Jump to content

History of brewing in Rochester, New York

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The Most Comfortable Chair (talk | contribs) at 05:36, 23 May 2022 (Fixes per MOS:BOLD, MOS:LAYOUT, and H:TQG.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Great first draft, and kudos for submitting! I would recommend tweaking the language to make it more encyclopedic. I'd be happy to accept it when that's done. PK650 (talk) 06:20, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

The city of Rochester, NY was uniquely positioned for the brewing industry in the early 19th century. The corn, rye, barley, wheat, and other grains grown in the fertile Genesee River Valley were shipped down river to be milled in such quantity that by 1838 Rochester was world's largest flour producer, earning it the nickname the Flour City. When the Erie Canal made it's way through Rochester in 1823 the city became a true western Boomtown, growing from a population of 9,200 in 1821 to 36,000 by 1850—a year in which the city has at least 20 breweries in operation.[1] The emergence of the canal also allowed for the easy delivery of hops, grown to such an extent in area the between Albany and Syracuse that by 1849 the region produced more than anywhere else in the country, eventually selling more than three million pounds annually by 1855.[2][3]

A large influx of German immigrants escaping famine and war in the late 1840s also contributed.[4] During the 1850s another dozen breweries began operating. By 1880, 13 breweries produced a product valued at $1,411,000. By the early 20th century, brewing was an immensely successful industry in the city. In 1909 nine major breweries supplieed not only the local market, but the entire northeast.

While the breweries themselves were large employers, they also supported a number of other industries including bottlers; salesmen; teamsters; ice cutters; farmers growing wheat, barley, and hops; tavern keepers; lithographers (for labels); wagon makers and horsemen. In turn, the sale of brewery grain to farmers brought about $100,000 to local brewers. Beer was applauded by brewers and many doctors as healthy a liquid bread.[5][6]

Prohibition shuttered the Rochester brewing scene in 1919. After Prohibition, only five breweries would reopen in Rochester. By 1970, only the Genesee Brewing Company was left.

Today, more than a dozen independent craft brewers operate in the City of Rochester, and another two dozen within Monroe County.

Pre-Prohibition

Rochester Brewery Ad, 1890
Miller Brewing Ad, 1890
Old Genesee Beer with two holes from a "churchkey" or opener for "flat top" cans
  • 1819 The first person known to brew beer in the village of Rochester on any scale was Nathan Lyman, nephew of Red Mill owner Hervey Eli. He did so with water taken from a natural spring around the area where St Paul St and Central Avenue meet to his home on Water Street close to the present day Main Street Bridge.[5] Subsequent city directories list the address of Lyman's brewery as "south end of Water Street" (1834), "East end of the aqueduct" (1838), 17 Water Street (1841), and 40 South St. Paul St. (1844). The address of the spring is listed as 67 North St. Paul St. by a later purchase of that property.
  • 1824 A January advertisement in the Rochester Telegraph promotes cash paid for corn, rye, and barley by Captain Ely's Brewery.[7] In October, Reuben Bennet, of Manilus, repairs and extends an existing brewery owned by Ely & Ensworth,[8] likely located on the site of the present Powers Building.[9] Other advertisements that year note “Cash paid for Barley at the new brewery at the east end of the aqueduct," “fresh yeast for sale” and “malting done on short notice.”
  • 1825 A Rochester Telegraph article describing a recent census notes the village has two breweries in operation.[10]
  • 1834 John and Gabriel Longmuir establish a brewery at 8 North Water Street, later identified as Rochester Brewery. [11]
  • 1841 George Marburger establishes his brewery along a single-track railway at 80 Clinton Avenue North. In 1848 he is put in charge of Marburger Brothers, a company composed of himself and Jacob and Louis Marburger. George dies in 1854 leaving his widow, Elizabeth and brother, Jacob, in control.[4]
  • 1845 Edward Warren establishes a brewery on the spring site at 67 North St. Paul Street. In 1859 he changes the name to City Spring Brewery.[12] Nathan Lyman no longer appears in the City Directory.
  • 1849 Louis Bauer constructs a brewery on Lyell Street, later listed as Lyell Bridge, which he would operate for twenty years.[13] Charles Rau is hired as brewmaster at Marburger Brothers.
  • 1852 Henry Bartholomay comes to Rochester, entering into business with Phillip Wills. On December 7 their brewery serves the first glass of lager beer produced in Rochester.
  • 1854 Frederick Miller arrives in Rochester and establishes what would, in 1883, be incorporated as the Miller Brewery Company on Lake Avenue and Brown Street. The original building was destroyed in fire in 1876 and rebuilt the next year.[5] The company added an ale house in 1889 and later introduced its famous Acme Ale. Its name was changed to Flower City Brewing in 1902 and would operate until Prohibition.[12]
  • 1855 Frederick Loebs and Christian Meyer establish Meyer & Loebs Brewery on the corner of Hudson and Merrimac. In 1879, the name is changed to Lion Brewing Company; in 1885, Loebs Brothers; finally, in 1889, it is incorporated under the name American Brewing Company (ABC) and brews until Prohibition.[5] In 1898 an ale brewery is erected. By 1903 capacity 100,000 barrels;[14] by 1907, 200,000 barrels. ABC's bottled beer takes prizes at the 1900 Paris Exposition and the 1901 the Marseilles Fair. Standard Brewing is also incorporated, initially brewing only in bulk.[12]
  • 1856 Charles Rau, now-husband to George Marburger's widow, Elizabeth, establishes Jacob Rau Brewing on St. Paul Street.[4] He later takes on a partner to form Rau & Reisky. In 1874 the brewery becomes known as Reisky & Spies.[12]
  • 1861 Patrick Enright establishes Enright Brewing Company on the corner of Mill and Factory Streets, which operates until at least 1909.[5][12]
  • 1864 The Longmuir brothers sell their brewery to Charles Gordon who partners with Henry H. Bevier, forming H.H. Bevier & Co.. In 1869 H. B. Hathaway entered the partnership. A new building is erected on Water Street connecting it with the older brewery building by underground tunnel. They later build a stable for 32 horses in order to deliver beer throughout the city. It is the first stable in Rochester in which the horses sleep on the second floor. Bevier died 1872 and the firm changed its name to Hathaway and Gordon. Upon his death Bevier left a sum of money to his wife, Susan, who, upon her death in 1903, left a gift of more than $300,000 to the Mechanics Institute—predecessor to Rochester Institute of Technology—for the construction of the Bevier Memorial Building, built on the site of Nathaniel Rochester's second home in the village.[15][5][16]
  • 1874 Henry Bartholomay organizes the Bartholomay Brewing Company with a capital stock of $250,000. He opens a modern facility on St. Paul St. near Vincent on the eastern bluffs of the Genesee River. Its first year of production saw 3,000 barrels; and 125,000 in the next. The malt house had a capacity of 25,000 bushels. By 1890, the annual production is 350,000 barrels of beer with a malting capacity of 200,000 bushels.[17] The company would eventually have offices in New York City, Boston, and Baltimore. At one point in the 1880s it operated the largest ice house in New York State.[4]
  • 1875 The Rochester Brewing Company is founded on Cliff Street. In 1889 it begins operating as a branch of Bartholomay Brewing. By 1890, it is selling 130,000 barrels per year in US and foreign markets. The brewery's capacity that year is 225,000 barrels, with the ability to store 60,000 barrels in their cellars.[17] By 1902 it is independent once more and continues to operate until Prohibition.[18]
  • 1878 Mathias Kondolf takes charge of Reisky & Spies, organizes a stock company and changes its name to the Genesee Brewing Company.[12]
  • 1882 The Rochester Brewers Association is founded.[14]
  • 1884 Casper Pfaudler, an apprentice at Bartholomay Brewing, invents vacuum fermentation, called the F.F. Vacuum Process, and organizes the Pfaudler Vacuum Fermentation Process Co. The system speeds up the process of fermentation by means of vacuum in glass-lined, steel containers. The process transforms the systems for the handling, storing, and transportation of beer and is installed in breweries across America and in Europe.[14][19]
  • 1889 A British syndicate known as the City of London Contract Corporation Limited purchases the Bartholomay, Genesee, and Rochester Brewing companies. It is organized under the name Bartholomay Brewing Company, though each company keeps its own name.[20]
  • 1899 Standard Brewing opens at 13 Cataract Street at the end of Platt St., not far from the Genesee Brewing Company.[21]. It is built by famed brewery architect Adam C. Wagner.[22] By 1903 it was brewing 40,000 barrels per year.[14]
  • 1890 Bartholomay and Rochester Breweries began to using water from the Genesee River for icemaking and other maintenance, a practiced which save The Rochester Brewery $65 per day. The Bartholomay and Genesee Breweries dig wells into the river bed with a capacity of 160,000 gallons. The water is naturally filtered and kept cool by the rock.[5]
  • 1909 Mattias Kondolf opens the Moerlbach Brewery on Emerson Street with a capacity of of 100,000 barrels per year. It is shuttered as a result of Prohibition.[23]

Post-Prohibition

There were at least seven breweries operating in Rochester as the 18th amendment ended production of most alcohol. Some successfully converted to other industries. Bartholomay, for example, converted to dairy production. The American Brewing Company changed its name to Rochester Food Products Corporation and sold malt extract, apple cider, vinegar, and Rochester Special “near beer,” a legal product that contained less than 0.05% alcohol.

  • 1932 Louis Wehle, a former brewmaster at Genesee Brewing Company, purchases the brewery buildings and recipes and hires many former employees, incorporating the business on July 8. On April 29, 1933, Genesee sold their first brew, their famous Liebotschaner.[24][25] The first year's production totaled approximately 150,000 barrels and by 1934 Wehle had nearly 1,000 employees.[5]
  • 1933 ABC reopens as a brewery and introduces its most well-known label, Tam O’Shanter. Other ABC brands include American Bock Beer, American Porter, Apollo Beer, Liberty Beer and Seneca Ale. The brewery closes in June, 1950. Standard Brewing Company reopens at 436 Lake Avenue, in the old Flower City Brewery. Cataract Brewery opens at 13 Cataract Street, the former location of Standard Brewing. It closed in 1940.[26]
  • 1934 Rochester Brewing Company reopens at 777 Emerson St and introduces Old Topper Ale, which it brewed until 1970 when the brewery closed down. Topper was then brewed the Eastern Brewing Company of New Jersey.[27]
  • 1956 Rochester Brewing Company merges with Standard Brewing Company, creating Rochester-Standard Brewing Company. Standard Brewing's Lake Ave location closes and all brewing in consolidated on Emerson St. This brewery closes in 1970, leaving the Genesee Brewing Company as Rochester's sole brewer.[28][29]

See Also

References

  1. ^ McDaniels, Skeeter (2008). Brewed in Rochester A Photographic History of Beer in Rochester, NY 1885-1975. Rochester, NY: Mountain Air Books. ISBN 9780615249414.
  2. ^ Robinson, Alex. "New York Farmers Hope To Discover New Hops". Modern Farmer. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  3. ^ Baur, JOe. "New York State: America's Former Hop Capital". craftbeer.com. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Pfaefflin, Hermann; Wallenberg, Rudolf; Swinney, H.J. (2007). A 100-Year History of the German Community in Rochester, NY 1815-1915. Rochester, NY: The Federation of German-American Societies. ISBN 9780615163352
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rosenberg-Naparsteck, Ruth (1992). "A Brief History of Brewing in Rochester" (PDF). Rochester History. LIV (2). Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  6. ^ McKelvey, Blake (January 1958). "The Germans of Rochester Their Traditions and Contributions" (PDF). Rochester History. 20 (1).
  7. ^ "To Farmers". Rochester Telegraph. 13 January 1824. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Rochester Brewery". Rochester Telegraph. 26 October 1824. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Walking Tour of Rochester's One Hundred Acre Plot". lowerfalls.org. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Our Village". No. 15 February 1825. Rochester Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  11. ^ Rochester Directory (PDF). Rochester, NY: C. & M. Morse. 1834. p. 60.
  12. ^ a b c d e f A History of the Brewery and Liquor Industry of Rochester, NY (PDF). Rochester, NY: The Kearse Publishing Company. 1907. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  13. ^ Pfaefflin, Hermann; Wallenberg, Rudolf; Swinney, H.J. (2007). A 100-Year History of the German Community in Rochester, NY 1815-1915. Rochester, NY: The Federation of German-American Societies. ISBN 9780615163352.
  14. ^ a b c d One Hundred Years of Brewing A Complete History of the Progress Made in the Art, Science and Industry of Brewing in the World, Particularly During the Nineteenth Century. Chicago and New York: H.S. Rich and Co. 1903. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Walking Tour of Rochester's One Hundred Acre Plot". lowerfalls.org. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  16. ^ Sharp, Brian; Cleveland, Will (6 April 2018). "Rochester aims to recapture its rich brewery history". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b The City of Rochester Illustrated (PDF). Rochester NY: The Post-Express Printing Company. 1890. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Rochester Brewing Co". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  19. ^ Deckert, Andrea (22 February 2013). "Pfaudler becomes piece of $20B Houston company". Rochester Business Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Buying Up Breweries" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 February 1889. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  21. ^ Leavy, Michael; Leavy, Glenn (2004). Rochester's Dutchtown. Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 0738536857.
  22. ^ "From Eyesore to Opportunity: Rochester's Cataract Brewhouse – Landmark Society".
  23. ^ Sharp, Brian; Cleveland, Will (6 April 2018). "Rochester aims to recapture its rich brewery history". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  24. ^ "A Law is Modified..A Law-Abiding Rochester Institution Resumes Operation". Rochester Evening Journal. Rochester, NY. 22 March 1933. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  25. ^ Gillman, Gary. "Liebotschaner – of Genesee, of Liebotschan. Part I." Gary Gillman's Beer et seq. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  26. ^ Morrell, Alan. "Whatever Happened To ... Standard Brewery?". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  27. ^ McDaniels, Skeeter (2008). Brewed in Rochester A Photographic History of Beer in Rochester, NY 1885-1975. Rochester, NY: Mountain Air Books. ISBN 9780615249414.
  28. ^ Finney, Michael. "N.Y. Brewery advertisement on a N.Y. made lidded beer stein". Stein Collectors International. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  29. ^ Morrell, Alan (21 May 2016). "Whatever Happened To ... Standard Brewery?". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 16 May 2022.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_brewing_in_Rochester,_New_York&oldid=1089329654"