Falstaff Brewing Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Falstaff Brewing Corporation was a major American
brewery
located in St. Louis
, Missouri
. With roots in the 1838 Lemp Brewery
of St. Louis, the company was renamed after the Shakespearean
character of Sir John Falstaff in 1903. Production peaked in 1965 with 7,010,218 barrels brewed, and then dropped 70 percent in the next ten years. While its smaller labels
linger on today, its main label
Falstaff Beer went out of production in 2005.
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belonging to German
immigrant John Adam Lemp in St. Louis in the 1838. Over the next 80 years the Lemp family was devastated by personal tragedies as it built its beer empire over the caves of St. Louis
. It adopted its famous "Blue Ribbon" moniker quickly, as a 1898 trial proved when it took the Storz Brewing Company
of Omaha
to court for tying blue ribbons on its bottles, and won. The Lemp Brewery
company closed in 1921, and sold its Falstaff
brand to the then-named Griesedieck
Beverage Company. Griesedieck Beverage was renamed the Falstaff Corporation and survived Prohibition by selling near beer, soft drink
s, and cured hams
under the Falstaff name. Falstaff Brewing was a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange
, which was rare for a brewing industry in which families closely guarded their ownership.
When Prohibition
was repealed in 1933 the first two cases of beer were airlifted from nearby Curtiss Stienberg Airport
to the governors of Illinois and Missouri. After which, the company expanded greatly. Its first acquisition was the 1936 purchase of the Krug Brewery
in Omaha
, which made Falstaff the first brewery to operate plants in two different states. Other facilities bought in this period included the National Brewery of New Orleans
in 1937, the Berghoff Brewing Company of Fort Wayne
, Indiana
, in 1954, the Galveston-Houston Brewing Company of Galveston
, Texas
, in 1956, and the Mitchell Brewing Company of El Paso
in 1956. On New Years Day in 1953 renowned country music
ian Hank Williams was drinking Falstaff on the night of his death.
Falstaff was the third largest brewer in America by the 1960s, with several plants across the country. The 1965 acquisition of another company, the Narragansett Brewing Company of Rhode Island
, proved disastrous, with the state government of Rhode Island
pursuing an antitrust
case against them. The Supreme Court found in Falstaff's favor in 1973, but the company never recovered.
Fortunes declined throughout the 1970s as consolidation swept the beer industry, and the company was bought in April 1975 by the S&P Company, owned by Paul Kalmanovitz
. Somewhere in the interim, Chicago White Sox announcer Harry Caray endorsed the tasty brew in live TV commercials many time with a glass of beer in his hand and sipping it. Kalmanovitz also owns General Brewing, Pabst
, Pearl
, Olympia
, and Stroh's. That year the company ranked 11th in sales nationally, and the original St. Louis plant was closed. Subsequent closures included New Orleans in 1979, Cranston and Galveston in 1981, and Omaha in 1987. After the 1990 closing of the last Falstaff brewery in Fort Wayne
, the brand name became a licensed property of Pabst
, which continued to produce Falstaff Beer through other breweries. Having sold only 1468 barrels of the brand during 2004, Pabst discontinued production of the Falstaff label in May 2005.
's song "A Change Would Do You Good
," and a commercial song is done by Cream
on their "Those Were The Days
" four-disc set. In the 1991 film, "My Own Private Idaho
," the visibility of a Falstaff beer bottle in Keanu Reeves's hand (who is presumably derived from the character Hal) in William Richert's (presumably emblematic of Falstaff) entrance to the scene, alludes to the movie's inspiration, in part, gleaned from Shakespeare's King Henry IV
. The brand is also mentioned in novels by Robert Crais
, a writer from Louisiana where Falstaff had a satellite brewery, as being the main character's (Elvis Cole) drink of choice throughout the length of the series. (Although in later books, such as "The Sentry," when Falstaff was presumably harder to find, Elvis switches his taste to the Mexican beer
, Negra Modelo. Ironically however the producer of Negra Modelo, Grupo Modelo is currently half owned by St. Louis based brewer Anheuser-Busch
a one time competitor to Falstaff, their brewery buildings located only several miles apart in St. Louis.)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
located in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. With roots in the 1838 Lemp Brewery
Lemp Brewery
Lemp Brewery was the original name of the brewing company that became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The Lemp Brewery Complex refers to the name of the St. Louis, Missouri property consisting of 27 buildings on a pie-shaped site bounded by Cherokee Street on the north, Lemp Avenue on the west,...
of St. Louis, the company was renamed after the Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
character of Sir John Falstaff in 1903. Production peaked in 1965 with 7,010,218 barrels brewed, and then dropped 70 percent in the next ten years. While its smaller labels
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
linger on today, its main label
Label
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....
Falstaff Beer went out of production in 2005.
History
Falstaff Brewing's earliest form was as the Lemp BreweryLemp Brewery
Lemp Brewery was the original name of the brewing company that became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The Lemp Brewery Complex refers to the name of the St. Louis, Missouri property consisting of 27 buildings on a pie-shaped site bounded by Cherokee Street on the north, Lemp Avenue on the west,...
belonging to German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrant John Adam Lemp in St. Louis in the 1838. Over the next 80 years the Lemp family was devastated by personal tragedies as it built its beer empire over the caves of St. Louis
Caves of St. Louis
The Caves of St. Louis, Missouri, USA have been important in the economic development of the city. The young St. Louis was built upon a complex of natural caves which were once used for the lagering of beer by early German brewers...
. It adopted its famous "Blue Ribbon" moniker quickly, as a 1898 trial proved when it took the Storz Brewing Company
Storz Brewing Company
The Storz Brewing Company was located at 1807 North 16th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. Established from a company started in 1863, Storz Brewing began in 1876 by Gottlieb Storz and was owned by the Storz family until 1966; the brewery ceased operations in 1972...
of Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
to court for tying blue ribbons on its bottles, and won. The Lemp Brewery
Lemp Brewery
Lemp Brewery was the original name of the brewing company that became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The Lemp Brewery Complex refers to the name of the St. Louis, Missouri property consisting of 27 buildings on a pie-shaped site bounded by Cherokee Street on the north, Lemp Avenue on the west,...
company closed in 1921, and sold its Falstaff
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
brand to the then-named Griesedieck
Griesedieck Brothers beer
Griesedieck Brothers Beer is a historic St. Louis beer brand that has been reintroduced after years of absence. The Griesedieck family once owned three St. Louis area breweries, Griesedieck Brothers Brewery, Griesedieck Western Brewery Co...
Beverage Company. Griesedieck Beverage was renamed the Falstaff Corporation and survived Prohibition by selling near beer, soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s, and cured hams
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
under the Falstaff name. Falstaff Brewing was a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, which was rare for a brewing industry in which families closely guarded their ownership.
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
was repealed in 1933 the first two cases of beer were airlifted from nearby Curtiss Stienberg Airport
St. Louis Downtown Airport
St. Louis Downtown Airport is a public-use airport located in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, one mile east of the central business district of Cahokia, in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is owned by the Bi-State Development Agency. The airport is located less than 3 miles from...
to the governors of Illinois and Missouri. After which, the company expanded greatly. Its first acquisition was the 1936 purchase of the Krug Brewery
Krug Brewery
The Fred Krug Brewery was located at 2435 Deer Park Boulevard in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1859, Krug Brewery was the first brewery in the city. Krug was one of the "Big 4" brewers located in Omaha, which also included the Storz, Willow Springs and Metz breweries...
in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, which made Falstaff the first brewery to operate plants in two different states. Other facilities bought in this period included the National Brewery of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in 1937, the Berghoff Brewing Company of Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, in 1954, the Galveston-Houston Brewing Company of Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in 1956, and the Mitchell Brewing Company of El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
in 1956. On New Years Day in 1953 renowned country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
ian Hank Williams was drinking Falstaff on the night of his death.
Falstaff was the third largest brewer in America by the 1960s, with several plants across the country. The 1965 acquisition of another company, the Narragansett Brewing Company of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, proved disastrous, with the state government of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
pursuing an antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
case against them. The Supreme Court found in Falstaff's favor in 1973, but the company never recovered.
Fortunes declined throughout the 1970s as consolidation swept the beer industry, and the company was bought in April 1975 by the S&P Company, owned by Paul Kalmanovitz
Paul Kalmanovitz
Paul Kalmanovitz was a millionaire brewing and real estate magnate best known for owning all or part of several national breweries and their products, including Falstaff Brewing Company and Pabst Brewing Company. Most of the Kalmanovitz Estate was left to create a charitable foundation for...
. Somewhere in the interim, Chicago White Sox announcer Harry Caray endorsed the tasty brew in live TV commercials many time with a glass of beer in his hand and sipping it. Kalmanovitz also owns General Brewing, Pabst
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, Pearl
Pearl Brewing Company
The Pearl Brewing Company was an American brewery, established in 1883 in San Antonio, Texas. In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed the Pabst name...
, Olympia
Olympia Brewing Company
The Olympia Brewing Company was a brewery in Tumwater, Washington which existed from 1896 until 2003.-History:Leopold Schmidt, a German immigrant from Montana founded The Capital Brewing Company at Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River in the town of Tumwater, near the south end of Puget Sound...
, and Stroh's. That year the company ranked 11th in sales nationally, and the original St. Louis plant was closed. Subsequent closures included New Orleans in 1979, Cranston and Galveston in 1981, and Omaha in 1987. After the 1990 closing of the last Falstaff brewery in Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, the brand name became a licensed property of Pabst
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, which continued to produce Falstaff Beer through other breweries. Having sold only 1468 barrels of the brand during 2004, Pabst discontinued production of the Falstaff label in May 2005.
Pop culture
Falstaff Beer is mentioned in the Ray Wiley Hubbard song, "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother," in Sheryl CrowSheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
's song "A Change Would Do You Good
A Change Would Do You Good
"A Change Would Do You Good" is the fourth single from Sheryl Crow's 1996 self-titled second album. It was preceded by "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is a Winding Road", and "Hard to Make a Stand"...
," and a commercial song is done by Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
on their "Those Were The Days
Those Were the Days (Cream album)
Those Were the Days is a retrospective compilation of the music of Cream, released on September 23, 1997.It comprises four CDs and catalogues every track from their four studio albums, plus live material recorded in 1968....
" four-disc set. In the 1991 film, "My Own Private Idaho
My Own Private Idaho
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves...
," the visibility of a Falstaff beer bottle in Keanu Reeves's hand (who is presumably derived from the character Hal) in William Richert's (presumably emblematic of Falstaff) entrance to the scene, alludes to the movie's inspiration, in part, gleaned from Shakespeare's King Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
. The brand is also mentioned in novels by Robert Crais
Robert Crais
Robert Crais is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. He lists amongst his literary influences the authors Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest...
, a writer from Louisiana where Falstaff had a satellite brewery, as being the main character's (Elvis Cole) drink of choice throughout the length of the series. (Although in later books, such as "The Sentry," when Falstaff was presumably harder to find, Elvis switches his taste to the Mexican beer
Mexican beer
Beer in Mexico has a long history. While Mesoamerican cultures knew of fermented alcoholic beverages, including a corn beer, long before the Spanish conquest, European style beer brewed with barley was introduced with the Spanish soon after Hernán Cortés’ arrival...
, Negra Modelo. Ironically however the producer of Negra Modelo, Grupo Modelo is currently half owned by St. Louis based brewer Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
a one time competitor to Falstaff, their brewery buildings located only several miles apart in St. Louis.)