A Brief History of Brewing in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Centlivre / Old Crown

French Brewery

Centlivre Brewing Company

1862 - 1918
1933 - 1961

Old Crown Brewing Corporation
1961 - 1973


(photo courtesy
Bruce Mobley)

Founded in 1862 as the French Brewery by an immigrant from the Alsace region of France, Charles Centlivre and his brother Frank. He previously had a brewery in Louisville. The French Brewery was torn down in March, 1884 and replaced by a new brewery plant that same summer. Renamed to Centlivre in 1895.

A malting house was built in 1868 and a bottling building in 1876. The original brewing facility on the west bank of the St. Joseph River was destroyed by fire on July 16, 1889.

Charles 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.


"The case of Kaiser, Beck Co., of Bremen, Germany, against the Centlivre Brewing company was next called. The suit was to enjoin the local brewery from using the name "Kaiser" for a brand of beer. It was claimed by the German company that the name "Kaiser" is original with them and that the Centlivres have no right to use it. The matter was settled out of court and no damages were assessed." - The Fort Wayne Gazette, June 9, 1897


"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. Centlivre 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.


"If You Want to be Well drink beer that is pure and healthful. Our Special Export Beer is absolutely pure, properly aged and fermented, and is made from the best materials money can buy. We spare neither care, cash nor brains in the brewing of this perfect beer, and the rich, inimitable flavor is the natural consequence. Drink Special Export-the beer that tells. C L Centlivre Brewing Co. Phone G2, Made in Ft. Wayne" Advertisement from 1905


"A gang of masked desperadoes, believed to be seven in number, about 1 o'clock this morning blew the safe in the office of the Centlivre brewery, after binding the night watch men, and made their escape with money belonging to the firm. The robbery was one of the most daring pieces of work in the police annals of Indiana.

The brewery is located far out on Spy Run avenue, but in a thickly populated district, and only a short distance away from the city lighting company's power plant, where men are employed all night long. The sound of the explosion was heard by a number of people in the vicinity but it was a muffled sort of report and no attention was paid to it.

The alarm was spread at 3 o'clock by George Keller, the watchman at the brewery, who cut the thongs that bound him to a chair in the rear of the plant crawled down through the boiler looms and running along the river bank, made his way to the home of Prank Bogash, on the Centlivre stock farm. From the Bogash home the news was telephoned to the residence of Mr. Charles Centlivre across the street from the brewery, and to the police and sheriff.

(Police) were quickly on the scene, but every door leading to the wrecked office was found securely and entrance was finally gained through a window which was found unlocked. With the arrival of the police it was learned that Watchman Keller was at the Bagash house, but Oscar Kiefer, the night watchman at the company's barn, who was to have been about the plant, could not be found. Later he was located along the river bank whither he had crawled, after having broken loose from a chair in the lavatory of the office where he had been tied.

Kiefer's Thrilling Story

Kiefer, the barn-man, stated that he was walking, about I o'clock, past the office toward the brewer, and when he had about reached the end of the building, three men grabbed him and with pistols leveled at his head, shouted: "Keep still, you------, or we'll blow your head off." - Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, May 30, 1905


"Almost any kind of Beer will satisfy some people but in the home none but the purest should be used. In our brewery cost of manufacture is a secondary consideration. First, last and all the time our constant endeavor is to produce a beer that will be second to none in the world. In Bottled Form is the Ideal Beer for Home Use. None but the best selected malt and hops enter into its manufacture. After brewing it is kept in storage for months to give it necessary age. Why not always keep a few bottles all ready for use in your Ice Box? Centivre Brewlng Co PINTS AND QUARTS Phone 62" - The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sun, Sept 20, 1908

In 1911 Centlivre was reported to have six tax-determination tanks of 62 gallons each.

Became the Centlivre Ice and Cold Production Storage Company during prohibition. Made a near beer named "That's It" for 2 years.

Introduced the Old Crown Ale brand in 1939 and the Alps Brau name in 1957.

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. The new company was sold to its employees. Closed on December 1st, 1973.

Brands included Alps Brau, Bohemia, Muenchener Export, Special Export, Old Reliable, Old German, and Centlivre. Old Crown's brands included Nickel Plate, Old Crown, and Van Merritt.
 

more info

Berghoff

Berghoff Brewing Company

Berghoff Brewing Association

1887 - 1918
1933 - 1954


(photo courtesy
Bruce Mobley)

 Founded and owned by the Berghoff family's four brothers, Herman, Henry, Hubert, and Gustav, immigrants from Dortmunder, Prussia.

In 1882 Herman and Henry bought the East End Bottling Works and the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company was incorporated in 1887.

The original building was destroyed by fire just before it opened. Was immediately rebuilt. Headquarters was at 1025 Grant St.


"The Berghoff Brewery Will Have a $100,000 Addition

Herman Berghoff, after whom the immense brewing plant is named, left for Chicago this afternoon to accept the plans of a prominent architect there for an addition of 50x170 feet to the Berghoff Brewery. The new addition will be used for beer vault. An ice machine additional to the one already in operation at the brewery will be purchased to supply the new storage house. The work is to to completed by March 1, 1891." - Fort Wayne Sentinel, Aug 13, 1890.

Berghoff beer was sold at the Chicago World Fair in 1892 and in 1898 Herman moved to Chicago and opened the Berghoff Restaurant at State and Adams Streets in the loop which was open until 2005.

Henry was elected mayor of Fort Wayne in 1902.

In 1910 Hubert retired, Gustav became president and it was re-christened the Berghoff Brewing Association.

In 1911 Berghoff was reported to have "two tanks containing 315 gallons each and four containing 100 each".

In 1913, M.C. Norton of the T.M. Norton brewery in Anderson became the manager of Berghoff. Steve Fleming became the manager in 1915.

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
Berghoff Brewing Co. 1899 - 1910
Berghoff Brewing Association 1910 - 1918
Berghoff Products Co. during prohibition.
Berghoff Brewing Corp. 1933 - 1954 reorganized with non-family stockholders.

Sold to Falstaff (below) 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.

more info

The Berghoff restaurant in Chicago, from 1960 to 2005, had Berghoff Beer brewed for it by the Joseph Huber Brewing Company of Monroe, WI. The name was sold to Walter Brewing in Pueblo, CO and then to Huber and 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

(photos courtesy Bruce Mobley)

Founded by Gustavis Berghoff's sons immediately after prohibition. The brewery building was a block away from the Berghoff brewery (above). In fact it was originally named Berghoff Brothers, Inc. but that was changed almost immediately. By this time the Berghoff family was no longer the owners of the original Berghoff brewery.

In 1940 Hoff-Brau signed a contract with the Indiana State Fair to be the exclusive beer provider.


"WANTED TO BUY

We will pay highest cash prices for prime quality Malt, and Hops. HOFF-BRAU Beer and Ale are made of the best materials obtainable, and sure taste better too.

TRY A BOTTLE the next time you ask for beer, and note the extra fine flavor and body in every bottle of ALE, BEER or STOUT made by the HOFF-BRAU Brewing Corporation of FORT WAYNE, INDIANA"
- Ad in the Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, July 5, 1940

John A Berghoff was the president by 1949 and had been the president of the National Brewers' Association.

The brewery was at 800 Glasgow Ave. and made a 3.2% beer.

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

1954 - 1990


(photo courtesy
Bruce Mobley)

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 (above). 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).

Haffenreffer & Co. was formed in 1870 and moved from Boston in 1964 to Narragansett, RI. The 16 buildings of the brewery were abandoned until 1983 when they became an industrial park. This became the home of the Boston Beer Company in 1985.

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).

The Falstaff Corporation was bought by Paul Kalmanovitz's S&P brewing conglomerate (General Brewing) in 1975. At that time it made 1.2 million bbls annually at the Fort Wayne plant. They moved the headquarters to Fort Wayne in 1977.

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. Production of Falstaff went to San Antonio, TX, Ballantine to Milwaukee. The equipment in Fort Wayne went to China's Pabst facility in 1993. The property at 1025 Grant Ave. was sold by the city in 2001.

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.

In the 1990s, Labatt's tried to purchase the Ft. Wayne brewery but the deal never happened.

Specialty labels included M*A*S*H 4077, Polska Piwo, and Beer - yep, generic white and black label - "Ask for it by name". They also made Haffenreffer Malt Liquor.

Sales of Falstaff slid dramatically starting in the 1970s. By 1976 the Fort Wayne brewery was operating at 60% capacity; putting out an estimated 900,000bbl. As Falstaff moved production as it closed its other purchased breweries (San Francisco, San Antonio, New Orleans, El Paso, San Jose, Galveston, Newark, Omaha, and Cranston RI) as well as the home brewery in St. Louis, the Fort Wayne brewery went back to full capacity by 1982.

By 2001, the sales of Falstaff had dropped to only 20,000bbl. By 2004 this is down to 1500bbl. The Falstaff name stopped being used by Pabst on April, 15, 2005.

Falstaff info, more info, even more info.

Info about Narrragansett/Haffenreffer

P. Ballantine & Sons info

Others

Phenning

Meier

Haring

1853 - at least 1874

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 (or Harrison and Superior Streets). Known as an "Ale and Lager Beer Brewery". Owned by brother Martin upon Herman's death in 1873.

Herman Neirman's daughter, Frances, married Charles Centlivre

Beck

Bloomingdale Brewery

Certia and Rankert

Lutz & Company

1856 - ~1880

In 1856, Francis J. Beck built a brewery on the feeder canal. The Business Directory for Indiana, 1868 lists the Bloomingdale Brewery owned by F. J. Beck and Stotz.

Beck died sometime before 1880, probably in 1869. Stotz sold the the brewery business was sold to Certia and Rankert in 1870. It was subsequently sold to Lutz & Company circa 1877 who operated it until at least 1880. The property remained with Beck's heirs.

The Business Directory for Indiana, 1868 lists Nieman's (sic) brewery (above) as well as Summit City Brewery owned by J. George Harnung, and a brewery at 128 E. Washington owned by H. Hartman.

L. Brames & Co

before 1890 - around 1897

We've seen a picture of a pre-prohibition bottle from this brewery. It was on East Jefferson Street. It might have been a bottling company associated with the Kuebeler-Stang Brewing Company of Sandusky, Ohio.

The Fort Wayne News of Oct 26, 1894 reported William Braeuer, head brewer at Berghoff resigned to start a "brewery, either in Fort Wayne or elsewhere in a few months". No word on whether that actually happened.

In 1911 there were two "fruit distilleries" in Allen County - one in Allen and one in Grabill.

Fort Wayne Brewing Company

1993 - around 1995

(O'Malleys)

This was a beer marketing company. The beer was made by the Indianapolis Brewing Company and later by the Frankenmuth brewery in Michgan. Jim McIntyre was the founder and president. He was formerly a programmer at Tokheim Corp. The beer was developed by Mark Melchi, formerly a brewmaster at Falstaff.

The first beer was sold in Fort Wayne on St. Patrick's day, 1993.

 

Great Lakes Brewing Company

Around 1997

It's said Walgreens sold Old Heidel Brau Lager in cans brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Ft. Wayne.

They brewed Pulaski Piwo for a marketing company in Bay City, Michigan. The top of the cans say "Brewed and canned by Great Lakes Brewing Company, Fort Wayne IN".

Mad Anthony Brewing Company

1998 - Present

Brewpub. Bought the Muncie Emporium restaurant at 2002 Broadway and added a brewhouse. Expanded to brew in a separate building and to sell bottled beer. Opened a "tied" restaurant in Auburn, IN in 2003 and a second in Warsaw, IN in 2006.

Founders were Todd Grantham, Jeff Neels, and Blaine Stuckey.

Oyster Bar Brewery

2000 - 2003

Brewpub. Brewer: Matt Hill. Located on DuPont Rd north of Fort Wayne. When the Oyster Bar ended brewing operations, Matt Hill went to the Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington and then to Warbird Brewery back in Fort Wayne

Warbird Brewing Co.

2004 - Present

Microbrewery. Owner: Dave Holmes. Brewer: Matt Hill. One of the few microbreweries in the United States to produce beer in cans. Located at 10515 Majic Port Lane on Indiana 1 at Ferguson Rd on the south side of Fort Wayne.
 

Copyright 2004, 2006, Bob Ostrander