Valentin Blatz Brewing Company
The Valentin Blatz Brewing Company was an American brewery in Milwaukee . It was founded in 1846 and acquired by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1969 . Today the Blatz portfolio is owned by the Pabst Brewing Company .
history
founding
In 1846 the German emigrant Johann Braun founded the City Brewery on the corner of Main Street and Division Street in Milwaukee. Five years later, Valentin Blatz , who had previously worked as a foreman in other breweries and as a master brewer for Braun, opened his own brewery next to the City Brewery . After Braun's death in 1852, he married his widow and merged the two breweries.
The Blatz brewery grew strongly in the years to come. Annual output rose from 34,000 barrels in 1871 to 65,000 four years later. Like his competitor Joseph Schlitz , Blatz also delivered beer to Chicago after the local breweries were destroyed in the fire disaster of 1871 . A year later, Blatz-Bier won an award at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia .
The brewery burned down on August 25, 1873. Blatz was able to fulfill his current orders from the warehouse, which had been spared. The reconstruction lasted until January 1874. By 1880 the annual output had risen to 125,000 barrels. Blatz was the first Milwaukee brewery to bottle beer. In addition, Blatz beer was the first Milwaukee beer to be marketed nationwide. Distribution centers were operated in Chicago , New York , Boston , New Orleans , Memphis , Charleston, and Savannah. In 1889 it was officially registered as the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company with a capital stock of two million dollars.
Turn of the century and prohibition
In 1890, Blatz was bought by a group of English investors from London, the United States Brewing Company, also known as the English Syndicate, for $ 2.5 million.
At the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, Blatz was the only draft beer on offer in German restaurants.
Valentin Blatz died in 1894. His sons Albert and Valentin, Jr., took over the management of the company together with his son-in-law John Kremer. At the turn of the century, Blatz was the third largest brewer in town.
The United States Brewing Company sold Blatz to businessman Edward Landsberg in 1920. During the American prohibition , Blatz produced malt beer, fruit juices, cigars and chewing gum from 1920 to 1933. After the end of Prohibition, brewing was resumed. The brand portfolio included Blatz, Pilsener, Old Heidelberg, Private Stock, Milwaukee Dark, Culmbacher, Continental Special, Tempo and English Style Ale. In 1943 the Blatz Brewery is bought by Schenley Industries . In 1950, Blatz was the ninth largest brewery in the United States, with an annual output of 1,756,000 barrels .
Sale to Pabst
Despite the company's growth, it became clear in the 1950s that Blatz could not compete against the other Milwaukee breweries such as Miller, Pabst and Schlitz. In addition, there were drastically rising production costs, which restricted the company's competitiveness.
Blatz was bought up in 1958 under increasing pressure from Pabst. The company was separated from the Department of Justice again. The production facilities were closed, only the brands remained with Pabst. G. Heileman Brewing Company bought the brands in 1969.
Heileman was bought by the Stroh Brewery Company in 1996 . This was again partially sold to Pabst and partially to Miller three years later .
Blatz-Bier has been back in Pabst's portfolio since 2007. It is made under license from the Miller Brewing Company.
The historic Blatz Brewery has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986 . The former office building was registered three years earlier. The premises were converted into condominiums. The bottling plant is now the Campus Center Building of the Milwaukee School of Engineering .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Other sources indicate that the founding name was John Braun's Cedar Brewery and was later changed to City Brewery by Blatz .
- ↑ a b c Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, Inc .: Blatz Brewery History ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed June 28, 2013
- ↑ a b c d e f g Blatz Beer: History ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed June 28, 2013
- ↑ a b The Examiner: Happy Birthday, Valentin Blatz (English), accessed on June 28, 2013
- ^ Amy Mittelman: Brewing Battles: The History of American Beer , p. 65 Available online on Google Books , accessed June 28, 2013
- ↑ Find A Grave: Valentin Blatz (English), accessed on June 28, 2013
