Lion Brewery (New York City)

Last updated
Lion Beer Can 1936 Lion Beer Can.JPG
Lion Beer Can 1936

Lion Brewing was a New York City-based brewery established in 1857; it closed in 1944. [1] In 1895, it was the sixth-largest brewery in the United States. [2]

Contents

Background

Shortly after immigrating to the United States, Swiss-German August Schmid and Emanuel Bernheimer founded the Costanz Brewery at East 4th Street near Avenue B in 1850. [2] The brewery produced a lagered beer, a favorite among German immigrants. By 1852, they built a second Costanz Brewery at Four Corners in Staten Island, home to a large German community. Five years later, Bernheimer became the partner of another German immigrant, James Speyers and founded the Lion Brewery in 1857 in Manhattan Valley.

A group of Catholic Bavarians helped build the Lion Brewery. When it was built, they held masses in the Brewery on Sunday mornings.

History

At its peak, the Lion Brewery occupied about six square city blocks, from Central Park West to Amsterdam Avenue and from 107th to 109th Street. [3] [4] At the time Manhattan's Upper West Side was an open area with inexpensive land housing, many public institutions and an insane asylum. There were about five to ten thousand living in shanties after being displaced by the creation of Central Park in 1859. Consequently, with the brewery and surrounding areas, the Upper West Side failed to increase its real estate value until the early twentieth century. In 1862, a $1 tax on each barrel of beer hurt small brewers but not Lion. The anti-saloon movement in the late 19th and early 20th century encouraged Lion to clean up its own saloons.

By 1889, Schmid was the principal owner of Lion Brewer. Schmid died on June 4, 1889, leaving his wife Josephine Schmid née Kleiner a life interest in one third of his estate. By 1909, Mrs. Schmid had become sole owner of the brewery, which was valued at $5,000,000; she had also made many shrewd real estate investments and was worth "nearly $10,000,000". [5] She married the Prince del Drago in 1909, and called herself the Princess Del Drago, [6] [ better source needed ] despite not actually holding the title. [7]

"LION BREWERY" with bottling house and garage map in 1916 Manhattan "LION BREWERY" with bottling house and garage map in 1916, from- Bromley Manhattan Plate 103 publ. 1916 (cropped).jpg
"LION BREWERY" with bottling house and garage map in 1916 Manhattan

Lion Brewery got caught up in a wave of mergers and closings among some of the smaller New York Brewers in the early 1940s which continued until 1941, when the business closed. The brewery (including the canning facilities) was auctioned off on August 26, 1943. The plant was demolished in 1944 and more than 3,000 tons of steel were taken from the original brewery structure and recycled for the war effort.

After the Brewery was knocked down the lot was paved over with cinders. On Sundays, after the war, returning World War II Veterans formed a Softball League and played almost every Sunday afternoon. Home plate was located near 107th street and Columbus Avenue. Today, apartment houses, small businesses, and a Junior High School occupy the brewery's former location.

Around 1860, the brewery published a pamphlet titled "Observations on Brewing and Beer: With an Analysis and Scientific Testimony Relative to the Lager Beer of the Speyers' Lion Brewery." The pamphlet had a short history of the different kinds of beer, and an analysis showing that their lager beer was pure. The pamphlet also included some great line drawings of the brewery complex.


See also

Related Research Articles

Swan Brewery

The Swan Brewery is a brewing company, whose brewery was located in Perth, Western Australia.

Steam beer is a highly effervescent beer made by fermenting lager yeasts at warmer ale yeast fermentation temperatures. It has two distinct but related meanings:

Blue Point Brewing Company is a brewery that is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev located on Long Island, in Patchogue, New York. The brewery offers a variety of year-round beers, and several seasonal brews, as well as a 'tasting room' which is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The brewery hosts an annual Cask Ale Festival, concerts and other events in the brew yard.

Beer in Australia Overview of the beer culture in Australia

Beer arrived in Australia at the beginning of British colonisation. In 2004 Australia was ranked fourth internationally in per capita beer consumption, at around 110 litres per year; although, the nation ranked considerably lower in a World Health Organization report of alcohol consumption per capita of 12.2 litres. Lager is by far the most popular type of beer consumed in Australia.

Beer in the United States Overview of the beer culture in the United States of America

Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.

Beer in Ireland

Brewing in Ireland has a long history. Production currently stands at over 8 million hectolitres, and approximately half the alcohol consumed is beer.

Beer in New Zealand

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in New Zealand, accounting for 63% of available alcohol for sale. At around 64.7 litres per person per annum, New Zealand is ranked 27th in global beer consumption per capita. The vast majority of beer produced in New Zealand is a type of lager, either pale or amber in colour, and typically 4–5% alcohol by volume.

Lion Brewery, Inc. United States historic place

Lion Brewery, Inc, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest breweries still in operation within Pennsylvania. Its beers and sodas are sold in Pennsylvania and neighboring states.

Christian Heurich Brewing Company Defunct American brewery

The Christian Heurich Brewing Company was a Washington, D.C., brewery founded in 1872 and incorporated by Christian Heurich in 1890. First located near Dupont Circle on 20th Street NW, it expanded to a much larger site in Foggy Bottom in 1895 after a major fire. The new brewery was located along the Potomac River at 26th Street and D Street NW where the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts now stands. The Heurich brewery was the largest in Washington's history, capable of producing 500,000 barrels of beer a year and 250 tons of ice daily.

Beer in Asia Overview of beer in Asia

Beer in Asia began when beer was produced in Sumer, Mesopotamia circa 6000 years ago. It was introduced by Europeans in the 19th century, with modern breweries established in British India, the Dutch East Indies, China, and Japan. Asia's first modern brewery was established in 1830 in India entirely using European brewing technology.

The United States Brewers' Association was a trade organization that existed from 1862 to 1986.

Lemp Brewery

The Lemp Brewery was a beer brewing company established in 1840 in St. Louis, Missouri that was acquired by the Griesedieck Beverage Company in 1920, which subsequently became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The brewery complex property consists of 27 buildings on a 13.7-acre (0.055 km2) site in the Marine Villa neighborhood. St. Louisian Steve DeBellis has been the owner of the Lemp Brewing Company trademark since 1988.

Camerons Brewery

Camerons Brewery Ltd is an English brewery established by John William Cameron in Stranton, Hartlepool, County Durham, in 1865. It is the largest independent brewer in the North East of England, with a brewery capacity of 1.5 million hectolitres and a tied estate of 75 houses. It is one of the oldest industrial concerns in Hartlepool, and has historically been one of the largest employers.

The Mink Building is a five-story German-American style red brick structure at 1361-1369 Amsterdam Avenue between 126th and 128th Streets, in the Manhattanville neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, originally part of a large brewery complex. It is one of a few buildings that remain of a vast beer brewing industry in this area in the late 19th century, beer brewing was an industry as big as finance or real estate in the 21st century New York City. The site of the complex at 1361 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan - predating residential development in Harlem - was chosen due to its relative isolation at the time.

F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company was a Manhattan brewing company.

The Kalgoorlie Brewing and Ice Company opened in 1896 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and traded successfully until 1943, when it was taken over by the Swan Brewery, and its name was simplified to Kalgoorlie Brewing Company. The Brewery, known locally as the 'Big K', located at Porter Street, Kalgoorlie, was the last survivor of nineteen breweries that once traded in the Eastern Goldfields.

Australian International Beer Awards Annual brewing competition

Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) is an annual brewing competition that commenced in 1992.

Lion Brewery or Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC is a predominantly Sri Lankan owned and operated brewery. The company is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and its stock is part of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index. Lion Brewery produces the highest selling beer, Lion Lager, in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Beer in Sri Lanka

Brewing began in Sri Lanka in 1881 primarily to meet the needs of the colonial tea planters. Despite the country's tropical weather, the preferred beer styles have remained relatively unchanged, with strong stouts remaining popular.

Prince del Drago Italian noble in New York City, 1860–1956

Giovanni Battista dei Principi del Drago, Marchese di Riofreddo, known in the United States as the Prince del Drago and Prince Don Giovanni del Drago, was a member of the princely Del Drago family of Rome, though not a prince in his own right. He was the fourth son of Filippo Massimiliano Del Drago Biscia Gentili, II principe di Mazzano ed Antuni and the grandson on his mother's side of Queen Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and her second husband, Agustín Fernando Muñoz.

References

  1. "Lion Brewery". Rusty Cans. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 Mittelman, A. (2008). Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer. Algora Pub. p. 29. ISBN   978-0-87586-572-0 . Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  3. Salwen, P. (1989). Upper West Side Story: A History and Guide. Abbeville Press. p. 69. ISBN   978-0-89659-894-2 . Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. The New York Supplement. National reporter system. West Publishing Company. 1902. p. 138. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. "Mrs. Schmid Weds Prince del Drago", New York Times, May 23, 1909, p. 1
  6. "The Lost 1898 Del Drago Mansion -- No. 807 Fifth Avenue", Daytonian in Manhattan, April 11, 2011
  7. "Brewer's Widow not a Princess", New York Times, May 25, 1909, p. 9