Historic Beer Birthday: Leopold Schmidt

January 23, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Leopold F. Schmidt (January 23, 1846-September 24, 1914) who founded the Olympia Brewing Co. in Tumwater, Washington in 1896. Although it was originally called the Capital Brewing Company, but changed it in 1902 to reflect its flagship Olympia Beer, and also began using the slogan “It’s the Water.”

Gary Flynn from Brewery Gems has the best biography of Schmidt. He also has a shorter piece about Schmidt’s first brewery in Montana, the Centennial Brewing Co., which he sold in 1896, before moving to Washington to scout locations for his next venture. He settled on Tumwater, and built a brewery “at Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River, near the south end of Puget Sound. He built a four-story wooden brewhouse, a five-story cellar building, a one-story ice factory powered by the lower falls, and a bottling and keg plant and in 1896, began brewing and selling Olympia Beer.”

The Olympia Tumwater Foundation picks up Schmidt’s story through his home, the Schmidt House:

The Schmidt House, set high on a wooded bluff at the mouth of the Deschutes River, was built at the turn of the 20th Century for local brewery owner Leopold Schmidt and his wife Johanna. Mr. Schmidt already owned a successful brewing operation in Montana when a business trip first brought him to the Tumwater area in the early 1890s. Discovering that the artesian springs here were perfect for brewing beer, Schmidt sold his Montana holdings and built a new brewery at the foot of Tumwater Falls which shipped its first beer in 1896.
At first the Schmidt’s moved into an existing house on the slope above the brewery, a home that the family affectionately nicknamed “Hillside Inn.” As his brewing business prospered, Mr. Schmidt began planning a larger, more elegant residence that would stand at the top of the hill. In 1904 the couple moved into the new house with their daughter, the youngest of six children. Their five sons continued to live at Hillside Inn and work in the family business. For reasons lost to posterity, the Schmidt’s called the new house “Three Meter.”

Leopold and his wife Johanna, posing with their six children in a portrait taken in the late 1890s.

Here’s more on Olympia, again from Flynn:

In October 1896, after issuing $125,000 in capital stock, he established the Capital Brewing Company, nucleus of what would become the highly successful Olympia Brewing Company. The brewery was an unqualified success, its product outselling competing beers from Seattle and Tacoma. The pure artesian water and Schmidt’s brewing skills were a perfect match. The enterprise steadily grew in production in the following years, reaching peak production of 100,000 barrels of beer in 1914, just in time for statewide prohibition. This not only shut down the Olympia plant but also the other two plants in the state, the Bellingham Bay Brewery and the Port Townsend Brewery. Oregon also voted to go “dry” in 1914, five years before national prohibition, which ended the Salem Brewery Association. Only the two Acme Brewery plants in San Francisco were spared, albeit temporarily.

After prohibition was repealed, Leopold’s son Peter Schmidt ordered the construction of larger brewery buildings upriver from the 1906 building, rather than repurchasing and retrofitting the aging structure.

There’s quite a lot on the history of Olympia Brewing, and here are a few good sources. The Cooperpoint Journal has Water to Beer: A Timeline of Industry and Drinking and the Seattle Weekly wrote Olympia Beer: The Water and the History. But Brewery Gems again has a thorough History of the Olympia Brewing Company, and the Olympia Tumwater Foundation had a concise history. Even cooler, the Foundation has some great old photos online, in Images of the Old Brewhouse : A Pictorial Exhibit from the Archives of the Olympia Tumwater Foundation.

The brewery around 1900, a few years before I first visited it on my honeymoon.

Leopold posing on his lawn overlooking the brewery in the early 1900s.

And here is a portion of Schmidt’s obituary in the Tacoma Daily Register from September 25, 1914:

And this obituary is from the Bellingham Herald:

Historic Beer Birthday: Matt Bonney

January 5, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today would have been the 51st birthday of Matt Bonney, formerly of Brouwer’s and Bottleworks, both in Seattle, Washington, and later the proprietor of Toronado Seattle. Bonney was one of my favorite people in the industry. You would have been be hard-pressed to find a person more passionate about good beer. He also knew how to throw a party and was always a gracious host. Unfortunately, he unexpectedly passed away in late March of 2019. Join me in drinking a toast to Bonney tonight. He is definitely missed.

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Matt with Chris Black, from Falling Rock Taphouse in Denver, pouring candy sugar to create Publication at Russian River Brewing in May of 2008.

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Matt (3rd from left) with the final judges at the 2009 Hard Liver Barleywine Festival at Brouwer’s.

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Matt with Dave Keene, from the Toronado, at the A Night of Ales beer dinner during SF Beer Week.

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Dr. Bill with Matt at Slow Food Nation 2008.

Historic Beer Birthday: Jim Parker

December 13, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today would have been the 64th birthday of Jim Parker, who had been a fixture in the national, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington beer scenes for over 25 years. He founded the Mountain Tap Tavern in 1992, in Colorado, and also worked for the IBS (formerly part of the Brewers Association), was director of the American Homebrewers Association, editor-in-chief of Zymurgy and New Brewer, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, as well as starting and working at many different breweries. Jim was also the first person I know to put Tot-chos on a menu, and for that alone he gets into heaven in my book. Jim was a terrific person and very passionate about beer. In November of 2018, Jim suffered a severe stroke and passed away in February of the following year. Please join me in raising a toast to Jim’s memory.

jim-parker-and-me Jim and me over ten years ago at the Full Sail Smoker during OBF.

jim-parker-stacking Late night adventures in New Orleans, when the Craft Brewers Conference was there in 2003, stacking burger boxes at a local fast food joint.

jim-parker-oaks-t At a different Full Sail Smoker, talking with Dave Hopwood, whose birthday is also today.

Historic Beer Birthday: John H. Stahl

November 14, 2024 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of John Henry Stahl (November 14, 1825-January 18, 1884). He was born in Holstein, Germany, but moved to San Francisco when he was 33, in 1858. He moved further north, and in 1870 bought the City Brewery in Walla Walla, Washington. Although he continued to operate the brewery by that name, the business was called John H. Stahl & Co. until 1905, when his son Frank Stahl took over and renamed it the Stahl Brewing and Malting Co.

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There’s not very much information I could find about him, not even a photograph. Gary Flynn at Brewery Gems has more about the brewery itself, in an article about Stahl’s Brewing Company ~ City Brewery and more broadly about the History of the Pioneer Brewing Company of Walla Walla, which includes the various business entities that operated the brewery over the years, from 1855 until it closed for good in 1952.

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

And this short history is from “Washington Beer: A Heady History of Evergreen State Brewing,” by Michael F. Rizzo:

This is Walla Walla in 1876, about six years after John H. Stahl bought the brewery.

Historic Beer Birthday: Hans Johann Claussen

November 13, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Hans Johann Claussen (November 13, 1861-March 20, 1940). He was born in Germany, but moved to California to work at the Fredericksburg Brewery in San Jose. In 1888, he moved to Seattle, Washington to take a job as the brewmaster of the Rule & Sweeney Brewing Co., but the brewery was in danger of going out of business and late the same year, Claussen and Edward Francis Sweeney re-incorporated it as the Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Co. Just a few years later, in 1891, Claussen sold his interest in the brewery. In 1901 he opened a new brewery in Seattle, the Claussen Brewing Association. It was in business until closed by prohibition, and by the time it was repealed, Claussen decided he was old enough to stay retired.

Here’s a biography of Claussen is from “A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of the City of Seattle and County of King, Washington,” published in 1903:

Mr. Claussen holds prestige as one of the essentially representative business men of Seattle, being prominently concerned in industrial enterprises of marked scope and importance and having shown that inflexible integrity and honorable business policy which invariably be- get objective confidence and esteem. Progressive, wide-awake and discriminating in his methods, he has achieved a notable success through normal channels of industry and today is president, treasurer and manager of the Claussen Brewing Association at Interbay, a suburban district of Seattle, and also vice-president of the Diamond Ice & Storage Company, whose business has likewise extensive ramifications.
Mr. Claussen is a native of the province of Holstein, Germany, where he was born on the 13th of November, 1861, being son of Caecilia M. and Peter Jacob Claussen, representative of staunch old German stock. Our subject prosecuted his studies in the schools of his native province until he had attained the age of ten years, when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to America, the family locating in the city of San Francisco, California, where he continued his educational work , as did he later in Dixon, that state, the family home having been on a farm for the greater portion of his youth. After completing the curriculum of the high school he entered a business college where be finished a thorough commercial course and thus amply fortified himself for taking up the active duties of life. In 1882 Mr. Claussen took a position as bookkeeper for the Fredericksburg Brewing Company in San Jose California. In 1884 he began learning the details of the brewing business, and later he passed about two years in the employ of the National Brewing Company of San Francisco, gaining a thorough experience in all branches of the industry and thus equipping himself in an admirable way for the management of the important enterprise in which he is now an interested principal. In 1888, in company with E. F. Sweeney, Mr. Claussen effected the organization of the Claussen, Sweeney Brewing Company in Seattle, and the business was conducted under that title until 1893, when the company disposed of the plant and business. In 1892 Mr. Claussen associated himself with Messrs. Charles E. Crane and George E. Sackett in the organization of the Diamond Ice & Storage Company, of which our subject became vice-president at the time of its inception and in that office he has since served, the enterprise having grown to be one of importance and extensive operations. In March, 1901, was formed a stock company which was incorporated under the title the Claussen Brewing Association, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, which was later increased to two hundred and fifty thousand, and the company erected a fine brewing plant at Interbay and have here engaged in the manufacture of a very superior lager beer, the excellence of the product and the effective methods of introduction having gained to the concern high reputation and a most gratifying supporting patronage, which extends throughout Washington and contiguous states. The equipment of the plant is of the most modern and approved type and in every process and detail of manufacture the most scrupulous care is given, insuring absolute purity, requisite age and proper flavor, so that the popularity of the brands of beer manufactured is certain to increase. The annual capacity of the brewery is sixty thousand barrels, and the plant is one of the best in the northwest, the enterprise being a credit to the executive ability and progressive ideas of the gentlemen who inaugurated the same.
Mr. Claussen has been a resident of Seattle since 1888, and from the start he has maintained a lively interest in all that concerns the progress and material prosperity of the city, being known as an alert and public spirited citizen and able business man, and holding unqualified confidence and esteem in the community. He has been an active factor in the councils of the Democratic party, but in local affairs maintains a somewhat independent attitude, rather then manifesting a pronounced partisan spirit. In 1901, he was the Democratic nominee for member of the lower house of the state legislature, but as the district in which he was thus placed in nomination is overwhelmingly Republican in its political complexion he met defeat, together with the other candidates on the ticket. Fraternally he is prominently identified with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Seattle Turnverein society and the German Benevolent society, in each of which he has held office. He was also one of the organizers of the Mutual Heat & Light Company in 1902, and is ever stood ready to lend his influence and definite co-operation in support of legitimate business undertakings and worthy projects for the general good. In 1892 he erected his fine residence on Boren Avenue, and this he still owns, though he now makes his home in at Interbay, in order that he may be more accessible to the brewery, over which he maintains a general supervision. He is a young man of forceful individuality and the success which has been his indicates most clearly his facility in the practical application of the talents and power which are his. In the city of Seattle, on October 10, 1891, Mr. Claussen was united in marriage to Miss Emma Meyer, who was born in Hamburg, Germany.

To learn more about Claussen’s first brewery, the Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Co., there’s a thorough history of is at Gary Flynn’s Brewery Gems.

Likewise, Brewery Gems has a longer history of the Claussen Brewing Association.

And Michael F. Rizzo mentions Claussen in several places in his 2016 book, “Washington Beer: A Heady History of Evergreen State Brewing” 2016:

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Historic Beer Birthday: Jacob Betz

November 10, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Jacob Betz (November 10, 1843-November 16, 1912). Betz was born in Bavaria, but moved to America when he five years old. When he was 32, he bought a brewery in Walla Walla, Washington, renaming it the Star Brewery (though some sources say 1874, when he would have been 31). It was also known as the Jacob Betz Brewing Co. From 1904, when a “syndicate of local saloonkeepers and capitalists” bought the brewery, with Betz retaining an interest in it, it was then called the Jacob Betz Brewing and Malting Co. In 1910, it merged with another Walla Walla brewery, the Stahl Brewing Co., and was then known as the Walla Walla Brewing Co. until closing for good in 1910.

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Here’s a profile of Betz published in “Washington, West of the Cascades” from 1917:

Jacob Betz, ever a good citizen, active in support and furtherance of Tacoma’s best interests, was born on the l0th of November, 1843, in the Rhine province of Bavaria, Germany, and his life record spanned the intervening years to the 10th of November, 1912. He was educated in the schools of Germany and America, having been brought to this country in 1848 when a little lad of but five summers. He arrived in California before the Civil war and there engaged in mining until 1870, when he removed to Walla Walla, Washington, where he erected a brewery which he operated for a long period. During his residence in eastern Washington his interests became extensive but at length he disposed of all of his holdings in that part of the state and in 1904 established his home in Tacoma. Here he purchased the Sprague block on Pacific avenue and at once began to remodel the building, which he improved in every way. He converted it into two hotels and also changed the store buildings and he installed therein the largest heating plant in the city. He also purchased the Hosmer residence at 610 Broadway and remodeled it into a most beautiful and attractive home. Since his death his family have carried out his plans and have erected an addition to the Sprague block on Fifteenth street. This property affords an excellent income to his heirs.
Mr. Betz was married in Walla Walla to Miss Augusta Wilson, who removed from California to Washington in 1866. To them were born five children, namely: Katherine; Jacob, Jr., who is deceased; Eleanor; Harry; and Augustus.
Mr. Betz was appreciative of the social amenities of life and found pleasant companionship in the Union and Country Clubs, of both of which he was a member. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he filled all of the chairs. In politics he was a republican, ever active in support of the party, working earnestly for its interests. Five times he was honored with election to the mayoralty of Walla Walla and five times to the city council and it was during his administration that the waterworks fight in Walla Walla was on. He won the case for the city in the United States supreme court and thus gave to the city one of its most important public utilities. In business and in public affairs his judgment was keen and penetrating and his opinions sound and logical. What he accomplished represented the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents.

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Gary Flynn, in his Brewery Gems website, points out that the profile above concerns itself primarily with his time in Tacoma, rather then Walla Walla, and adds the following:

[A]t the age of sixteen, Jacob returned to Germany to learn the brewing trade. Seven years later, Jacob departed Hamburg on the “Germanic” arriving back in the U.S. on August 6, 1866. It is unclear what he did next. The above account suggests that he tried his hand at mining, but another, more plausible account has him working in a couple of eastern breweries in the late 1860’s.

Flynn add additional biographical information, which you can read at his Biography of Jacob Betz.

Fire Dept parade, Alder St; Denny, Drumheller, Betz Brewery

And this was the brewery in 1909.

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Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Schupp

November 1, 2024 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Henry Schupp (November 1, 1868-September 27, 1936). Schupp was born in Germany, and helped found the Bellingham Bay Brewery, which was owned by Leopold F. Schmidt, who’s best known for owning the Olympia Brewery. After its completion in 1902, Schupp was the secretary, manager and brewmaster of the brewery. He had worked for Schmidt in several other capacities prior to that, including at Olympia Brewery and in the hotel business.

This account of Schupp is from the “History of Whatcom County,” by Lottie Roeder Roth, published in 1926:

Depending upon his own resources for advancement, Henry Schupp has achieved noteworthy success as a hotel operator and belongs to that select company of aggressive, farsighted business men who have made Bellingham what it is today, one of the most enterprising and prosperous cities in the state. He is a native of Germany but has lived in the United States since young manhood and is thoroughly American in thought, spirit and interest. He was educated in the public schools of his native country and in the night schools of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1889 he sought his fortune in the mines of Montana. He was also connected with the hotel business in that state. In 1900 he came to Washington. He spent two years in Olympia, associated with Leopold F. Schmidt, and in 1902 arrived in Bellingham. He at once entered prominently into the business life of the city, and with Mr. L. F. Schmidt built the Bellingham Brewery, which proved a successful venture. He is now secretary, treasurer and manager of Hotel Leopold, of which F. M. Kenny is vice president. It was opened May 25, 1913, and was named in honor of Leopold F. Schmidt, president of the company controlling the business. The building was erected in 1912 and 1913 by the Byron Hotel Company and the business was founded by Captain Byron, who constructed the Byron Hotel in 1906.
Hotel Leopold is centrally located and its furnishings, accommodations and service are modern and up-to-date in every respect. It is the largest hotel in northwestern Washington, containing two hundred rooms, one hundred of which are provided with private baths, and there are twenty-five sample rooms. The hotel is noted for the excellence of its cuisine and the main dining room has accommodations for two hundred guests. The tulip room will seat two hundred and fifty persons, and the hotel is thus able to accommodate some five hundred diners. Hotel Henry, under the same management, was established by Mr. Schupp at Bellingham in 1923 and has also found favor with the traveling public. It contains one hundred rooms and fifty baths and is the newest and most progressive hotel on Puget Sound. It reflects an atmosphere of refinement but not exclusiveness, for here “you can come as you are.” The hostelry is comfortable, homelike and unequaled in many ways. This is the only hotel known to serve its guests in their rooms with a complimentary breakfast, consisting of a pot of coffee, toast, marmalade, butter and cream, the the polite request: “Don’t tip the boy.” That Mr. schupp has thoroughly grasped the art of modern hotel keeping is indicated by the high degree of efficiency maintained in the operation of the business, which reflects his foresight, capacity for detail and administrative power. He puts forth every effort to promote the comfort and well being of those who are his guests, and an ever increasing clientele is evidence of the prestige enjoyed by Hotel Leopold and Henry.
In 1888 Mr. Schupp married Miss Katherine Sengenberger, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they have three adopted children: Katherine, who is the wife of Briggs Burpee, of Bellingham; Henry, a student in the State College, where he is taking a course in civil engineering; and Margaret, a high school student. Mr. Schupp is a stanch republican and a citizen who loses no opportunity to exploit the many resources and attractions of his community and state. He is a director of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce and served for several years on the board of park commissioners. He is a member of the Rotary and Country Clubs and the Washington Hotel Men’s Association. He is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the United Commercial Travelers. Mr. Schupp has a wife acquaintance among the tourists who visit this region each season in large numbers, attracted by its scenic grandeur. He is a gentleman of courteous bearing, genial nature and much personal magnetism, exceptionally well fitted for the business in which he is engaged, and numbers his friends by the thousands. His success is the merited reward of a life of well directed industry and his labors have been of signal service to Bellingham, in which he is highly esteemed.

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And here’s his obituary, published in The Bellingham Herald, September 28, 1936:

Henry Schupp, one of Bellingham’s most civic-minded citizens, whom many regarded as an ideal hotel host, died early Monday morning at his home, 6 Garden Terrace. He had been in ill health several years, suffering from heart disease. Recently he had been taking short walks almost daily and he was seen by friends Sunday strolling along High street. For many years, and until his retirement a few years ago from active participation in the hotel business. Mr. Schupp was one of Washington’s most widely known and popular hotel men. He was 67 years of age and had lived at Bellingham thirty-four years. His business and other affiliations were numerous and probably no one has been more active in behalf of Bellingham than Mr. Schupp. He was a charter member of the Rotary club and at his death held membership in Elks lodge No. 194 and the Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Schupp is survived by his widow, Mrs. Katherine Schupp; two daughters, Katherine McIntee, Waldport, Oregon, and Margaret K. Rogers, Bellingham; one son, Henry E. Schupp; one half-sister, Mrs. Julius Kappel, and a cousin, Henry Meissner, all of Bellingham.
A man who always had a smile, and at heart a community booster, Mr. Schupp’s interests, business and social, were diversified. He for years managed the Hotel Leopold and was one of the moving spirits behind the erection of the $500,000 New Leopold, which was opened in November, 1929. He was one of the most active members of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1924 he headed the Tulip Festival association. He represented the Chamber as director of the Puget Sounders, which he was instrumental, with others, in organizing. Among other positions he held was director of the Pacific Highway association; director of the Mount Baker Development company, which built the Mount Baker lodge, and he was president of the Puget Sound Hotels. At his death he held part interest in the Henry hotel. When the New Hotel Leopold was opened, Mr. Schupp was managing director of the Leopold and the Henry. He was familiar with the hotel business long before he came to Bellingham. His introduction to it came when he was a boy, when his father, Carl Frederick Schupp, operated the Green Tree Tavern at Lollar, Germany, where Mr. Schupp was born in November, 1868.
Henry Schupp left Germany for American when 14 years of age. For a time he lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he attended night school. Later he removed to Montana, but before he did so he married on November 22, 1888, Katherine Sengenberger. In 1890 Mr. Schupp located at Basin, Montana, a silver mining camp, where life was rough and free and guns were conspicuous. At Basin, Mr. Schupp and his friend, Leopold Schmidt, who died many years ago, established the Merchants hotel. It was made of logs and had two stories. The partners operated a lodging house for overflows. While Mr. Schupp was at Basin, he and Mr. Schmidt, then living in Butte, formed a partnership to build a waterworks system at Basin.
After ten years at Basin, Schupp came to Puget Sound. Settling at Olympia, he became secretary-treasurer of the Olympia Brewing Company. Nine years later he became secretary-treasurer of the Byron hotel in Bellingham. Four years later the Leopold was opened and he became its manager. Mr. Schupp’s hotel interests gradually expanded until, when the New Leopold was opened, with one of the biggest banquets Bellingham has ever known, he was general manager of a chain of hotels that operated in five cities. He also was president of the New Washington Hotel company, Seattle. Mr. Schupp’s creed, as a hotel man, was: “Hail, guest! If friend, we welcome thee. If stranger, same no longer be. If foe, our love shall conquer thee.” Neatly framed, this creed hung in Mr. Schupp’s office throughout his hotel career in Bellingham.

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Both can be found at Brewery Gems, who also has a lengthy page about the Bellingham Bay Brewery itself.

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Historic Beer Birthday: Andrew Hemrich

October 31, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Andrew Henrich (October 31, 1856-May 2, 1910). He was born in Wisconsin, and was the first of his brothers to move to the Seattle, Washington area, but his brothers Alvin, Julius and Louis soon joined him. He bought the Bay View Brewery in Seattle, and later his brother Alvin bought the North Pacific Brewery (also known as the old Slorah brewery), and renamed it the Alvin Hemrich Brewing Co. in 1897. Two of his brothers soon joined him in the enterprise, and it was renamed again, this time to Hemrich Brothers Brewing Company. They did well enough that he began buying out other area breweries. When prohibition closed the brewery, they were ready, having retooled their plants for near-beer and also having divested into some other businesses.

This biography of Andrew is from “An Illustrated History of the State of Washington,” by Rev. H. K. Hines, published in 1893, as found on Gary Flynn’s Brewery Gems‘ page on Andrew Hemrich:

Andrew Hemrich received an elementary education at Alma, which was continued in the practical duties of life, as at the age of ten years, he began work in his father’s brewery, and three years later was sent to La Crosse, as an apprentice to learn the brewing business. This was followed by two years in breweries in Milwaukee, one year at Denver, Colorado, and one year at Eureka, Nevada. In 1876, with two companions, all well mounted, he made a trip of 1,700 miles through the Yankee Fork mining district of Idaho, but the claims being all covered and the country being in constant danger from the attacks of hostile tribes of Indians, the party continued to Butte, Montana, then but a small mining settlement. In 1877 at Glendale, thirty-five miles from Butte, Mr. Hemrich partnered with Frank Gilig in starting a small brewery, selling their product at $21 per barrel. This he continued for eighteen months, then sold out and engaged in mining, in which a short experience exhausted his accumulated savings. He then gave up mining and going to Bozeman resumed his trade as foreman of a small brewery and there remained until February, 1883, when he came to Seattle and forming a co-partnership with John Kopp started a small steam beer brewery with an annual capacity of 2,500 barrels. This was the nucleus of the present Bay View brewery.
In 1884 Mr. Kopp sold out his interest to the father of our subject, John Hemrich, and in 1885, the latter’s brother-in-law; Fred Kirschner, entered the firm, then known as Hemrich & Co. With the growing demand the capacity of the brewery was increased from time to time up to 1887, when the brewery was rebuilt and with improved machinery the firm engaged in the manufacture of lager beer, with a capacity of 80,000 barrels per year. The product was sold throughout the Northwest. In April, 1891, the business was incorporated as the Bay View Brewing Company, with a capital stock of $300,000, and so continued up to the spring of 1893, when the company consolidated with the Albert Braun Brewing Company, and the Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Company, under the incorporate name of Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, with a capital stock of $1,000,000, Mr. Hemrich continuing as president. In 1892 our subject was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Victoria Brewing & Ice Company, of which he is vice-president. He has also extensive mining interests in the Cascade mountains, twenty miles east of Snoqualmie Falls. The claims cover 6,000 x 600 feet on one ledge, and 4,500 x 600 feet on a parallel ledge, gold-bearing, running from $5 to $105 per ton. Mr. Hemrich is also president of the Eureka Coal Company, and owns valuable improved and unimproved property in the city of Seattle.
He was married in Seattle, in 1885, to Miss Amelia Hucke, of Essen, Germany. They have four children: John, Alvin, Ernest and Katherine.

And this account of Andrew is from “A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of the City of Seattle and County of King, Washington,” published in 1903:

With a deep and abiding interest in the city of Seattle, in its progress and improvement, Andrew Hemrich has done much for its advancement, laboring earnestly along lines that have contributed to its material upbuilding. He is therefore known as one of its valued citizens. He is furthermore prominent in business affairs and a recognized leader in the ranks of the Republican party, on whose ticket he was elected to the office of state senator in 1898, so that he is now serving.
Mr. Hemrich was born in Alma, Wisconsin, October 31, 1856, and is a son of John and Catherine (Koeppel) Hemrich, both of whom were natives of Germany, the father having been born in Baden, while the mother’s birth occurred in Bavaria. In youth they came to American and the father traveled across the country in a covered wagon from Rochester, New York, to Iowa, stopping for a while at Mount Vernon, Indiana, thus making his way to Keokuk, Iowa, where he engaged in the brewing business. He followed that pursuit until 1852, when he loaded his brewery appliances and fixtures upon a barge which was towed to Alma, Wisconsin. There he again established a brewery, which he successfully conducted for thirty years. In 1884 he came to Seattle, where his son Andrew had previously located, and joined him in the organization and incorporation of the Bay View Brewing Company, which was conducted under the firm name until 1893, when it became the Bay View branch of the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company. About 1891 John Hemrich retired from active business life, enjoying a well-merited rest until called to his final home in 1897. His wife still survives him and resides at the old home in Bay View. He was a very active and energetic business man, reliable in all his trade transactions and his industry and capable management brought to him splendid success. In politics he was a Democrat and during the war of the rebellion served as sheriff of Buffalo county, Wisconsin. To him and his wife were born ten children: Edwin, who died at the age of six years; George, who passed away at the age of eighteen; Louise, who became the wife of John Lick, and died at the age of twenty-four; Matilda, who married John Lick, and died at the age of twenty-nine years; Andrew, whose name introduces this review; John, who is living retired; Emma, the widow of Frederick Kirschner; William, who is connected with the Bay View Brewery; Alvin and Louis, who are members of the firm of Hemrich Brothers.
During his boyhood days Andrew Hemrich pursued his education in the common schools, which he attended until fourteen years of age. He then left home and went to the wild mining regions of the west, spending about ten or twelve years on the prairies of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. He was there engaged in mining and was also connected with brewing interests, establishing a brewery at Glendale, Montana, which he conducted for several years. He then sold his plant there and accepted a position as manager superintendent of the Bozeman Brewing Company of Bozeman, Montana. He occupied that position for two years and upon resigning he came to Seattle in accordance with plans perfected to establish a brewery business in company with John Kopp.
Mr. Hemrich arrived in this city February 18, 1883, and has since been one of its residents, active in its business affairs and a recognized leader in political circles. The same year he established a business at Bay View under the firm name of Kopp & Hemrich, which business was conducted for two years, at the end of which time he was joined by his father, John Hemrich, and his brother-in-law, Frederick Kirschner, in the organization and incorporation of the Bay View Brewing Company, which was conducted under that style until 1893. The business was then merged into the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company, whose trade has grown from a modest beginning to mammoth proportions, and it is now the largest establishment of the kind on the coast. In addition to the plant at Bay View, there has been a colossal new brick structure erected at Georgetown. It required three years in its construction and has just been completed. It now has a capacity of three hundred thousand barrels per year. The brand “Rainier” is as famous on the coast as the Pabst and Schlitz brews are in the middle and eastern section of the country. Mr. Hemrich was chosen president on the organization of the new company and still serves in that capacity. He has excellent business ability and executive force, his plans are readily and substantially formed and he is determined in their execution and carries forth to a successful conclusion whatever he commences, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by persistent, honorable and earnest effort.
Mr. Hemrich has long been deeply interested in important measures for the improvement and upbuilding of Seattle. He was one of the organizers and is vice-president of the Seattle and Lake Washington Water-way Company, and many other interests of importance owe their successful existence to his wise counsel and active co-operation. No movement or measure calculated to prove of benefit to the city solicits his aid in vain, for he had ever been a generous contributor to every interest for the general good. In political affairs, too, he is well known, and has labored earnestly and effectively for the improvement and growth of the Republican party, of which he has long been a stalwart and earnest supporter. He was elected in 1898 on that ticket to the office of state senator and is still occupying this position. He has given due consideration to all matters which have come up for action and has left the impress of his individuality upon the legislation enacted during his term.
In November, 1884, Mr. Hemrich was united in marriage to Miss Maria Hucke, a native of Germany, and to them have been born five children: John, Alvin, Ernest, Katie G. and Charles. The family have a fine residence at Bay View, which was erected by Mr. Hemrich in 1892. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded wide influence. A strong mentality, an invincible courage and a most determined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and director of things.

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Historic Beer Birthday: Frank H. Stahl

September 29, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the birthday of Frank Harmon Stahl (September 29, 1876-October 28, 1909). He was the son of John H. Stahl, who in 1870 bought the City Brewery in Walla Walla, Washington. Although he continued to operate the brewery by that name, the business was called John H. Stahl & Co. until 1905, when Frank took over and renamed it the Stahl Brewing and Malting Co.

This is his short obituary from the Brewers Journal for 1909:

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

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This is Walla Walla in 1876, about six years after Frank Stahl’s father bought the brewery.

Beer Birthday: Charles Finkel

September 25, 2024 By Jay Brooks

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Today is the 81st birthday of Charles Finkel, one of the pioneers of the better beer movement. He founded Merchant du Vin in 1978, the company responsible for importing a number of word-class beers to the U.S., including a few favorites of mind: Traquair, Ayinger, Westmalle, Rochefort and Orval. He also started the Seattle brewpub, Pike Brewing , in 1989, where Fal Allen was head brewer there from 1990-96. I first met Charlie around 1996 during a visit to Seattle. The following year, the Finkels sold both Pike Brewing and Merchant du Vin. In 2006, they bought back Pike Brewing. In Chicago for CBC a couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend an evening out and about town with the Finkels, and I wrote a profile of them for Beer Connoisseur a few years back. Charlie and his late wife Rose Ann are some of my favorite people in the industry. Join me in wishing Charlie a very happy birthday.