Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

Socialize

Beer In Ads #1837: Facts Versus Fallacies #59

By


Tuesday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 59 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “59,” is another interesting one that reports on a Russian prohibition imposed in 1914 because of the First World War. I’ve read mixed things about its success, and it was repealed in 1925. But according to the ad, people were dying from poisoning from homemade vodka alternatives and mortality rates for alcoholism were rising sharply. So, the argument went, we already had evidence that prohibition didn’t really work, and caused at least as many problems as it purported to solve.

Facts-v-Fallacies-59-1915

Beer In Ads #1836: Facts Versus Fallacies #55

By


Monday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1916, No. 55 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “55,” is an interesting one that argues that a majority of people voting for a prohibition is undemocratic, saying. “Public law, to be effective, requires much more than the majority to support it. It requires general acquiescence. To leave the minority at the mercy of the whims of the majority does not conduce to law or good government, or justice between man and man.” They go on to quote Rousseau. “A majority of the people is not the people and never can be. We take a majority vote simply as the best available means of ascertaining the real wishes of the people in cases where it becomes necessary to do so.”

Facts-v-Fallacies-55-1916

Beer In Ads #1835: Facts Versus Fallacies #51

By


Sunday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1916, No. 51 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “51,” is all about a comparison between making owning a car illegal and the prohibition of alcohol.

Facts-v-Fallacies-51-1915

Beer In Ads #1834: Facts Versus Fallacies #46

By


Saturday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1916, No. 46 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “46,” is all about a comparison between two states: dry Kansas and wet Nebraska. Already it was clear that prohibition wouldn’t work as intended, but it was voted into law anyway.

Facts-v-Fallacies-46-1916

Beer In Ads #1833: Facts Versus Fallacies #36

By


Friday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 36 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “36,” is all about the “Local Option,” and how Pennsylvanians had already voted against it the previous years. It’s interesting to see how specific these ads could be, which I guess is possible because they appear to run a new ad twice a week. It’s almost like a running commentary.

Facts-v-Fallacies-36-1915

Beer In Ads #1831: Facts Versus Fallacies #27

By


Wednesday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 27 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “27,” tackles the idea that even in moderation, alcohol “impairs a man’s efficiency.” As they point out, countless people made their mark on history while consuming alcohol in moderation.

Facts-v-Fallacies-27-1915

Beer In Ads #1830: Facts Versus Fallacies #22

By


Tuesday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 22 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “22,” lists several reasons why the then-growing prohibition laws would do little to curb consumption, according to the most recent numbers available for per capita alcohol consumption.

Facts-v-Fallacies-22-1915

Pre-Revolutionary Inns & Ale Houses Of Old Philadelphia

By

independence-hall
Here’s another fun historical artifact that I came across when I one of my beer ads was for the Robert Smith Ale Brewing Company, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1774, incorporated in 1887, and was apparently acquired by Schmidt’s around 1881. In 1909, Schmidt’s, through their Robert Smith Ale Brewing Company brand, commissioned a local artist, James Preston, to create a series of twelve works depicting pre-revolutionary taverns and inns in or near Philadelphia as way to promote the heritage of the Robert Smith beer brand.

James Moore Preston (1873-1962) was artist and illustrator who trained under Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Preston also did one cover for the “Saturday Evening Post,” in April 1905, although his most active period was during the 1920s.

And here’s more about Robert Smith, from an article in Zymurgy magazine by Pennsylvania beer historian Rich Wagner from 1991.

Another brewer who withstood the test of time was Robert Smith. What was to become Robert Smith’s Ale Brewery had its humble beginnings in 1774 when Joseph Potts established a brewery at Fifth and Minor Streets in Philadelphia. During the British occupation of the city, the brewery was seized and used as a barracks.

In 1786 Henry Pepper purchased Potts’ brewery and operated it quite successfully. His wealth and philanthropy were demonstrated when he provided the clock and bell in the tower of Independence Hall. Upon his death in 1898 he donated large sums of money to many charitable and cultural institutions of the city. His son George headed the brewery and directed it successfully before leasing the establishment to Robert Smith.

In 1837 Smith came to America after having served an apprenticeship with the Bass Brewery in Burton-on-Trent, England. He began brewing on St. John Street near the Delaware River. He became acquainted with Pepper and Sickel and in 1845 purchased their brewery.

The Robert Smith India Pale Ale Brewing Company was incorporated in 1887 and moved to a new plant at 38th and Girard (right across the Schuylkill River from “Brewerytown”). It operated until Prohibition as the oldest brewery in continuous operation in America. In 1891 Robert Smith was described as a “hale and hearty” 84-year-old who was still running the brewery. He died two years later and the business was reorganized as the Robert Smith Ale Brewing Co. owned by Schmidt’s Brewery of Philadelphia. The Smith brewery produced mainly ales and stouts. Production figures for the turn of the century are: 1902: 53,521 bbl.; 1905: 61,910 bbl.; 1907: 64,400 bbl. Brands included Tiger Head Ale, XXX Stout, Porter, IPA, Old Mystery, Imperial Burton and English Pale.

The twelve prints show up from time to time on eBay, antiques auctions, collectibles websites and even on Amazon. They’re also in the collection of the Library of Congress.

In addition to the posters, they also created a short book — more or a pamphlet at 37 pages — with information about the brewery and each of the twelve images.

Untitled
Untitled
Here’s the book’s introduction:

Untitled
Untitled
Below are all twelve illustrations. In each case, I used the biggest and best image I could find. Below each print I’ve added the text from the book, and it appears that some editions of the posters may have even included that text just below each print.

The Falstaff Inn
79242_ca_object_representations_media_121907_page

Untitled
Penny Pot Tavern and Landing
Penny-Pot-Tavern

Untitled
Indian Queen Hotel
25510_ca_object_representations_media_121909_page

Untitled
Spread Eagle Inn Inn
5219_ca_object_representations_media_121905_page

Untitled
State House Tavern
17821_ca_object_representations_media_121901_page

Untitled
The Three Crowns
27278_ca_object_representations_media_121902_page

Untitled
Drawbridge and Blue Anchor Inn
94167_ca_object_representations_media_121908_page

Untitled
London Coffee House
philadelphia-colonial-inn-the-london

Untitled
Untitled
City Tavern
philadelphia-colonial-inn-the-city

Untitled
Black Horse Inn Yard
84833_ca_object_representations_media_121911_page

Untitled
Smith’s 1774 Brewery
67086_ca_object_representations_media_121910_page

Untitled
Untitled
Moon and Seven Stars
56344_ca_object_representations_media_121904_page

Untitled
And here’s the final page of text from the 1909 book.

Untitled

The Robert Smith India Pale Ale Brewery

By

Untitled
The ad I featured yesterday in my long-running Beer In Ads series was for The Robert Smith Ale Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The brewery was only called by that name from 1896 until it closed when Prohibition began. From 1887 until 1896, the brewery was called The Robert Smith India Pale Ale Brewing Co. While searching for information for the post last night, I happened upon a cool bit of history regarding the brewery from 1889. The Map Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia includes a survey map of The Robert Smith India Pale Ale Brewing Co. created by Ernest Hexamer and included in the Hexamer General Surveys, Volume 24, published in 1889.

Robert-Smith-IPA-1889

The brewery was located in West Philadelphia, in the 24th Ward, at N. 38th St, Girard Ave and Philadelphia and the Reading Railroad. The survey also includes some interesting tidbits in the text at the right, a laundry list of architectural facts and figures. For example, the brewery was powered by steam, had two copper kettles — a 100 bbl and 200 bbl vessel — and employed 17 people. Below is a blow-up of the brewery illustration, showing the brewery property and grounds.

Robert-Smith-IPA-1889-brewery

Beer In Ads #1644: The Robert Smith Ale Brewing Co.

By


Monday’s ad is for The Robert Smith Ale Brewing Co., from sometime after 1896 but before Prohibition. From what I can tell, while the brewery was founded in 1774, it wasn’t known as The Robert Smith Ale Brewing Co. until 1896, when it acquired by C. Schmidt & Sons and operated as one of their divisions (although another source claims Schmidt’s took over the Robert Smith brewery in 1881). The casks stacked to the left in the ad each have a different beer printed in them, suggesting this was the line of beers offered by the brewery at the time of the ad. The beer’s listed are Tiger Head I.P.A., India Pale, Burton, English Pale, XXX, Old Musty, Brown Stout and Imperial Burton. Only Tiger Head I.P.A. and the Brown Stout also have “Bottling” printed in smaller letters at the bottom of the head of the cask, so I suspect those were the two beers they may have offered in bottles.

robert-smith-brewing