 | |
| Industry | Brewery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1886 |
| Founder | Philip Bissinger |
| Defunct | 1976 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Beer |
The Reading Brewing Company was an American brewery established by Philip Bissinger in 1886. Headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, it ceased operations in 1976. [1]
On August 9, 1886, "stockholders of the Reading Brewing Company met ... at Bissinger's Cafe, for the purpose of effecting a permanent organization." Henry S. Eckert, Garrett B. Stevens, and Lewis Kemp were then elected as president, secretary, and treasurer, respectively, while Philip Bissinger and George Pohlig were appointed as general manager and superintendent. The board's Committee on Subscription reported that "over three-fourths of the capital stock" of the company was already "subscribed," and the paperwork for the company's application for a charter was completed in anticipation of its submission to state government officials the next day. The president and general manager were then authorized to "proceed at once in making preparations for the erection of [the company's new brewery] buildings." Construction began the next morning at 9th and Laurel streets in Reading at 7 a.m. [2]
During its early years of operation, the Reading Brewing Company owned Mt. Penn Park, [3] and produced a Pennsylvania Dutch Lager at a volume of 1,200 barrels per year. Before the turn of the century, the brewery was able to increase production so significantly that it was able to turn out approximately 50,000 barrels of beer per year, beginning in 1891.
In 1901, local newspapers reported that "James Haring, driver of team No. 1, of the Reading Brewing Company, was the first brewery driver to deliver with a sleigh" on the snowy morning of January 31. [4]
In late October 1902, The Reading Eagle reported that the company "just completed extensive improvements to its plant at 9th and Laurel, which will give it a largely increased output." Noting that "no money has been spared in the improvements" and that "the plant today is as well equipped as any in the country for its size," the newspaper added that the "company's business has steadily advanced, owing to the improved quality of its beer," and that the company "does a large local trade" with a product that "is popular with the public." Among the improvements made that year, the kettle and fermenting tank capacity were both enlarged, a "new automatic weighing and counting machine" was "put in for the measuring of malt," and an improved keg washing machine and a cyclone filter mass washer where were installed, as were a "Colby automatic racker," a "Theurer filter with 20 cells," and "a new electric beer pressure regulating pump," which were expected to double the racking room's capacity. In addition, "Pawling & Harnischfeger, of Milwaukee, put in a model pitching machine, which pitches beer kegs, and is a labor saving arrangement." And the company also built a new beer storage facility across the street, and was in mid-construction of a new office building that would include a counting room and a directors' room. [5]
In 1918, the company's attorney, Joseph R. Dickinson, brought suit against the Muhlenberg Brewing Company for its failure to pay the Reading Brewing Company for its purchase of $1,396.53 of "beer, ale, porter and other brewery products." [6]
Even bigger challenges began for the company in 1920 with the start of Prohibition in the United States. On October 27, 1923, The Reading Eagle's front page carried the headline, "Beer Dumped Into Sewers Blows Off Manholes, Floods Two Streets: Populace Rushes to Scene with Kettles, Bottles and Pans for Free Refreshments." Beginning at 8:45 a.m. that morning, U.S. Treasury Department agent D.D. Gough began carrying out orders to destroy twenty-six of the company's 250-gallon tanks of beer in order to facilitate the brewery's sale to George W. Green of the Reading Tobacco Company. [7]
From 1934 to 1951, the company ran a "retro" advertising campaign that appealed to consumers' nostalgia for simpler times. Seven years later, Reading Brewing was forced to rebrand due to flagging sales. Adopting the slogan, "The Friendly Beer for Modern People," it then reversed its slump and continued to post strong sales figures into the early 1970s.
In 1976, the Reading Brewing Company ceased operations due to increasing pressure from larger macro brewers. [8] [9] The company's last day of operation was April 15, 1976. [10] Its brand and label were then purchased shortly afterwards by C. Schmidt & Sons. The brand changed hands several times until 1999, when it was again retired. In 2006, the label was revived by Legacy Brewing, which went on to produce original recipes from the revitalized brewery until 2009 when the label and its recipes were sold to Ruckus Brewing.
D. G. Yuengling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States. In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery and largest wholly American-owned brewery in the United States. Its headquarters are in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In 2015, Yuengling produced about 2.9 million barrels, operating two Pennsylvania facilities and a brewery in Tampa, Florida.
Pittsburgh Brewing Company is a beer company headquartered in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States best known for producing brands such as Iron City Beer, I.C. Light Beer, I.C. Light Mango, Old German, and Block House Brewing. Until August 2009, all production was conducted at its Lawrenceville facility. From August 2009 to 2021, their products were contract brewed at City Brewing Company in the facility once produced Rolling Rock. On February 4, 2021, Iron City Beer's Instagram account announced that Pittsburgh Brewing Company would resume production of its own product in a new production brewery in Creighton, Pennsylvania, in the original Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company plant. At its opening, the facility is capable of producing 150,000 BBLs of beer annually.
Morland was an English brewery founded in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and was brewing beer industrially by 1711. It was the second oldest brewer in England up until it was bought by Greene King in 2000. Morland's beers include Hen's Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Tanner's Jack and Morland's Original.
Penn Brewery, also known as the Pennsylvania Brewing Company, is a brewery and restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Tom Pastorius in 1986, and is located at 800 Vinial Street in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, on the site of the former Eberhardt and Ober Brewery.
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, commonly known as Farsons, is a Maltese food and beverage conglomerate whose businesses include brewing, sale and distribution of beer and soft drinks; importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages; operation of franchised food retailers; and property development.
Lion Brewery, Inc, is the operator of the Lion Brewery, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1905. A "heritage brewery", it is one of only 10 United States pre-Prohibition breweries that has independently and continuously operated since the repeal of Prohibition. It produces beers under its own Lionshead brand, and contract brews beer for other companies.
The Valentin Blatz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It produced Blatz Beer from 1851 until 1959, when the label was sold to Pabst Brewing Company.
Courage Brewery was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in 1787 in London, England.
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited was a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures West End Draught beer.
The original Fred Koch Brewery was a small, independent brewery in Dunkirk, New York that produced beer and ale from late 1888 until 1985. Production peaked in the early 1950s with over 100,000 barrels brewed annually. When the Dunkirk, New York brewery was closed in 1985, it was located at 15-25 West Courtney Street.
The Fred Krug Brewery was located at 2435 Deer Park Boulevard in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1859, Krug Brewery was the first brewery in the city. Krug was one of the "Big 4" brewers located in Omaha, which also included the Storz, Willow Springs and Metz breweries. Later sold to Falstaff in 1936, the facility closed in 1987.
Canal Street Brewing Co., LLC, doing business as Founders Brewing Company, is a brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, known for producing several highly rated and award-winning craft-style ales, including KBS, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard, and Founders Porter. Since its founding as a craft brewery in the mid-1990s, it has grown to become the 15th largest brewery in the United States, and a prominent member of the West Michigan brewing industry. It is now majority-owned by Mahou San Miguel of Spain.
Truman's Brewery was a large East London brewery and one of the largest brewers in the world at the end of the 19th century. Founded around 1666, the Black Eagle Brewery was established on a plot of land next to what is now Brick Lane in London, E1. It grew steadily until the 18th century when, under the management of Benjamin Truman, and driven by the demand for porter, it expanded rapidly and became one of the largest brewers in London. Its growth continued into and through the 19th century with the expansion of its brewery and pub estate. In 1873, it purchased Philips Brewery in Burton and became the largest brewery in the world.
The Neuweiler Brewery, also known as the Germania Brewery, is an historic brewery complex located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built between 1911 and 1913, the complex consists of the office building, brew house, stock house, pump house, wash house, chemistry lab building, boiler room, bottling house, garage, fermenting cellar, and smokestack with the name "Neuweiler" on it.
The Duquesne Brewing Company was a major brewery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from its founding in 1899 until its dissolution in 1972. The brand was revived under the name Duquesne Brewing Company in 2008, in order to re-establish the beer in Western Pennsylvania starting in the summer of 2010.
Dock Street Brewing Company is an independent craft brewing company with a 10,500 square foot brewpub and production brewery in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, and a 1,000 square foot tasting room in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Established in 1985, it claims to be the first craft brewing company based in the Philadelphia area following Prohibition and one of the first in the country. The name Dock Street was chosen in honor of the seaport district of the same name in Philadelphia, which was the largest producer of beer in the then newly-formed United States in the late 1700s.
The Christian Schmidt Brewing Company was an American brewing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1860, it was the largest brewing company in the history of Philadelphia, producing nearly 4,000,000 barrels of beer a year in the late 1970s. When it closed in 1987, it marked the first time in over 300 years that there was no brewery operating in Philadelphia.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has one major brewery and dozens of microbreweries, and is home to several iconic beer brands from a variety of brewers. It has had an association with beer throughout its history, with the brewing industry getting its start prior to its official founding as a city and was nationally recognized as such by the end of the 19th century. This heritage can be found explicitly in its Major League Baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and on recognizable beer brands such as Old Milwaukee and Milwaukee's Best. This recognition of Milwaukee as a brewing hub dates back to the early 20th century, and boasted the world's largest brewing capacity as late as 1981. The city is nationally recognized with the nickname "Brew City" due to its nearly two centuries of brewing heritage from multiple past major brewers including Miller Brewing Company, Pabst Brewing Company, and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Today, through the ownership of MillerCoors, the city's largest brewery produces 10 million barrels of beer annually.