A Brief and incomplete History of Brewing in
Fort Wayne, IndianaA Brief and incomplete History of Brewing in
Fort Wayne, Indiana
| French Brewery
Centlivre Brewing Company 1862 - 19181933 - 1961 Old Crown Brewing Corporation
|
Founded as the French Brewery by
an immigrant from France, Charles Centlivre.
He previously had a
brewery in Louisville. Renamed to Centlivre sometime after 1881.
A malting house was built in 1868. The original brewing facility on the west bank of the St. Joseph River was destroyed by fire on July 16, 1889. Louis Centlivre died in 1911. A statue of him was made (with his foot on a barrel) and it is now at the Hall's Gas House Restaurant on Superior St. in downtown Fort Wayne. The brewery was located near what is now Spyrun and State Streets between the river and a feeder canal. It operated a horse-drawn railroad line which was sold to the city in 1894. It also built a public park near the brewery that had horse racing and boat rides. Became the Centlivre Ice and Cold Production Storage Company during prohibition. Made a near beer named "That's It" for 2 years. A major $1.5 expansion was made in 1950. which made 250,000 bbls annually. Merged with Chris-Craft in 1961 and renamed Old Crown. Motto: Lazy Aged. Marjorie Aubrey was General Manager. Closed on December 1st, 1973. Brands included Alps Brau and Centlivre. Old Crown's brands included Nickel Plate, Old Crown - Motto: Lazy Aged, and Van Merritt.
|
|
"Mr. Centlivre, proprietor of the French brewery, while he has a good business and is generally prosperous, feels that Fort Wayne people, especially all the business men, should be more liberal in their patronage, and especially more generous in their comments of a home industry which brings so much money to the town. Mr. Centlivre pays, on an average, twelve hundred dollars per month to the government in the shape of taxes, and employs a large number of men, who must necessarily spend their money here. Mr. Centliver makes a quality of beer equal to any of the brands imported from outside cities, and it would be a credit to the city for the people to call for it in preference to any other, in order to give encouragement to a worthy home enterprise. Mr. Centliver has been in business here for many years and has proven himself to be a good and very enterprising citizen. We are not urging the consumption of beer, but so long as people will drink it they should use the article, which is made at home." - Fort Wayne Daily Gazette” August 10,1881. |
|
Berghoff
| Berghoff Brewing Company
1887 - 1918
|
Founded by Herman, Henry,
Hubert, and Gustav Berghoff, immigrants from Dortmunder, Prussia. The original building was destroyed by fire just before it opened. Was immediately rebuilt. Headquarters was at 1025 Grant St. Berghoff beer was sold at the Chicago World Fair in 1892 and at that time Herman opened the Berghoff Restaurant at State and Adams Streets in the loop which is still operating. Henry was elected mayor of Fort Wayne in 1902. At the start of WWI, the company slogan changed from "A Real German Brew" to "A Real Honest Brew". Made Bergo soft drink and Berghoff Malt Tonic during prohibition. Gustavis' sons opened the Hoff Brau Brewing Company in 1934 (below). Herman Berghoff Brewing Co. 1887 - 1899 Sold to Falstaff on April 12, 1954. At this time the Berghoff Brewery had a capacity of over one million bbls per year. Brands: Berghoff. International Club. Motto used at the end of prohibition: The beer that made itself famous. The Berghoff restaurant in Chicago has, since 1960, had Berghoff Beer brewed for it by the Joseph Huber Brewing Company of Monroe, WI. They went "regional" with Berghoff Original, Dark, Red, and Oktoberfest in 1994. There is now a wide line including a Hefe-Weizen, Pale Ale, Genuine Dark, Famous Bock, Classic Pilsner, and Premium. |
Hoff Brau
| Hoff Brau Brewing Company
1934 - 1951
|
 Founded by Gustavis Berghoff's sons immediately after prohibition. The
brewery building was a block away from the Berghoff brewery (above).
Motto: The beer without a headache. A 1934 booklet advised parents that "Growing children need a small glass with every meal".
|
Falstaff
| Falstaff Brewing Company
S&P (Pabst) 1954 - 1990
|
Adam Lemp reputedly made the
first lager beer in the western hemisphere behind his St. Louis grocery in
1838. He grew and renamed the beer Falstaff in the 1840s. The operation went
bankrupt in 1920 due to prohibition. Bought by Joseph Griesedieck, the Falstaff brand was on near beer, soft drinks, and cured hams. Falstaff
is said to be
the first to legally brew beer after prohibition.
Fort Wayne operations started on April 12, 1954 when Falstaff bought the Berghoff Brewing Company. The corporation also brewed in St. Louis, New Orleans, Galveston, El Paso, Omaha, San Jose, San Antonio, Cranston RI, and San Francisco. Brands made in Fort Wayne include Ballantine, Falstaff, Haffenreffer, and Narragansett (which Falstaff bought in 1965). The Falstaff Corporation was bought by the S&P brewing conglomerate (General Brewing) in 1975. At that time it made 1.2 million bbls annually at the Fort Wayne plant.
The Falstaff acquisition of Narragansett resulted in an anti-trust suit that ended up before the Supreme Court - U. S. v. Falstaff Brewing Corp. (1973). S&P moved Ballantine from Newark, NJ, and the Narragansett brands from Cranston, Rhode Island to Fort Wayne in 1979 and 1982, respectively. All of S&P's operations were in Fort Wayne by 1985. S&P eliminated the advertising budget to maximize profits before closing on January 7th, 1990. The equipment in Fort Wayne went to China's Pabst facility. Production of Falstaff went to San Antonio, TX, Ballantine to Milwaukee. S&P's holdings were bought by G. Heileman and Falstaff is now part of the Pabst family, brewed under contract by City Brewery in La Cross, WI. Falstaff info, more info, even more info. Info about Narrragansett/Haffenreffer
|
|
|
|
Others
| Phenning
Meier Haring |
The first brewery in Ft. Wayne was founded on the east side of town in 1853 by Carl Phenning. George Meier ran the business after Phenning died. It may have gone out of business in 1860. In 1866 the business was leased to George Haring who bought it outright and expanded it in 1866 and moved to a new building in 1874. Production reached 2,500 bbl per year. |
| Stone Brewery
1855 - After 1873 |
Founded by Herman Nierman, and
immigrant from Munster, Germany. The brewery was on the southwest corner
of Water and Harrison Streets. Owned by brother Martin upon Herman's death
in 1873.
Herman Neirman's daughter, Frances, married Charles Centlivre |
| Beck
Certia and Rankert Lutz & Company |
In 1856, F.J. Beck built a brewery on the feeder canal. This was sold to Certia and Rankert in 1869 and to Lutz & Company circa 1877 who operated it until about 1880. |
| L. Brames & Co | We've seen a picture of a pre-prohibition bottle from this brewery. No dates known. |
| Fort Wayne Brewing Company ~1995 (O'Malleys) |
This was a beer marketing company. The beer
was made by the Frankenmuth brewery in Michgan.
|
| Mad Anthony Brewing Company
1998 - Present
|
Brewpub. Bought the Muncie
Emporium restaurant and added a brewhouse. Expanded to brew in a separate
building. Opened a second "tied" restaurant in Auburn, IN.
|
| Oyster Bar Brewery
2000 - 2003 |
Brewpub. Brewer: Matt Hill.
When the Oyster Bar ended brewing operations, Matt Hill went to the Upland
Brewing Company in Bloomington.
|
Copyright 2004, Bob Ostrander
