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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Historic Beer Birthday: John Thomas

February 1, 2021 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

welde-&-thomas
Today is the birthday of John Thomas (February 1, 1847-January 4, 1899). In 1884, his later business parter founded a brewery in Philadelphia, the following year Thomas joined the business, and they called in Welde & Thomas, later adding “Brewing Company” to the name. In 1904, it was consolidated with several other breweries into the Consumers Brewers Co., which remained in business until closed by prohibition in 1920. The brewery reopened after repeal in 1933 as the Trainer Brewing Co., but only lasted one year.

John-Thomas-photo

Here’s Thomas’ obituary from the American Brewers Review in 1899:

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This biography was printed in the “The Columbian Exposition and World’s Fair Illustrated,” from 1893:

John Thomas
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John-Thomas-bio-2

John-Thomas

In a biography of his partner John Welde, Thomas naturally gets more than a mention:

In 1884, John Welde, a German immigrant, established a brewery in Philadelphia on the corner of Broad and Christian Streets. A year later, he formed a partnership with John Thomas, a Philadelphia native, who had been a partner in another brewery. Together they created Welde and Thomas, a brewing firm that was later reorganized into the Welde and Thomas Brewing Company. They moved to a new location and modernized the facility with innovative equipment, growing the brewing capacity of the plant to 50,000 barrels per year. In March 1897, Welde and Thomas, along with five other breweries were consolidated under the title of the Consumer’s Brewing Company. The combined breweries were able to produce approximately 300,000 barrels a year.

welde-thomas-stock

This description is from an Advertising Print for Welde and Thomas Brewing Co., created around 1895, and now in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

This colorful framed print, an ad for the Welde and Thomas Brewing Company, of Philadelphia, also commemorates the 1895 America’s Cup race between the American yacht Defender and the British Valkyrie III. Imagery of the yacht race dominates the print and the American vessel, the ultimate victor in the match, holds primacy of place. Defender’s full sails provide a dramatic canvas for the names of two of the company’s products: Penn and Sanitas Beers. These brands, along with Quaker, were among those brewed by Welde and Thomas.

Three detailed insets border the print. One shows “Penn’s Brewery of 1682” in Pennsbury, Buck’s County; another shows the Welde and Thomas buildings at Juniper and Fitzwater Streets in Philadelphia; and the third is an image of William Penn holding a bottle of beer. The ad deftly aligns Welde and Thomas beer to icons of American success: the very founding of Philadelphia and its early embrace of brewing as well as an American yacht’s triumphant defense of the America’s Cup.

German immigrant John Welde established a brewery in Philadelphia in 1884, forming a partnership with Philadelphia businessman John Thomas the following year. In 1886, they moved to the Juniper and Fitzwater Streets location and invested in new equipment, increasing their capacity dramatically. In 1897, Welde and Thomas consolidated operations with five other breweries, organizing under the name Consumer’s Brewing Company. Thomas died in 1899 and Welde in 1901.

welde-and-thomas-poster

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

Historic Beer Birthday: Christian Hess

January 30, 2021 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

weisbrod-hess
Today is the birthday of Christian Hess (January 30, 1848-July 27, 1912). Hess was born in Germany, and that’s about all I could find out about the man who co-founded, along with George Weisbrod, the George Weisbrod & Christian Hess Brewery, usually shortened to just the Weisbrd & Hess Brewery, and also known as the Oriental Brewery.

christian-hess-cartoon

Both Weisbrod and Hess were German immigrants, and originally their intention was simply to make enough beer to supply their Philadelphia saloon on Germantown Avenue. Some sources say they began as early as 1880, but most put the founding at 1882. The brewery was going strong until closed by prohibition. They managed to reopen in 1933, but closed for good in 1938.

weisbrod-hess-1905
A brewery poster from 1905.

In 1994, Yards Brewing renovated the old Weisbrod & Hess Brewery, but after the partners split, it became the Philadelphia Brewing Co., while Yards under the direction of Tom Kehoe moved to another location.

phillybeerwk08-47
In the Philadelphia Brewing Co. tasting room upstairs, an old photo of the employees of the original brewery on the premises, Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company.

Both Philadelphia Weekly and Hidden City Philadelphia have stories about the brewery and efforts to re-open it.

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The brewery two years closing, in 1940.

The brewery was designed by famed local architect Adam C. Wagner, and this is an illustration of his design for the brewery from 1892.

W&H-1892

OrientalBreweryPhila1899
An ad from 1899.

Factory-Scene-1912-calendar-Signs-Pre-Pro-Weisbrod-Hess-Brewing-Co
And a calendar from 1912.

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

Historic Beer Birthday: John Roehm

January 5, 2021 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

john-roehm
Today is the birthday of John Roehm (January 5, 1849-June 9, 1907). He was born in Bavaria, Germany, but moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1888 and bought the brewery of Anton Stroebele (founded in 1870), renaming it the John Roehm Brewery, but also traded under the Consumers Brewing Co., at least until 1909. After Roehm’s death in 1907, his brewery appears to be sold to Henry Hess and went through several name (and probably ownership) changes until lastly it was known as the Otto Erlanger Brewing Co. from 1837 to 1951, when it closed for good. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find out much info about Roehm or the brewery, not even a photo of him.

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This is Roehm’s obituary from the Brewers Journal:

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Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, History, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Flach

November 23, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

flach
Today is the birthday of Henry Flach (November 23, 1835-November 13, 1896). He was born in Hessen, Germany and emigrated to American when he was 16, in May of 1852. In 1880, Flach and a partner, John Henzler, bought Morris Perot’s Brewery in Philadelphia (which had opened just two years before, in 1878), who operated it as Henzler & Flach until 1885, when they changed the name to the Eagle Brewery. In 1888, Henry bought out Henzler and brought his two sons into the business, calling it Henry Flach & Sons. When Henry Flach dies in 1986, his sons sold the business the following years and the new owners called it American Brewing Company before it closed for good in 1920 because of Prohibition.

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Henry Flach and his wife, Marie Rosalie Frederica Hartung.

This is his obituary from the Public Ledger on November 14, 1896:

Henry Flach, a well-known brewer of this city, died yesterday at his residence, 1500 N. 52nd St. Mr. Flach had been complaining of illness for a year past and three months ago underwent an operation, from the effects of which he, for a while, appeared to have nearly recovered.

Mr, Flach was born in Neuenhien, Hessen, Germany, November 23, 1835. He came to this country in 1851 and since resided in Philadelphia. In 1860, he opened a saloon, and in 1873 entered into a partnership and bought the brewery of Leimbach and Mohr, 32nd and Master Sts., the business being conducted under the name of Henzler and Flach until the death of Mr. Henzler in 1885. A year later Mr. Flach took his sons into partnership, the firms name being changed to Flach and Sons. He is survived by a widow, three sons and four daughters.

Mr. Flach was a Mason and was a member of the William B, Schneider Lodge, No. 419; Oriental Chapter, No 183; St. Johns Commandery No. 4; and among other organizations to which he belonged are the 34th Ward Republican Club, Philadelphia Lodge, No. 30 D. O. H.; Belmont Lodge, No.19, K of P; Philadelphia Rifle Club, the Bavarian Society, the Gambrinus Society and the Lager Beer Brewery Association.”

Henry is buried at the Northwood Cemetery in Phila., located off Broad St. a short distance from Temple University. His burial plot is shared with Philip Spaeter, who, according to Edna Godshall, was Henry’s best friend and the reason Henry named his last son Philip. Philip Spaeter worked as a cooper and made kegs for the brewers. Philip named his son, Philip Henry in honor of Henry Flach.

In a letter to Richard Flach, Muriel Flach Eldridge, granddaughter of Henry, writes that there were 33 carriages in Henry’s funeral procession.

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This is Flach’s biography from Find-a-Grave:

Henry was born on Nov 23, 1835 in house #5 in Neuenhain, a small village located southwest of Kassel in northern Hesse. He was baptized in the protestant church on 1 Jan 1836 and was confirmed in 1849. His godfather was Henrich Ehl who was a teacher in Bischhausen.

His father Johannes was an innkeeper, musician, brewer, farmer, and member of the village council. Johannes died at age 44 in 1847 on Henry’s 12th birthday. Henry’s grandfather was Conrad Flach, a blacksmith from the village of Zimmersrode which is about two miles west of Neuenhain. Conrad had died 15 years before Henry’s birth. Conrad was the son of Nicholaus Flach.

On May 6, 1852, at the age of 16, Henry Flach arrived at the port of Philadelphia, Pa. He came from Bremen, Germany aboard the ship Louise Marie. The passenger list had his name spelled (Heinrich Floch) and his occupation was listed as a farmer. Henry became a citizen on September 28, 1860 and his home in Germany was listed as the “Elector of Hesse-Cassel” and his occupation in the 1860 census says he was a woodturner.He married Rosalie Hartung, who arrived in USA from Saxony, Germany in 1855.

In the Phila. census of 1860, Henry is listed as Henry (HOGG) living in the 1st ward of Phila.on June 11, 1860. His occupation is listed as a wood turner. He hailed from Hesse Cassel and wife Rosalie shows as being from Saxony. Daughter Anna (age 5) shows born in Pa. Son Henry was age 3 and also born in Pa. Son George was 1 and reported born in Delaware.

1861 At the onset of the Civil War, President Lincoln called for 72,000 soldiers to serve for 3 months. Henry joined the 1st Delaware infantry in Wilmington, DE and served his 3-month term at which time he went back to civilian life in Philadelphia. Henry’s younger brother George enlisted in Sep 1861 and was wounded at the battle of Sharpsburg aka Antietam

  • In 1863, Henry Flach was living at 422 Morris St. in Philadelphia. His occupation is “Lager beer”
  • In 1864 and 1865 Henry had a tavern at 1514 S. 4th St. in Phila.
  • In 1866, Henry and brother George are listed at 433 Enterprise St as machinists.
  • In 1867, Henry has a saloon at 1206 S. 4th St.
  • In 1868 and 1869, Henry is listed in Gopsills Directory as having a “saloon” at 1206 4th St.

In Nov. 1869 Henry petitioned for membership into the William B Schneider lodge as a mason and on Dec 21, 1869 Henry was initiated. On Dec 21 he was a 1st degree. On Jan. 2, 1870 he was a 2nd degree. He became a Master on Feb. 15, 1870 and passed to the Chair Dec. 12, 1871.

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Eagle Brewery.

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Henry (center) with his two sons.

And this short obituary is from the American Brewers Review from 1897:

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Lu-Lu-Special-Brewing--Labels-Henry-Flach

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Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Germany, History, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Beer Birthday: Don Russell

November 13, 2020 By Jay Brooks 2 Comments

bsm joe-sixpack
Today is fellow beer writer Don Russell’s 65th birthday. Don wrote a beer column for the Philadelphia Daily News under the nom de plume Joe Sixpack. He also writes a blog online, Beer Radar. His most recent book, What the Hell Am I Drinking?, was published a few years ago and can still be ordered directly from the author. Don also became the first executive director of the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild, the trade group for New Jersey breweries. More recently, he accepted a position as the editor-in-chief of Broad Street Media. Don is also a fellow Pennsylvanian, a crack card player, and one of my very favorite people to share a beer and discuss the issues of the day with. Join me in wishing Don a very happy birthday.

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Don (center) with me and Lisa Morrison at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich during a press junket to Bavaria several years ago.

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Don, with fellow Pennsylvanians Lew Bryson and Jack Curtin at GABF.

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Me and Don at the kick-off for the first Philly Beer Week in 2008.

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Don with Pete Slosberg, signing books at GABF a couple of years ago.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Beer Birthday: Jack Curtin

November 9, 2020 By Jay Brooks 3 Comments

jack-curtin-toon
Today is fellow Pennsylvania beer writer Jack Curtin’s birthday, who passed away earlier this year. You could read his writings and rantings on a variety of subjects at his Liquid Diet Online, Curtin’s Corner, I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing, and The Great Disconnect. If you think I don’t know when to stop, check out Jack’s voluminous output. Plus Jack was one of my favorite people to kvetch about politics with, over a pint, of course. Join me in drinking a toast to Jack tonight.

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Jack, at right, with fellow Pennsylvanians Don Russell (a.k.a. Joe Sixpack) and Lew Bryson. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, too. What is it about the Commonwealth and beer writers?

Upstairs at Nodding Head with Jack Curtin
Jack and me at Nodding Head during Philly Beer Week a few years back.

Tomme Arthur & Jack Curtin
Tomme Arthur and Jack.

Jack Curtin, Sam Calagione, Ed Friedland and Curt's assistant brewer
Jack with Sam Calagione, Ed Friedland and Nodding Head’s assistant brewer.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Historic Beer Birthday: George Weisbrod

October 31, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

weisbrod-hess
Today is the birthday of George Weisbrod (October 31, 1851-January 1, 1912). Weisbrod was born in Germany, and that’s about all I could find out about the man who co-founded, along with Christian Hess, the George Weisbrod & Christian Hess Brewery, usually shortened to just the Weisbrd & Hess Brewery, and also known as the Oriental Brewery.

george-weisbrod-cartoon

Both Weisbrod and Hess were German immigrants, and originally their intention was simply to make enough beer to supply their Philadelphia saloon on Germantown Avenue. Some sources say they began as early as 1880, but most put the founding at 1882. The brewery was going strong until closed by prohibition. They managed to reopen in 1933, but closed for good in 1938.

weisbrod-hess-1905
A brewery poster from 1905.

In 1994, Yards Brewing renovated the old Weisbrod & Hess Brewery, but after the partners split, it became the Philadelphia Brewing Co., while Yards under the direction of Tom Kehoe moved to another location.

phillybeerwk08-47
In the Philadelphia Brewing Co. tasting room upstairs, an old photo of the employees of the original brewery on the premises, Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company.

Both Philadelphia Weekly and Hidden City Philadelphia have stories about the brewery and efforts to re-open it.

weisbrod-hess-1892
The brewery two years closing, in 1940.

The brewery was designed by famed local architect Adam C. Wagner, and this is an illustration of his design for the brewery from 1892.

W&H-1892

OrientalBreweryPhila1899
An ad from 1899.

Factory-Scene-1912-calendar-Signs-Pre-Pro-Weisbrod-Hess-Brewing-Co
And a calendar from 1912.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Breweries Tagged With: Germany, History, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Historic Beer Birthday: William Penn

October 14, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

pennsylvania
Today is the birthday of William Penn (October 14, 1644-July 30, 1718). He “was the son of Sir William Penn, and was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed.

In 1681, King Charles II handed over a large piece of his American land holdings to Penn to appease the debts the king owed to Penn’s father. This land included present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware. Penn immediately set sail and took his first step on American soil in New Castle in 1682 after his trans-Atlantic journey. On this occasion, the colonists pledged allegiance to Penn as their new proprietor, and the first general assembly was held in the colony. Afterwards, Penn journeyed up the Delaware River and founded Philadelphia. However, Penn’s Quaker government was not viewed favourably by the Dutch, Swedish, and English settlers in what is now Delaware. They had no “historical” allegiance to Pennsylvania, so they almost immediately began petitioning for their own assembly. In 1704 they achieved their goal when the three southernmost counties of Pennsylvania were permitted to split off and become the new semi-autonomous colony of Lower Delaware. As the most prominent, prosperous and influential “city” in the new colony, New Castle became the capital.

As one of the earlier supporters of colonial unification, Penn wrote and urged for a union of all the English colonies in what was to become the United States of America. The democratic principles that he set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame of Government served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. As a pacifist Quaker, Penn considered the problems of war and peace deeply. He developed a forward-looking project for a United States of Europe through the creation of a European Assembly made of deputies that could discuss and adjudicate controversies peacefully. He is therefore considered the very first thinker to suggest the creation of a European Parliament.

A man of extreme religious convictions, Penn wrote numerous works in which he exhorted believers to adhere to the spirit of Primitive Christianity. He was imprisoned several times in the Tower of London due to his faith, and his book No Cross, No Crown (1669), which he wrote while in prison, has become a Christian classic.”

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Of course, that’s his mainstream history, he also made contributions to America’s nascent brewing history. For example, here’s an account, “William Penn And Beermaking in Colonial Pennsylvania,” excerpted from Stanley Baron’s “Brewed in America,” published in 1962:

Pennsylvania and New Jersey were latecomers among the American colonies. True enough, there had been in their development a Swedish period and a Dutch period, but the real establishment of the two colonies had to wait for the time of the English “proprietors.” It was in 1680 that William Penn received his famous grant of land from Charles II, as payment of a debt owed to Penn’s father, the celebrated admiral. By this means Penn became sole proprietor of a colony which he foresaw as a place of refuge for his fellow Quakers — the nonconformist sect whose faith earned them nothing but contempt and persecution in England (as well as in most of the established American colonies). Before he set out in 1682 he sent ahead a government plan of his own devising, and also a number of representatives to map out a city to be called Philadelphia. Penn’s concept of government was extraordinarily liberal, in many respects tantamount to a genuinely democratic scheme; moreover, he guaranteed complete freedom of worship, and delegated much more administrative authority than any other of the colonial governors saw fit to allow.
Penn understood the wisdom of securing friendly relations with the Indians from the start. In 1683, he established a “Great Treaty” with them. In exchange for property rights which they were willing to grant him, he made a practice of giving them a variety of goods — in at least one instance, a barrel of beer.

Shortly after Penn’s arrival, an Assembly was held in Chester, the former Swedish settlement of Upland. At this meeting his Frame of Government was adopted; and there were also laid down certain laws regulating the licensing of taverns, taxing of beer, sale of alcoholic beverages to Indians, etc. Such laws were sooner or later passed in every one of the American colonies and differ only in the merest details.

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Penn himself was enough of a beer-drinker to have a brewhouse constructed at the estate he built in Pennsbury, Bucks County, twenty miles upriver from Philadelphia. At a cost of about £7000 and over a period of many years, the manor-house was erected under Penn’s supervision, although he was most of that time back in England. He made a start on the project soon after his arrival in 1682, but he had to return to England in 1684. He commissioned his trusted friend James Harrison as “Steward of the Household at Pennsbury,” and from that date until his return, he wrote frequent letters, filled with details about the house’s specifications, the gardens, the servants, slaves, etc. “I would have a Kitchen,” he wrote from London after he returned there in 1684, “two larders, a wash house & room to iron in, a brew house & in it an oven for bakeing.” During the following two years he felt the need to repeat these instructions, which in time were fulfilled.

Penn was not able to see the results at Pennsbury until 1699. At that time, as things turned out, he remained only a year; thus he spent in all only three years in America. Nonetheless, he made good use of Pennsbury while he was there; “Indians almost every morning were waiting in the hall, seated on their haunches.” Penn also entertained in that house the governors of Maryland and Virginia, as well as what are usually referred to as “visiting dignitaries.” None of Penn’s descendants cared for the house as the proprietor himself had, and it was permitted by sheer neglect to go to ruin. It was finally torn down at the time of the Revolution, but somehow the brewhouse structure managed to survive until 1864. It is described as being 20 by 35 feet, “with solid brick chimney and foundations, 10-inch sills and posts, and weatherboarded with dressed cedar.”

That there was beer in the earliest stages of Philadelphia’s settlement is attested to by the immigrant Thomas Paschall in 1683: “Here is very good Rye . . . also Barly of 2 sorts, as Winter and Summer, . . . also Oats, and 3 sorts of Indian Corne, (two of which sorts they can Malt and make good beer as Barley).”

In a 1685 account of progress in his colony, Penn wrote:

“Our DRINK has been Beer and Punch, made of Rum and Water: Our Beer was mostly made of Molasses, which well boyld, with Sassafras or Pine infused into it, makes very tolerable drink; but now they make Mault, and Mault Drink begins to be common, especially at the Ordinaries and the Houses of the more substantial People. In our great Town there is an able Man, that has set up a large Brew House, in order to furnish the People with good Drink, both there and up and down the River.”

Farther along in the same document, he identified this “able man” as William Frampton, and to demonstrate the first Philadelphia brewer’s prosperity, he added that Frampton had recently built “a good Brick house, by his Brew House and Bake House, and let the other for an Ordinary.” Frampton — Quaker, merchant, provincial councillor and landowner — originally emigrated to New York and did not arrive in Philadelphia until 1683. If he was as prosperous as Penn makes out, he did not enjoy this state for long: he died in 1686.

In those early days of Philadelphia, many inhabitants are said to have owned their own malt-houses in order to make strong beer at home, and Gabriel Thomas stated in his account of the town (as of 1696) that there were three or four “spacious malt-houses, as many large brew-houses.” Thomas, a Welsh pioneer who lived in the colony for fifteen years, also described Philadelphia beer as “equal in strength to that in London,” selling for 15s. the barrel — cheaper than in England. In addition, he speaks of Philadelphia beer as having a “better Name, that is, is in more esteem than English Beer in Barbadoes and is sold for a higher Price there.” This would be an extremely early, if not the first, instance of American beer being exported outside of the mainland, though there is no indication of the regularity or volume of business thus entailed. In the course of the eighteenth century, Philadelphia beer began to make a resounding reputation for itself: the origins of that fame may lie right here, in this remark of Thomas’s comparing the beer favorably with the English product. On the other hand, Thomas’s unbridled enthusiasm must not be discounted — he may very well have been trying to paint the prettiest possible picture of conditions in America, and particularly Pennsylvania.

Another brewer of this earliest Philadelphia period was Joshua Carpenter, whose brother, Samuel, had come over from England several years before Penn’s arrival. Samuel Carpenter, a Quaker, was responsible for building Philadelphia’s first wharf, between Walnut Street and Dock Creek. Joshua, who had followed his brother to Philadelphia some years later and who was himself not a Quaker, did so well out of his brewing enterprise that he was rated as the second richest inhabitant of the town in 1693; his brother was first.

The brewery established by Anthony Morris in 1687, south of Walnut Street, on the riverbank side of Front, was a longer-lasting establishment. Morris (the second of his name) was another Quaker, provincial councillor and second mayor of Philadelphia. He had sailed for America in 1682, and settled first in Burlington, New Jersey. Three years later, however, he went to Philadelphia, and soon set up his brewery there. His son, Anthony, Jr., prepared himself for the business by becoming in 1696 an indentured apprentice to another brewer operating in Philadelphia at that time, Henry Babcock. It was stated in the indenture that he was to spend seven years learning “the art or trade of a Brewer.” He undertook to keep the brewing “secrets” of Babcock and his wife Mary, “& from their service he shall not absent himself, nor the art & mystery of brewing he shall not disclose or discover to any person or persons during ye sd term.” His father paid the Babcocks the sum of twenty pounds, and they undertook not only to teach him for seven years, but also to lodge and board him, and “mending of his linen & woolen cloaths.” They on their side promised not to put him to “slavish work,” such as grinding at the handmill and the like.

It must have been this younger Anthony Morris who signed his name, “Morris junr,” at the bottom of a receipt that read: “Reed of Hannah Ring Eighteen Shillings for barrel Ale delivered for funeral of her husband 7mo 4th 1731.”

The Morris brewery was conducted as a family business, handed down from generation to generation, until 1836, when ownership of the concern was taken over by outsiders. Through marriage with the Perot family of French Huguenot background, however, the Morrises have maintained an unbroken connection with the brewing industry. In 1823 Francis Perot married the daughter of Thomas Morris, in whose brewery he had spent six years as apprentice. With brothers, sons and then grandsons in charge, the Perot family have been malting in Philadelphia ever since.

Pennsylvania had made an encouraging, even a spectacular, beginning. It had grown like a balloon; within twenty years, by the end of the century, its main city had a population equal to that of New York (4000). And yet, after about twenty-five years, it began to bog down. Penn died in 1718, but a good many years before that he had relinquished personal control of the province, while remaining proprietor. Relations with the Indians deteriorated; boundary conflicts, like sores, kept irritating the relations between Pennsylvania and her neighbors; and the fine promise of commercial prosperity had been disappointed. The bold Philadelphia printer, Andrew Bradford, was hauled before the Council in 1721 for publishing a pamphlet called “Some Remedies proposed for the restoring of the Sunk Credit of the Province of Pennsylvania.” He was reprimanded for so-called libelous statements.

Yet at the same time, the Council, under Governor Sir William Keith, passed laws designed to improve just those conditions which it had called untrue in Bradford’s case. Among those was an act “for laying a Duty on Wine, Rum, Brandy and Spirits, Molassoes, Cyder, Hops and Flax, imported, landed or brought into this Province.” The self-evident purpose of an act like this was to give aid to home manufactures and, by placing a duty on imported hops, of course, the Council encouraged Pennsylvania farmers to cultivate them locally. Another reason for this act was undoubtedly the wish to cut down supplies of beverages with high alcoholic content, in favor of beer (which did not appear among the list of dutiable items) — but the barn door may have been closed too late, for by the eighteenth century rum was universally available in America, and increasingly popular. Acts of the same kind were passed at intervals by the Provincial Council — in 1738, 1744, etc. — but they appear to have been less than wholly effectual.

Painting-of-William-Penn

And this short history is from the online Museum of Beer and Brewing:

The William Penn Brewery — the staid Quaker build one of the earliest breweries in America near what is now Philadelphia. Part of his lands were colonized by immigrants from the German Palatinate who found Penn’s Product, prepared under the supervision of a Master Brewer from Europe, highly palatable. The first brewery in America was built in New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 17th century about 30 years before Penn’s.

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The illustration for William Penn’s Brewery from the Museum of Beer and Brewing.

And this is the labels from a beer created to honor William Penn by the now-defunct (I believe) William Penn Brewing Co., which appears to have been a contract beer.

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Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun, Politics & Law Tagged With: England, Great Britain, History, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Historic Beer Birthday: John F. Betz Jr.

September 1, 2020 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

betz-pa
Today is the birthday of John F. Betz Jr. (September 1, 1856-April 8, 1910). He was born in Pennsylvania, the son of John F. Betz, who in 1867 bought what was the Robert Hare & J. Warren Porter Brewery when it opened in 1775, but was the William Gaul Brewery when Betz acquited it, but Betz changed it to the John F. Betz Brewery. When John Jr. joined his father in the business in 1880, they changed the name to the John F. Betz & Son Brewery. The brewery survived prohibition, but closed for good in 1939.

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Here’s his obituary from the American Brewers’ Review:

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John-Betz-Jr-obit-02

John-F.-Betz-Sons-Brewery
The Betz brewery in Philadelphia.

This much longer account is from “Philadelphia and Popular Philadelphians,” published in 1891. It’s mostly about Junior’s father, but he is mentioned in the course of the article:

John-F-Betz-&-Son-bio-1
John-F-Betz-&-Son-bio-2
Betz-Bock-Beer--Labels-John-F-Betz--Son
John-F-Betz-&-Son-bio-3
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Betz-Dark-Lager-Beer-Labels-John-F-Betz
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Betz-Brewery-pa
The Philadelphia brewery.

I’m not sure if this was a newspaper advertisement or some very favorable coverage, but this was a page from The Times—Philadelphia on May 28, 1893. But in the right-hand corner is where I discovered the only image of John F. Betz Jr. that I could find.

Betz-philly-times-28-may-1893

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

Beer Birthday: Jennie Hatton Baver

August 12, 2020 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

dogfish-head-green philly-beer
Today is the 49th birthday of Jennie Hatton, who did P.R. for Philly Beer Week and several craft breweries in the tri-state area for a number of years. She cut her teeth working for Tom Peters at Monk’s Cafe. Jennie and her business partner Claire Pelino are responsible for many, many beer books being published as literary agents to a number of beer writers, including yours truly. Also, Jennie is one of my favorite people in the industry and she’s so much fun to be around that people refer to her as “The Wonderful Jennie Hatton.” Also, few people love tater tots like I do, and she’s one of them. That’s enough for me. More recently, she’s been doing Brand Development for Dogfish Head. Join me in wishing Jennie a very happy birthday.

gabf08-44
Jennie and me on the floor at GABF in 2008.

Everyone wanted their picture taken with the Hammer, and Jennie was only too happy to oblige
Jennie wielding the Hammer of Glory during this last year’s Philly Beer Week.

Jennie Hatton and the Reverend
Jennie and the Reverend Kirk T. Berlenbach, Rector of Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church, at the Sam, Tomme & Old Beer event at Nodding Head Brewing during Philly Beer Week.

Jennie w/tots & a dog at North Lanes Lounge
Jennie with some of the best tater tots ever, at North Lanes Lounge in Philly.

Filed Under: Birthdays Tagged With: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

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