaining there until May, 1860, and then left for Cincinnati, Ohio. Unable to find work in a brewery, he labored in a brickyard at $1 per day. In the fall of 1860 he went to work at Joseph Schaller’s brewery, Cincinnati, being advanced in a short time to the position of cellarman. The foremanship of F. Beck’s brewery, in that city, being offered him, he accepted it and managed the plant until the Christmas of 1861, at which time a brewery at Ironton, Ohio, was offered for rent. Of this opportunity Mr. Ebert took advantage, and with the assistance promised and freely given by the big-hearted and generous Michael Goepper (the well-remembered father of Herman and Edward Goepper) he rented the little common-beer brewery at Ironton and started with a capital of $20; malt and hops, on credit, of Mr. Goepper.

Ironton being on the border of Kentucky and near the State of Virginia, became a very lively place during the war, and the brewery prospered. Beer was brewed Sunday and every day and sold when often not over three days old. The brewery not being well located, however, was abandoned and Mr. Ebert erected a new plant at the present site, in 1863, and began to brew lager beer. From time to time he enlarged his plant according to the wants of the trade in Ironton. He never meddled with the shipping trade, and to-day is glad that he did not, doing a nice business at home and fully enjoying the fruits of an active life.

Mr. Ebert has taken an active part in all questions pertaining to the welfare and protection of the brewing trade of the country. He joined the United States Brewers Association at the convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1863, and has been acquainted with all the old veterans of the trade. He was elected the first president of the Ohio State Brewers Association, serving from 1883 to 1887, and again after the reorganization in 1894. There has not been a legislature in session for the past thirty years in Ohio which has not found Mr. Ebert on hand whenever the trade was endangered or some relief wanted from obnoxious laws. In view of this record the United States Brewers Association did him the honor of electing him its president at the Milwaukee convention of 1895.

Mr. Ebert can say that he has been an active force in the development of the brewing industry of this country, from the so-called small or common beer for quick consumption, to the present export beers which are shipped all over the world. He remembers the time when the output of all the breweries in the United States did not equal the present output of some of our cities. He made beer in this country when there was no tax on it, while the 1900 tax on beer was three and one-half times the amount the United States paid Spain for the Philippine islands.

Mr. Ebert was married in Germany, in 1858, to Mathilde Uihlein, of Trennfurt, Bavaria. His family consists of six children five daughters, and one son (Otto) who is now manager of the brewery and is highly respected by the trade and community.

Mr. Ebert has always taken an active part in the development of the city of Ironton and has served in the capacity of president of the city council, member of the school board and board of health, his activities in this direction covering a period of seventeen years.

eagle-brewery-postcard

Here’s Ebert’s obituary from “A Standing History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio” by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel W. Williams, George O. Newman and Charles B. Taylor, published in 1916

The late Leo Ebert, who died at his home in the City of Ironton, Lawrence County, on the 22d of February, 1908, was a man of strong and upright character and marked business ability, his influence having long been potent in connection with civic and material progress in Ironton and his prominence and enterprise in the business activities involved in the operation of the extensive and modern brewery that perpetuates his name having made him one of the leading business men of this section of the Buckeye State, even as he was a loyal and progressive citizen who held inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem.

Leo Ebert was born at Kingenberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, near the City of Frankfort, and the date of his nativity was June 28, 1837, so that he was nearly seventy-one years of age at the time of his death. He was a son of Theodore and Barbara (Krutzman) Ebert, and the family name has been identified with the representative brewing enterprise of Bavaria for many generations, Theodore Ebert, father of the subject of this memoir, having fully upheld the prestige of the patronymic in this field of industry, and both he and his wife having remained in Bavaria until their death. Leo Ebert, the eldest in a family of four children, attended the excellent schools of his home town until he had attained to the age of twelve years, when he was placed by his father in the latter’s brewery, to be initiated into the mysteries of the business. For several years he was acquiring scientific and practical experience in the brewing business,—at Mannheim, Bremen and other places,—and he finally returned to the parental home and stood his chances in the conscription for the army. He was successful, however, in drawing a high number and thus was relieved of the military service.

At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Ebert wedded Miss Mathilda Urhlein, and in 1859, shortly after this important event, he immigrated with his young wife to the United States. Landing in the port of New York City, he there worked at his trade of brewer for nine months, and at the expiration of this period he came to Ohio and established his residence in the City of Cincinnati. Not being able to find immediate employment at his trade, he was compelled to work one summer in a brick yard, and finally he obtained a position as laborer in a Cincinnati brewery, his ability and fine technical knowledge leading to his promotion from his humble capacity to that of foreman within the ensuing two months. After serving for foreman of the brewery for sixteen months Mr. Ebert came to Ironton, Lawrence County, in 1861. Here he established a brewery on a modest scale, and from that time forward his success became cumulative and substantial. He continued as the executive head of the Ebert Brewing Company until his death and was one of the thoroughly loyal and liberal citizens of the Lawrence County metropolis, to the development and upbuilding of which he contributed in generous measure. He became financially interested in various other local enterprises and was known and honored as one of the prominent and influential citizens of this section of the state.

In politics Mr. Ebert originally was aligned with the republican party, but in 1872 he followed his sincere convictions and transferred his allegiance to the democratic party, with which he continued to In actively allied during the residue of his long and useful life. He was influential in the councils of his party and, as a convincing and effective public speaker, he “took the stump” in numerous campaigns. For more than seventeen years Mr. Ebert held official preferment in Ironton, where he served as a member of the city council, the board of education and the board of health. The fine intellectual ken and practical ability of Mr. Ebert marked him as eligible for office of distinguished order, and twice he received the democratic nomination for representative of his district in the United States Congress. While he was unable to overcome the large and normal republican majorities in the district, he brought out the full vote of his party and greatly reduced the natural majority of his opponents.

In the most significant and worthy interpretation of the expression, Mr. Ebert was essentially a self-made man, and he had the sagacity and judgment to make the best of the opportunities afforded in the land of his adoption, with the result that he won large and substantial success, the while he so ordered his course as to merit and receive the high esteem of all who knew him. He was a man of commanding presence, brilliant intellect and broad human tolerance and sympathy. His kindliness and generosity were unfailing, but he never permitted his benevolences to come into publicity if this could be avoided, having been one of those who “do good by stealth and blush to find it fame.” Genial and companionable, Mr. Ebert was not only an interesting conversationalist but also had remarkable gifts as an orator. For eight years Mr. Ebert served as president of the Ohio Brewers’ Association, and for two years was president of the national organization of brewers. He was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias. The death of Mr. Ebert caused deep and sincere sorrow in his home city, and both business and social circles manifested their sense of irreparable loss. The noble character of Mr. Ebert found its most perfect exemplification in the relations of his ideal home life, and his widow and children find their greatest measure of consolation and compensation in the memory of his devotion and abiding love and tenderness,—the gentleness of a strong and loyal nature.

Of the six children of Leo and Mathilda (Urhlein) Ebert the eldest is Fannie, who is now the wife of Henry Geiger, identified with the brewing business in Ironton, and they have seven children,—Mathilda, Leo, Henry. Frederick, Charles, Otto, and Bertha. Gretchen, the second daughter, first wedded Michael Rauch, who is survived by two children, Otto and Walter. After the death of her first husband Mr. Rauch became the wife of August Ebert, a brewer by vocation, and they now reside in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, no children having been born of this union. Tillie is the wife of Charles Jones, engaged in the undertaking business in Ironton; Otto N., the only son, is more specifically mentioned on other pages of this publication. Emma is the wife of Frederick Wagner, a representative farmer near Pedro, Lawrence County, and they have eight children,—Leona, Frederick, Walter, Henrietta, Harold, Ironton, Roy, and Franklin. Bertha is the wife of Dr. William C. Miller, engaged in the practice of dentistry in Ironton, and they have one son, William C, Jr.

leo-ebert-eagle

Eberts-XXPale

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: Isaac Leisy

June 26, 2025 By Jay Brooks

leisy

Today is the birthday of Isaac Leisy (June 26, 1838-July 11, 1892). He was born in Friedelsheim, Landkreis Bad Dürkheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He emigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 17, in 1855. They settled in Iowa initially, and began farming. Like several of his relatives, Isaac pursued brewing and briefly worked for a brewery in Illinois before spending several years working at the William J. Lemp Brewery in St. Louis. He then moved back to Germany for a few years, got married, and returned to the States in 1862 to start a family brewery with two of his brothers called the Leisy & Brothers Union Brewery. But Iassac wanted something bigger and in 1873, he and his brothers August and Henry Leisy bought Frederick Haltnorth’s brewery in Cleveland, Ohio, renaming it Isaac Leisy & Company.

This is the only photo I could find of Leisy, and it appears to be later in his life with his wife and family.

Lesiy’s brewery around 1890.

Here’s a short history of the Leisy Brewery by Michael Rotman in Cleveland Historical:

In 1873, Isaac Leisy and his two brothers (all originally from Bavaria in Germany) left their small brewery in rural Iowa and came to Cleveland after purchasing Frederick Haltnorth’s brewery on Vega Avenue for $120,000. Haltnorth (who was also the proprietor of Haltnorth’s Gardens — a beer garden at East 55th Street and Woodland Avenue) had purchased the brewery in 1864 from Jacob Mueller, who originally opened it in 1858. Only weeks before purchasing Haltnorth’s brewery, Isaac Leissy had been in Cleveland to attend the annual Brewer’s Congress. Leisy must have been impressed with the opportunities for growth and prosperity in Cleveland, which was quickly becoming an industrial metropolis, as compared to those that existed in rural Iowa.

In the mid-1880s, Isaac Leisy (having bought out his brothers) renovated the old brewery and expanded its operations, constructing a multi-building, 8-acre campus along Vega Avenue and increasing beer production eightfold. The Leisy Brewery aimed to be as self-sufficient as possible, and to this end the brewery’s grounds contained, for example, a bottling plant, stables for its fleet of horse-drawn delivery carriages, a cooperage, a blacksmith shop, and two 80-foot silos that held barley prior to its on-site malting. Self-sufficiency was important since competition among breweries in Cleveland at the time was fierce, with nearly twenty breweries operating in the city in 1890. To make matters more difficult for Leisy, in 1898 10 small Cleveland brewers joined the new Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co., a massive combination that signaled the brewing industry’s turn towards consolidation. Isaac’s son Otto took control of the company after his father’s death in 1892 and promptly vowed to remain independent of the new combination. He wrote to the Plain Dealer in 1898, emphatically stating that “My firm has existed in Cleveland for over a quarter of a century; has prospered by honorable methods of trade, thereby obtaining, possessing and enjoying the confidence of the same. By its former methods my company proposes to preserve and maintain its trade, and in a fair way compete with its opponent, the huge beer trust.”

Indeed, Leisy Brewing remained an independent, family-owned brewery throughout its entire history. It thrived in the decades before Prohibition, steadily increasing its sales and production. When Prohibition took effect in 1920 and brewing beer became illegal, the company made a short-lived attempt to produce non-alcoholic beverages. This proved to be unprofitable, and Leisy Brewing closed in 1923. Unlike some of Cleveland’s other breweries which had also been forced to shut down during Prohibition, Leisy returned after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. That year, Otto’s son Herbert Leisy reopened the brewery, reequipping it with new machinery to replace the equipment that had been sold off during Prohibition. Industry consolidation, however, continued to chip away at Cleveland’s small, independent breweries in the decades after Prohibition. Leisy Brewing finally closed in 1958, and its plant on Vega Avenue was demolished in the mid-1970s.

And this account is from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:

The LEISY BREWING CO., at 3400 Vega Ave. on the near west side, was once Cleveland’s largest independent brewery. It was established by Isaac Leisy (1838-92), an Iowa brewer who purchased Cleveland’s Frederick Haltnorth Brewery in association with 2 brothers; together they established Isaac Leisy & Co. in 1873. Leisy soon gained a reputation for its Premium Lager and Budweiser beers (Budweiser was not then a brand name). Leisy Brewing Co.With the departure of his brothers in 1882, Isaac Leisy as sole owner and manager substantially enlarged the brewery, replacing the old buildings with modern ones occupying 8 acres of land. Production rose from 12,000 barrels in 1873 to over 90,000 in 1890. Leisy employed 75 workers, mostly German-Americans. He died in 1892, shortly after completing a baronial brownstone mansion next to the brewery, and his son, Otto I. (1864-1914), assumed control. During Prohibition, the brewery was closed and its equipment sold, but with repeal Herbert F. Leisy (Otto’s son) reestablished the Leisy brewing dynasty. He reequipped and modernized the brewery with assistance from Carl Faller, the oldest active brewmaster in the U.S. when he died in 1939. In the 1950s, Leisy Black Dallas malt liquor and Leisy Light, Dortmunder, and Mello-Gold beer were distributed in Ohio and 5 neighboring states. To increase capacity, in early 1958 Leisy purchased the Geo. F. Stein brewery in Buffalo. Geo. S. Carter, former Leisy sales manager who had propelled PILSENER’s P.O.C. to a leading position in Ohio, returned to Leisy in June 1958 as president and a substantial owner, but all operations ceased the following year. Pointing to Ohio’s $.36-a-case tax as a major factor in its demise, Leisy was the oldest brewery in Cleveland and one of the longest surviving family-operated breweries in America when it closed.

Leisy-Brewery-tray

The Ohio Breweriana website has an excerpt from the book, Breweries of Cleveland, by Carl H. Miller, that’s all about the Leisy Brewery. Also, the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History has an entry on the brewery plus there’s a book all about the Leisy’s entitled Brewing Beer In The Forest City: Volume I, The Leisy Story that’s available directly from the publisher.

Leisy's-Special

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

Historic Beer Birthday: Magdalena Jung Sohn

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Magdalena “Lena” Jung Sohn (June 24, 1857-July 25, 1940). She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the sister of Daniel Jung, who founded the Jung Brewery in Cincinnati. She later married brewery owner William Sebastian Sohn. He was the son of Johann Georg Sohn, who co-founded the Hamilton Brewery, which was later known as the J. G. Sohn & Company Brewery. It was also known as the Clyffside Brewing Co., and used the trade name Feldsbrau. After his death in 1902, she took over the brewery and ran it until 1907, which became known as the William G. Sohn Brewing Co. and later the Mohawk Brewing Co. After prohibition, it reopened as the Clyffside Brewing. After World War 2, it was renamed the Red Top Brewing before closing for good in 1958.

She was considered one of the beer barons of Cincinnati and left a legacy

Lena Jung Sohn was one of the most influential figures in the beer industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and she wasn’t afraid to show it as president and owner of William S. Sohn Brewing Co. and later as owner and co-director of Mohawk Brewery.

Here’s a biography of her by Sean E. Andres for Queens of Queen City.

Magdalena, or “Lena,” Jung was born on 24 June 1857 to Magdalena Oeh and blacksmith Philipp Jung. Little Lena’s maternal aunt was Barbara Oeh Moerlein, second wife of Christian Moerlein. Nine of the Moerlein children were Lena’s full first cousins. Her paternal uncle Daniel owned the Jung Brewery. Her sister Katherine married Jacob Born, and her first cousin Magdalena Moerlein married Conrad Born, both Borns of the Born brewing family in Columbus. It seems that Lena was destined for the brewing business.

In 1876, Cincinnati’s most established brewer and mentor to the other brewers John George Sohn died, leaving John Kauffman to be the senior-most brewer in Cincinnati, having been in it for 31 years. Just a week after J.G.’s death, a bullet shot through the Sohns’ parlor window, narrowly missing his widowed wife Barbara and dropping beside her. Was it a person in favor of temperance? A wronged worker? A rival? A jealous family member who wants all her money? Suspiciously, it was just after the reading of the will. Sohn left his estates and house to Barbara, money to his daughters Ida, Carolina, and Mathilda, and the brewery to his sons, J.G., Jr. and William Sebastian.

William Sebastian Sohn and Magdalena “Lena” Jung married in 1877 at a time when the brewing industry was being attacked by the temperance movement, supported by the Gazette, feeding anger and fear against the brewers, amidst rumors that they used poison instead of malt and hops and that the cost per barrel would rise. Lena, already heavily exposed to the brewing industry, would come to learn the industry first-hand through her husband while also keeping house and raising four children – Walter, Alma, Elsie, and Edna.

Aside from Barbara’s near-death experience, during this time, a number of terrible events occurred at the brewery, including an engineer’s gruesome death in the fly wheel and the repeated burning of the Orpheus building. However, the Jungs and Sohns were also among the few worldwide to invest in new washing-machine technology in the late 1880s. They were always looking to innovate their business practice.

William bought out his brother’s interest and took over the business in 1900. J. G., transferring the Sohn & Co property to William S. Sohn Brewing Company in 1900 with William and Lena being co-owners. Lena’s family by blood and marriage was running the Cincinnati brewing industry at this point.

William died on 26 February 1902, leaving the brewery to Lena, and she was voted in as president. Lena was actively using her name as President of the William S. Sohn Brewing Company, after Marianne Kauffman hid hers under initials and women before her staying out of being mentioned at all. Lena didn’t mind the spotlight and enjoyed the labors of the beer baronesses before her. She did her best to take care of her employees and show them they were like their own family. If an employee or their family died, she ensured that the entire brewery pitched in for donations of some sort as well as her family.

In addition to making a happier, more caring place to work, Lena continued the tradition of making the brewery state-of-the art. In 1904, the brewery began constructing a new bottle shop, “modern in every detail and the machinery and equipment of the latest and most improved on the market.” Lena also began selling off what didn’t make the company money. That meant selling off some of the enterprises they owned—like a saloon, grocery, and boarding house. What she couldn’t sell, she rented out instead, becoming an effective landlord. This allowed her to earn income, even after stepping down as president of the brewery in 1907 with George H. Osterfield replacing her. Her son Walter remained as secretary and treasurer. Lena remained as the owner of the brewery and its properties, even during its transfer to new presidents and new names.

Alma, Elsa, and Edna lived with their mother at Marion Ave and Winding Way and later 212 Ludlow Avenue, but they enjoyed trips to Atlantic City. After all, they were women of a more unsavory reputation, being in the brewing industry, so it was a fitting city for vacations. At home, Lena also invested in new (and most definitely loud) technology, installed by Pogue’s. She was an early adopter of Williams Oil-o-Matic Heater, developed by the company because of the oil shortage during WWI. The heater burned used automobile engine oil.

Lena’s oldest daughter Alma married a longtime friend on 29 January 1912, distiller Robert C. Heinzman, who patented many inventions to innovate the distilling industry throughout his life, perfect for a family that was always looking for innovations. Robert moved in with the family and continued living with them, even after Alma’s death from a pulmonary embolism on 29 October 1918, a little over a month after her infant died.

The family deeply grieved over the loss of Alma, and Prohibition brought about even more change the following year. The family had to adjust to life during Prohibition, but they only had to change how they appeared. The Mohawk Brewing Company continued to make near-beer and full beer under Walter’s supervision, until 3 August 1925 when the brewery was raided by federal agents. This forced Walter to step down from an active role in the brewery, and the brewery continued on as an ice house and malt beverage makers.

When Prohibition ended, the owners of Mohawk Brewery didn’t want to re-open. Lena was old, and Robert was retired. Shareholders voted to dissolve the Mohawk Brewery, and co-directors Lena, Robert, and Norbert J. Sprengard dissolved the brewery on 1 June 1936, and sold it to the owners of what would become Clyffside Brewing. This was the end of Lena’s business ventures. Lena, after some vacationing to Atlantic City with her daughters, died at her home on 24 July 1940, at the age of 83. Walter lived until 1962. Edna and Elsa lived in Cincinnati and Atlantic City until their respective deaths in 1979 and 1981.

When the beer baronesses married inside the alcohol industry, they could continue with their children. But when the women in the alcohol industry didn’t marry, there was no one in the family to continue the brewing business. As a brewing woman, you had a limited selection, being an improper lady. That meant you had to marry someone who didn’t care about social status, marry another man in the brewing industry, or not marry at all. Many of the women chose or were forced into that last option. Because Lena’s lineage did not continue with her children, neither did her direct family’s stronghold on the brewing industry, severely exacerbated by Prohibition. The men may have made the industry, but it was the women who kept it going.

Here’s another short biography from Tavern Trove

Magdalena (Lena) Jung Sohn, one of the “Beer Barons of Cincinnati” was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. As the niece of Daniel Jung of the Jung Brewery Lena Jung was already Cincinnati brewery royalty. In 1877 she married Johann Georg ‘J.G.’ Sohn, who was a member of another Cincinnati brewing dynasty. When her husband died in 1902 Magdalena took over the expansive operation and renamed it the Mohawk Brewing Company and ran it successfully until Prohibition shut it down in 1920. Magdalena (Jung) Sohn died on July 24, 1940. She was 83 years of age.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio

Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Foss

June 23, 2025 By Jay Brooks

foss-schneider
Today is the birthday of Henry Foss, a.k.a. John Henry Foss (June 23, 1817-August 13, 1879). Foss was born in Hanover, Germany but emigrated to Ohio. In 1842, he married Elizabeth Rumpeing, but she passed away in 1854 after twelve years of marriage. He then married Adelaide Foss later the same year, and they had 13 children together. In 1867, he became involved with the Louis Schneider Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, becoming a partner and it eventually became known as the Foss-Schneider Brewing Co. It closed during prohibition, but reopened when it was repealed in 1933, though closed for good in 1939.

henry-foss

Here’s a biography of Foss, from the “History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio: Their Past and Present Including Early Development, Antiquarian Researches, Their Aboriginal History, Pioneer History, Political Organization, Agricultural, Mining and Manufacturing Interests, A History of the City, Villages and Townships, Religious, Educational, Biographies, and Portraits of Pioneers and Representative Citizens, Etc.,” which was published in 1894.

Henry Foss was born in Germany, June 23, 1817, and died in Cincinnati August 13, 1879. After attending the common schools until he was between thirteen and fourteen years of age he was given to understand that from that time he would be expected to “paddle his own canoe,” so he at once commenced the life of a farm laborer, and, to the credit of his industrious habits, it is said that he followed this kind of work faithfully until he was nearly twenty years old. But at that time he somehow or other began to get dissatisfied with the result of his six years’ hard work, so he thought he would “take stock” to see how much he had made, and calculated how much he would be worth in forty years, if he continued at the same business at the same wages — about twelve or fourteen dollars a year. He had nothing at the start; he had wasted no money; had only kept himself clothed, and still he had nothing to show for all his labor but a few dollars, barely sufficient to take him over the sea to the New World. Yet, nevertheless, he was determined to go with a party that was about to leave the village for America. Leaving home on the tenth day of May 1837, the party, consisting of himself and three others, traveled by wagon to Bremen, where they took passage on the ship “Richmond” bound for Richmond, Va. After paying his passage money he had but five cents left, so that it was no trouble for him to conclude to rely solely upon his efforts in the New World of the West — in fact, there was no choice in the matter. After being at sea for several days they encountered a storm of great severity, during which they lost their mainmast and much of their rigging, and were driven back so far that the distance lost was not regained for fourteen days. Besides the above disasters the cook’s galley, with all the cooking apparatus, was swept clean overboard, so that it was three days after before they had a particle of anything warm to eat or drink. At last, however, after twenty-two days. they landed safely at Richmond, Va., our subject having, we suspect, had enough of “life on the ocean wave” to satisfy him, as he never re-crossed it.

After looking around for a day or two, Mr. Foss went to work on the James River canal, at seventeen dollars per month and board. At this he continued for about seven months, when, having saved something like one hundred dollars, he thought he was rich at once, and would soon buy all the land he wanted. Like thousands of his countrymen he judged that the West was the place for him; so he joined a party of twenty-two possessed of the same idea. Clubbing together, the party procured a large team, and started over the mountains to the Kanawha canal, by which they arrived at Wheeling, where they took steamer for Pittsburgh, and at once proceeded down the river to Cincinnati. On landing here Mr. Foss found things so dull that he determined to proceed to St. Louis. Finding matters much the same there, he began to think he had made a mistake in coming west; but he passed over into Illinois with the expectation of going to work on a turnpike at Belleville. It was so swampy there, however, that almost every one who worked there was seized with fever and ague. In this emergency he returned to St. Louis, and from there again came to Cincinnati, where he was advised by his friends to go to work on the Whitewater canal, at Brookville, some forty miles from the city. He walked this distance with his knapsack on his back, and at once began to work at seventeen dollars per month and board. At the end of three months he went to Cincinnati. and sent fifty dollars home to his parents to help smooth the path of life for them. After working on the canal two months longer he was made foreman of a squad of quarry men; while at this work he conceived the idea of learning the stone-cutting trade, and after instructing another in his duties, he went to the yard to learn the trade. In nine mouths the locks of the canal were completed, at the end of which time Mr. Foss came to the city, and was employed at dressing stone until he saw an opening at the locks of the Licking canal, Kentucky. After working there about six mouths he commenced as a stone mason, and having a good eye for mechanics he soon proved an efficient workman, and thereafter could either cut or lay stone. After continuing in this way two years, during which he had sent $500 home to bring out the whole family, and saved $500 besides, on the arrival of his parents and his brothers and sisters they found that Henrv had rented and furnished a house complete for them to go into.

With the $500 in hand he commenced business for himself on a small scale, which he gradually increased from year to year until he employed from fifty to sixty journeymen, and nearly as many laborers. In 1848-49, in connection with Henry Atlemeier, he built the House of Refuge; and while thus engaged the cholera was raging so fearfully that the funerals moving from the city to the cemetery formed a constant procession. The architect of their job. Henry Walters, and many of their workmen fell victims to the epidemic. In 1851 he built the foundations of the Hamilton and Dayton depot, which consumed some 5,000 perches of stone, and completed the job in about three months. He built the church on the corner of Mound and Barr, and adjoining gymnasium in 1857-58, also the foundations of St. Philomena church on Congress and Butler streets; St. Joseph’s, on Linn; Holy Trinity, on Fifth; likewise that of the large block on the corner of Ninth and Walnut; and the church of the Holy Angels (all of stone), Fulton; and the south wing of Bishop Purcell’s seminary, besides a vast number of dwelling houses. He continued this business until 1856, when he sold off his teams and building apparatus generally, and built a distillery on the Plank road, now Gest street, for himself and his partner, with a capacity of 900 bushels per day. After its completion his partner was somewhat alarmed at their great undertaking, so, to make the matter lighter, sold a quarter interest to two other gentlemen, retaining a quarter himself. After conducting the business together for about three months, hard times came upon them, and Mr. Foss’ original partner again became alarmed for fear all would be lost; but not so Mr. Foss, who at once bought the interest of that gentleman, and continued the business with the owner of the fourth interest. The scale soon turned in their favor, and, after eight years of success, having considerable surplus money, Mr. Foss bought the interest of his partners, and carried on the business alone for about two years, then sold out to Mr. John Pfeffer, concluding that he would work a little in his garden, and take things easy the rest of his life. But to his surprise he did not know what to do with himself, and, after laying off about two months, he came to the conclusion that doing nothing was the hardest work in the world. He then formed a partnership with Adam Heitbrink for the purpose of building the foundation of the city Work House. After this was finished he formed a partnership with William P. Snyder and John Brenner, and went into the manufacture of. lager beer, ‘ the capacity of their works at the commencement being about sixty-five barrels per day. This was in December, 1867; in the spring of 1868 it became necessary to enlarge their works, and their business continued to increase. The further connection of Mr. Foss with the great brewing establishment, now known as the Foss-Schneider Brewing Company, is contained in the personal history of his son and successor, John H. Foss, president of that company, and which is contained in this volume.

Mr. Henry Foss was married in 1842, to Miss Elizabeth Rumpeing, a German lady, who was every way worthy to be his wife. Of this union five children were born, all of whom, together with their mother, have died, the latter in 1854. Mr. Foss was married again, during the same year, to Miss Adelaide TeVeluwe, of Zutfen Lechtenforde, Holland, and by her eight children were born to him, seven of whom—John H., William, Edward, Philomena, Lizzy, Rosey and Bernidena—are still living, as is also Mrs. Foss.

foss-schneider-2

Here’s a short history of the brewery, from “100 Years of Brewing:”

foss-schnedier-100yrs

Foss-Brewery-bock

Nonpareil-Beer-Labels-Foss-Schneider-Company

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, History, Ohio

Beer In Ads #4999: Moerlein Bock Beer

June 15, 2025 By Jay Brooks

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 ad is for Christian Moerlein’s Bock Beer. The ad was published on June 15, 1907. This one was for the Christian Moerlein Brewing Co., which was located in Cincinnati, Ohio and was originally founded in 1853. This ad ran in The Chattanooga Star, also of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Ohio, Tennessee

Historic Beer Birthday: Johann George Moerlein

June 8, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Johann George Moerlein, who went by “George” (June 8, 1852-August 31, 1891). He was the son of Christian Moerlein, who founded the Christian Moerlein Brewery in 1853, when his son was one year old. He later joined the firm and was the vice-president at the time of his untimely death at 39.

And while he was obviously involved in the family business for all of his life, he’s perhaps more well-known for something else.

Christian-Moerlein-Beer1890

In 1884, he “got the idea to take a trip around the world. Ten days later he was on his way to traveling a total distance of 35,194 miles by railroad and steamer. Throughout his trip, Moerlein wrote letters documenting his journey which were published in the local papers, The Commercial Gazette and the Volksblatt. The Krebs Lithographing Company of Cincinnati created 110 color illustrations, chosen from a collection of over 800 original pictures gathered during Moerlein’s travels. In 1886 George Moerlein’s “A Trip Around the World” was published.”

George Moerlein (seated) in India.

While having little to with their brewery, the book is still fascinating. Here’s a few more of the illustrations from it:

Singapore.
Constantinople.
Japan.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: History, Ohio, Travel

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