Home Brewing Company

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The Home Brewing Company was an American brewery in Richmond . The history of the brewery began with the establishment of a predecessor brewery in 1870 and ended when it closed in 1969.

history

founding

In 1870, Edward J. Euker, a German immigrant, founded a brewery on the corner of Clay and Harrison Streets in Richmond. He and his brother Louis had already made a name for themselves as a brewer in Richmond . His brewery also included houses for the employees and a beer garden . Three years after it was founded, Euker teamed up with Henry Bowler - together they ran the brewery under the name Spring Park Brewery (also known as Clay Street Brewery ) until 1877, when they had to close the brewery as a result of the founding crash . After the brewery had not been used for two years, it was taken over by George Washington Robinson, who ran it under the name Eagle Brewery until 1880 .

After a further twelve years of non-use, the brewery was taken over by the Richmond Brewing Company , but was already acquired in the following year by Peter Stumpf, a representative of Anheuser-Busch , who ran it as the Peter Stumpf Brewing Company . At that time, the first branch offices were set up in Petersburg , Phoebus , Newport News and Raleigh and an annual output of around 13,000 barrels was achieved. After Stumpf retired in 1897, the brewery continued to operate as the Home Brewing Company . Fritz Sitterding took over the office of president.

Turn of the century until closure

At the turn of the century, the company had an annual production capacity of 30,000 barrels of beer. This made it more than twice the size of its local competitor, the Rosenegk Brewing Company (also known as the Richmond Brewery). In addition to this, the brewery had to face its nationwide competitors Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz . In 1903, George Bernier became a master brewer , a position that he held until the 1950s and then passed on to his son.

At the time of Prohibition , the brewery was renamed the Home Products Company and focused on the production of ginger ale and other soft drinks . Since the use of malt to make beverages was completely banned in Virginia , the Home Brewing Company, unlike many other American breweries, was unable to produce low-alcohol light beer ("near beer") during Prohibition . Sitterding died in 1928 and his son Fritz Jr. took over management of the company.

In preparation for the end of Prohibition in 1933, the company's facilities were brought up to date with the help of a number of local business people, and as a result the annual capacity was increased to 50,000 barrels. The number of employees, which had to be reduced to 20 due to prohibition, was increased to 50 employees. In 1934, the brewery, which traded again as the Home Brewing Company, resumed production, including the product flagship "Richbrau Beer". Since Prohibition led to the closure of local rival Rosenegk, the Home Brewing Company was the only local brewery from Richmond, alongside the aforementioned national breweries Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz.

Despite some growth, the brewery remained a company that was only significant in the state of Virginia until the 1950s. Can filling was introduced in 1952. Despite strong competition in the Richmond market, an annual output of 100,000 barrels was achieved in 1961. The attempt in 1966 to enter the market for malt liquor was unsuccessful.

On October 14, 1969, the board had to announce the closure of the brewery. The reasons given were rising costs, growing competitive pressure and the financially unsuccessful past three years. The local newspaper "Richmond News Leader" described this day as "the saddest day in Richmond since April 1865". On December 1, 1969, the brewery was finally closed. All trademark rights went to the Queen City Brewing Company .

From the 1990s until 2010, a brewery in Richmond operated under the name Richbrau Brewing Company , as a tribute to the successful product of the Home Brewing Company. Except for the name, however, there was no connection.

The brewery buildings were renovated in 2004 and now function as a residential complex with 37 apartments.

literature

  • Lee Graves, Mark A. Thompson (2014): Richmond Beer: A Craft History of Brewing in the River City , Charleston (South Carolina): HistoryPress.
  • David G. Moyer (2009): American Breweries of the Past , Bloomington (Indiana): AuthorHouse, pp. 50-51 (English).

Web links