Historical Tidbits: Beer. Breweries, 1977

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A handful of listings from from Brewers Digest "Buyers' Guide and Directory, 1977," a directory listing every brewery in every state. Breweries located in:

California:

  • Miller Brewing Co.
  • Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
  • Pabst Brewing Co.
  • General Brewing Co.
  • Falstaff Brewing Corp.
  • Steam Beer Brewing Co.
  • Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.

Note: New Albion opened for business in July 1977, but the folks at Brewers Digest weren't yet aware of its existence

Colorado:

  • Adolph Coors. Co.

Oregon:

  • Blitz-Weinhard Co., Inc.

Pennsylvania:

  • Horlacher Brewing Co.
  • F. & M. Schafer Brewing Co.
  • Erie Brewing Co.
  • Latrobe Brewing Co.
  • Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Co.
  • C. Schmidt & Sons, Inc.
  • Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
  • D. G. Yuengling & Son., Inc.
  • Straub Brewery
  • Jones Brewing Co.
  • The Lion, Inc. - Gibbons/Stegmaier Brewery

Wisconsin:

  • Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.
  • Walter Brewing Co.
  • G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc.
  • Miller Brewing Co.
  • Pabst Brewing Co.
  • Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.
  • Jos. Huber Brewing Co.
  • Stevens Point Beverage Co.

Detour From Beer: Micro-Distillers

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Nice article in the LA Times about west coast brewers who are exploring the joys of microdistilling.

I am a huge fan of the craft distillery movement, although, sadly, I can't find much of the good stuff here in Iowa, thanks mainly to dumbass liquor laws.... As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, Bill Owens, who founded one of the first brewpubs, is also the guy behind the American Distilling Institute.

Thanks and a tip o' the mug to my pal David Fahey, who maintains the Daily Register at the Alcohol & Drugs History Society website.

Historical Tidbits: Beer. Random Statistics, 1868-2006

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A collection of somewhat random statistics about brewers, beer, and brewing. Not sure what it all adds up to, but hey, I've got the numbers. Might as well use 'em.

1868:

population of U.S: 36.5 million

per capita consumption: 4.8 gallons

 

1878:

47.8 million

6.1 gallons

 

1888:

  60.3 million

11.7 gallons

 

1898:

73.3 million

15.5 gallons

 

1908:

88.7 million

15.5 gallons

Note: nearly 50% of Americans lived under some form of local/state prohibition. Pre-prohibition per capita consumption peaked in 1911 with 21 gallons, a level also reached in 1913 and 1914

 

1918:

102.9 million

15.1 gallons

1,092 breweries (fiscal year)

Note: On December 1, 1918, the nation's breweries halted operations, thanks to a presidential order aimed at rationing the nation's supplies of grain and fuel.

 

1938:

129.7 million

12.9 gallons

696 breweries

 

1948:

146 million

18.5 gallons

 

1958:

173.4 million

15 gallons

252 breweries

 

1968:

199.3 million

16.7 gallons

163 breweries

 

1978:

222 million

22 gallons

89 breweries

 

1988:

244.4 million

22.6 gallons

245 breweries

 

1997:

267.6 million

20.6 gallons

1,698 breweries (estimated)

 

2006:

299.3 million (estimated)

21.6 gallons

1,905 breweries

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Sources: United States Brewers' Association Almanac, 1940 Beer Institute, including the 1999 Brewers' Almanac

Historical Tidbits: Top Ten Brewers, 1950

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Top ten American brewers, 1950 1. Schlitz (5 million barrels) 2. Anheuser-Busch (4.8 m) 3. Ballantine (4.3 m) 4. Pabst (3.4 m) 5. Liebmann [Rheingold] (2.6 m) 6. Schaefer (2.6) 7. Falstaff (2.2 m) 8. Miller (2.1 m) [first time in top 10; ranked 19th in 1948, 11th in 1949] 9. Blatz (1.7 m) 10. Pfeiffer (1.6 m) Plus another five: 11. Griesedieck Western (1.4 m) 12. Goebel (1.2 m) 13. Ruppert (1.2 m) 14. Lucky (1.09 m) 15. Duquesne (1.08 m)

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Source: "Beer Drinkers Like Them Light and Dry," Business Week, April 19, 1952, p. 147.

Read All About It: Pabst and Marketing

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I've long been on record about my astonishment/"admiration" of the Pabst marketing scam -- er, um, scheme. I have no doubt that for decades to come it will turn up in college textbooks and undergrad/MBA courses as a prime example of whiz-bang marketing. Indeed, it probably already has.

But no need to take a college class to learn more. The tale of the Pabst phenomenon has now been documented in a new book aimed at a mainstream audience. The book is Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, by Rob Walker, a columnist for the New York Times. (*1) This review of the book focuses on the Pabst example. In case you're interested.

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*1: By the way, I've not yet read the book and this isn't an endorsement of it. Although I intend to read it because it's related to other things I'm thinking about.