Guide to the Pittsburgh Brewing Company Records, 1899-1909 AIS.1997.10
- Repository
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Title
- Pittsburgh Brewing Company Records
- Creator
- Pittsburgh Brewing Company
- Collection Number
- AIS.1997.10
- Extent
- 1.13 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
- Date
- 1899-1910
- Abstract
- This collection contains correspondence, receipts, invoices, and payroll for the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, 1899-1909.
- Language
- English .
- Publisher
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Address
- University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
History
Sixty-six years after the first record of a commercial brewery in Pittsburgh, Edward Frauenheim, a German immigrant and part owner of Frauenheim, Miller Company, started the Iron City Brewery, the first American brewery to produce a lager. Frauenheim starting brewing Iron City Beer in 1861.
By 1866, Frauenheim's reputation and Iron City Beer's quality had become recognized and the brewery outgrew its original facilities on 17th Street and moved into a four-story brick building that the company built at Liberty Avenue and 34th Street, where Pittsburgh Brewing continues to operate. The new facilities proved incapable of accommodating the growing trade and increased demand so an additional three-story building was constructed three years later.
After the expansion, Leopold Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native who learned the brewer's trade at Pittsburgh's old Bennett Brewery, joined Frauenheim, Miller Company. The young man later became a partner, investing his small wealth in the firm when Miller retired and another partner died. Iron City Brewery then became Frauenheim and Vilsack Company. By 1886, the Iron City Brewery had about 500 reception casks, each up to 60 feet in circumference and a height of 20 feet, holding 45 to 50 barrels of beer in each. The brewery had about 10,000 kegs in constant use.
On February 3, 1899, the Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that 12 local brewing firms applied to transfer their license to the trust known as Pittsburgh Brewing Company. These breweries were the Wainwright Brewing Company, Phoenix Brewing Company, Keystone Brewing Company, Winter Brothers Brewing Company, Phillip Lauer, John H. Nusser, Eberhardt Ober Brewing Company, Hippely Sons, Ober Brewing Company, J. Seiferth Brothers, Straub Brewing Company and the Iron City Brewing Company.
In addition to these 12 Pittsburgh and Allegheny county breweries, nine breweries outside the county took part in the merger. In all 21 breweries joined to make Pittsburgh Brewing Company the largest brewing operation in Pennsylvania and the third largest in the country. Pittsburgh Brewing Company was one of only 725 American breweries left when the prohibition movement was repealed in April 1933. During Prohibition, The Company produced soft drinks, ice cream and "near beer" as well as ran a cold storage business. By 1977, Pittsburgh Brewing was one of just 40 breweries left in the country running. To rebound from difficult years, the brewery introduced a new light beer - IC Light.
In 1986, Pittsburgh Brewing Company was acquired by and merged with Bond Brewing Holdings Ltd. of Perth Australia. Seven years later, the company's owner, Alan Bond, suffering financially, gave up the brewery to Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow. Carlow was forced to relinquish control of the brewery due to Pittsburgh National City Bank's allegations of a fraud scheme. Keystone Brewing Company, represented by Pittsburgh native Joseph Piccirilli, closed a $29.4 million purchase of the brewery on September 12, 1995, at a hearing in U.S. bankruptcy court, and is still the owner.
The Pittsburgh Brewing Company holds many firsts in brewing circles including the first snap top can, first twist off resealable cap, first draught beer available in a can, first malt cooler, and first light beer.
Scope and Content Notes
This collection includes correspondence, 1902-1903; receipts, 1899-1908; invoices, 1902-1909; and general office payroll, 1899-1901 for the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. The materials are arranged chronologically by subject. The records include those of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company and the records of other brewing companies that merged with Pittsburgh Brewing Company in 1899.
This collection also includes some related records that were removed from the Records of the Eberhardt Ober Brewing Company, ais 94:7b, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Charles Apfelbaum, Watchung, NJ, March 21, 1996
Preferred Citation
Pittsburgh Brewing Company Records, 1899-1909, AIS.1997.10, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Previous Citation
Pittsburgh Brewing Company Records, 1899-1909, AIS.1997.10, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Brewing Company, Records, 1883-1909, ais 94:7b, Archives of Industrial Society, University of Pittsburgh Libraries
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Dominic La Cava in 1997
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Dan Horvath on August 25, 2004. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 4391114
Copyright
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects
- Pittsburgh Brewing Company -- History
- Business and Industry
- Brewing industry -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History
- Brewers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History
- Breweries -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History