American Breweriana Journal July 10, 2024
Consumers’ Brewing Co. of Philadelphia
By Rich Wagner
Consumers’ B.C. was formed in 1896 by joining six Philadelphia breweries into a single corporation as the first such combination in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania brewers seem to have agreed with the monthly admonitions of The Western Brewer which advised: “Don’t Sell Your Brewery to the British Syndicates.” Those syndications boasted an impressive portfolio nationally but there were none in Pennsylvania. In 1897 the Pennsylvania Central B.C. in Scranton incorporated a dozen firms. Two years later the Pittsburgh B.C. (21 branches) and the Erie B.C. (4 branches) were established and in 1904 the Independent B.C. of Pittsburgh (15 branches) was incorporated.
Economies of scale drove the nation’s largest industries to form Trusts or monopolies to increase profits through vertical integration and to control prices. Combinations in the brewing industry mirrored those trends albeit on a much smaller scale. Creating corporations on paper was a way to attract wealthy investors who were playing the stock market. The days of a German immigrant brewing a few barrels of lager beer and making deliveries with a wheel barrow were long gone. The American brewing industry had grown dramatically with the popularization of lager beer and numerous technological advances. Market forces encouraged the formation of ever larger breweries as the industry entered its mature phase.
The city’s largest brewer was Bergner & Engel. After building out all of their Brewerytown properties they increased production by purchasing three adjacent breweries. Combining existing breweries avoided expensive building programs. Consumers’ six branches had the capacity to produce about half that of Bergner & Engel.
PHOTO 01 Caption. Stock Offering Announcement. Inquirer April 2, 1897.
PHOTO 02 Caption. Consumers’ B.C. Ad.
PHOTO 03 Caption. Consumers’ B.C. Ad.
PHOTO 04 Caption. Trademark registration. Note the position of the quill pen above the sword. The Western Brewer August 1912.
Setting the Stage
The story of the Consumers’ B.C. is complicated and sorting it out has been like unraveling a tangled ball of string. The best way to describe it is to imagine a game of Beer-o-poly where players are seated around the board each with piles of money. Properties are breweries: the small inefficient plants take the place of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues and the biggest are at the other end of the board replacing Boardwalk and Park Place. Large profitable breweries would be located in the positions of Marvin Gardens and North Carolina Avenue. Instead of purchasing houses and hotels, players add breweries to their properties.
Utilities represent investment in energy and equipment. Railroad properties give players advantages in distribution and market share. Take a Chance cards are expenses such as: License Fees, Plant Improvements, War Tax, Bankruptcy, Court Fees, Prohibition Violations, Go Directly to Jail… Community Chest cards are for revenue: Investment Increases Capitalization, Elected City Councilman, Elected State Senator, Real Estate Revenue, Investors Receive Dividend, …
The property cards are erasable so players can change the names of companies without really changing who owns them and there are blank cards so they can form new breweries. When players die, they leave the table and new players with cash can pull up a chair anytime they like. The clock we’re using for this game is measured in years not hours.
Some of the Players
Welde & Thomas (South Branch). John Welde was a veteran who became a policeman then had a saloon. He organized Welde & Thomas B.C. in 1887 becoming president and secretary. (Died 1901) John Welde, Jr. was a brewing chemist and head of the financial department. (Died 1926)
PHOTO 05 Caption. John Welde The Western Brewer December 1897.
PHOTO 06 Caption. John Thomas The Western Brewer October 1897.
John Thomas started out in the lumber business and invested in Rothacker’s brewery in Brewerytown before joining Welde & Thomas B.C. as treasurer of the firm. (Died 1899) Herman Birnbrauer, Thomas’ son-in-law, was secretary and replaced him as treasurer. (Died 1917) Mr. Jacob J. Hitschler was vice president. He was a director of the Southwest National Bank and president of the Broad Street Bus Co. (Died 1908) B.F. Horan was secretary.
Edward Trainer was prominent in the liquor trade and was politically active. (Died 1914). His sons were closely involved in Consumers’ and other businesses. Edward A. Trainer was president of Henry Hess B.C. (Died 1912). When that company sold the North Plant to Premier B.C., Joseph C. Trainer was brewmaster and later president. He became a State Senator and presided over the re-organization of the Pennsylvania State Brewers’ Association after repeal. (Died 1943) Edward C. Trainer became secretary of the organization. Henry J. “Harry” Trainer was a city councilman. Vincent E. Trainer was a director of Trainer B.C. and became secretary of the Philadelphia Lager Beer Brewers’ Association when they reorganized after Repeal.
PHOTO 07 Caption. Otto C. Wolf. The Western Brewer January 1917.
Otto C. Wolf, brewery architect and engineer, was president of the Philadelphia Yeast Manufacturing Co., vice-president of the Northwestern National Bank (Brewers’ Bank), was a director of Bergner & Engel B.C. and trustee of the United States Brewers' Association. He designed the Welde & Thomas brewery, was on the board and for a time was president (Died 1917).
PHOTO 08 Caption. John Roehm The Western Brewer November 1906.
Roehm Brewery, (North Branch). John Roehm (Died 1906) started with a saloon, then purchased an existing brewery and replaced it with a modern plant designed by A.C. Wagner in 1891. He and two sons, John, Jr. (Died 1908) and William (died 1947) ran the brewery and joined Consumers’ B.C. in 1896. Roehm left Consumers’ in 1902 and purchased the Golden Eagle brewery on Broad St. The Roehm branch became Consumers’ Spaeth & Hess branch and in 1909 was sold to the Henry Hess B.C.
PHOTO 09 Caption. Ad Spaeth, Krautter & Hess Anchor Brewery.
Spaeth, Krautter & Hess Anchor Brewery. (closed 1904) John Spaeth was a brewer who operated a weiss beer plant and a lager brewery. He sold those interests and joined in the formation of Spaeth, Krautter & Hess B.C.’s Anchor Brewery in 1886. (Died 1910) Thomas Clements, a bottler, was president of the Union B.C. and Louis Krautter, a liquor dealer was secretary. They sold those interests and became part of Spaeth, Krautter & Hess B.C. The Anchor brewery was established on property owned by Krautter’s wife where he operated a bottling establishment. After the brewery was established his brother, John L. Krautter operated a bottling business and saloon next door.
PHOTO 10 Caption. Henry Hess The Western Brewer June 1896.
Henry Hess rose through the ranks of the John F. Betz brewery starting as an office boy then book keeper and became a salesman and collector. He organized Spaeth & Krautter and Hess B.C., became president of Consumers’ and was appointed receiver during reorganization. He relinquished that position in 1901 and purchased the Germania Brewery on Broad St., renaming it the Henry Hess B.C. (Died 1909) His son H. Henry Hess was president for a time. Edmund R. Watson was president of Northern National Bank and was treasurer. (Died 1907)
PHOTO 11 Caption. Excelsior B.C. Ad.
Excelsior Branch. (closed 1904) John Kellerman started out as a liquor dealer and along with five investors incorporated an existing brewery as Excelsior B.C. in 1891 and had A.C. Wagner design a modern brewery in 1895. He joined Consumers’ as director, was a member of the Philadelphia Brewmasters’ Association and the United States Brewers’ Association and was active in politics. (Died 1900)
PHOTO 12 Caption. John C. Miller B.C. Ad.
John C. Miller Branch. (closed 1901) John’s son George J. was brewmaster then president of the firm after his father’s death in 1887. His cousin A.J. Miller was secretary and treasurer and after the branch closed, he became assistant treasurer of the Henry Hess B.C.
PHOTO 13 Caption. Mutual B.C. Ad.
Mutual Branch. (closed 1899) Lorenz Leiling established the brewery in 1888. In 1893 he and four investors incorporated as Germantown B.C. Thomas Clements was president. The name was changed to Mutual B.C. and became a branch of Consumers’ B.C.
The Story
PHOTO 14 Caption. Bottle. Welde & Thomas was the city’s first brewery to adopt the Pfaudler Vacuum Fermentation System. (Fink Collection)
PHOTO 15 Caption. Pfaudler Ad. The Western Brewer June 1904. After repeal, advertisements for Rolling Rock capitalized on the fact that their beer came “From the Glass-Lined Tanks of Old Latrobe.”
Welde & Thomas took over an existing brewery in 1887 and commissioned Otto C. Wolf to replace it with a modern plant. A decade later an article in The Western Brewer featured the brewery and credited forward thinking Adolph Raub, brewmaster, and John Welde, Jr., chemist, for being the first Philadelphia brewers to adopt Pfaudler’s vacuum fermentation system said to be responsible for a 1,000% increase in production which established Welde & Thomas as the city’s most modern, scientific brewery and cornerstone of Consumers’ B.C.
Consumers’ B.C. was established with a capital of $100,000. One perceived advantage was that the company could obtain a single license for all six branches. There are 52 Consumer brewing companies listed in the index of American Breweries II. The term applies to many industries where wholesalers and retailers had financial interest in the companies that manufactured their products. Philadelphia’s Consumers’ Ice Co., for example, was comprised of saloon men and ice cream dealers.
The Law and Order League challenged Consumers’ incorporation. In April 1898 Pennsylvania License Court in Philadelphia ruled that Consumers’ could have as many branches as they liked provided each paid the $1,000 license fee and that dealers in liquor and malt liquor could not be financially interested in the corporation. All 111 retailers relinquished their shares, presumably with straw purchasers, enabling Consumers’ to proceed.
Adding to the intrigue was John P. Persch, a local businessman. In June creditors were searching for him and the press reported: “Persch, it will be remembered, is the Philadelphian who cleared $250,000 by successfully promoting the Consumers' B.C., and who still later pocketed another big sum for the Sandusky-Cleveland brewers' consolidation.”
PHOTO 16 Caption. Phila. Times August 21, 1897 “Philadelphia Brewery Production 1896.”
In March 1899 a Philadelphia Times headline read “New York People Trying to Unite Philadelphia Breweries, But Get Only Half.” Discussions had been going on for months. The proposal was a syndication of 17 breweries including Consumers’ six branches. There were 43 other breweries in the city, over half of which produced less than 10,000 bbl., which meant the “Half” in the headline referred to production. The proposed corporation never materialized.
A year later, an investor holding 50 bonds requested the appointment of a receiver because Consumers’ failed to make their mortgage payment and did not issue scheduled dividends. The company maintained this was not a result of mismanagement but due to the War Revenue Tax which had adversely affected brewers around the country. Henry Hess, president, was appointed receiver and a reorganization committee was formed. A foreclosure sale of Consumers’ properties was scheduled. Hess retired from his position and the judge appointed Horatio A. Foster to replace him.
In April, Louis Krautter commenced equity proceedings against Henry Hess for fraud to secure an accounting of the sales of Spaeth, Krautter & Hess real estate and other assets sold to Consumers’. Hess denied the allegations and said that all the properties retained for his own benefit were subject to heavy mortgages, which was not mentioned in Krautter’s bill of complaint.
He purchased the Germania Brewery on Broad St. incorporating as Henry Hess B.C. (1901-1911). His son, H. Henry Hess was president, Edward A. Trainer was vice president, B.F. Horan was secretary and A.J. Miller was assistant treasurer. Otto C. Wolf had designed the 100,000 bbl. brewery which included a bottling plant and adjacent opera house in 1887 for John F. Betz. The brewery would give Hess the capacity to produce two thirds of Consumers’ production with a single plant but never produced more than half of its capacity.
PHOTO 17 Caption. Tray, Spaeth & Hess. (Ziegler Collection)
In December 1902 representatives of Consumers’ reorganization committee purchased the four remaining branches. In March 1903 they added a 3-story brew house to the Spaeth & Hess branch, also known as Consumers’ North Plant. By 1904 Consumers’ consisted of only the North and South Plants which were producing around 100,000 bbl. per year. Closing older, less competitive branches was part of the corporate business model which reduced labor, eliminated duplication, improved efficiency and provided revenue from the sale of real estate and equipment. When Henry Hess died in 1909, Edward A. Trainer was president and the corporation acquired Consumers’ North Plant. They sold the Germania Brewery in 1912 which was producing around 40,000 bbl. They improved the brew house of the North Plant and sold it to Premier B.C. which produced 50,000 bbl. the following year. Consumers’ South Plant produced around 64,000 bbl.
PHOTO 18 Caption. Ad. Philadelphia Times March 6, 1912.
PHOTO 19 Caption. Ad. (Handy Collection)
Disasters at Consumers’
North Plant: Inquirer April 22, 1905 “Wind Storm. The water tank on the roof of the Consumers’ B.C., …holding thousands of gallons of water, was lifted up bodily by the wind and carried a hundred yards through the air. It fell with a crash on the roofs of two houses, breaking in the roofs and flooding them. The big tank was shattered by the impact, and water poured from the roof tops like a miniature Niagara.”
South Plant: Inquirer September 10,1906 “Sleepers Driven Out by Flames …Early Morning Fire Destroyed Brewery and Endangered Lives of Nearby Residents. Collapsing Wall Injures One Fireman and Others Have Narrow Escapes from Same Fate. …the brewery was almost totally destroyed.”
Prohibition
PHOTO 20 Caption. Ad. Public Ledger November 13, 1919.
During prohibition Consumers’ was left with the South Plant. In 1927 it was incorporated as Penn Beverage Co., licensed to manufacture cereal beverages, malt tonic and malt syrup. After 30 years, 18 of which with a single plant, Consumers’ B.C., at least in name, as a corporation, came to an end. At this point, the Trainer family was in charge and were well connected in local and state government which probably gave them a lot of cover for selling “high proof” beer.
After Repeal
On the eve of Repeal, State Senator Joseph C. Trainer hosted a meeting to reorganize the Pennsylvania State Brewers’ Association. Edward C. Trainer became treasurer of the organization. The South Plant was reorganized as the Trainer B.C. and had 50,000 bbl. of 3.2% beer ready to go when the bell rang at midnight April 7, 1933. The press reported they had one of the longest lines of trucks around the brewery and delivered 1,000 barrels and 10,000 cases of beer.
Trainer B.C. included what had been Consumers’ North Plant, producing draft beer exclusively. They built a new bottling works for the South Plant and started work on a new brew house but closed the branch in 1934. Trainer B.C. sold the North Plant to the Canuso family who incorporated as the Otto Erlanger B.C. in 1937. They had a construction company and had done work for the South Plant after repeal. This remnant of the original Consumers’ B.C. continued for another fourteen years and closed in 1951, a victim of the “Beer Wars” that saw the closure of regional breweries throughout the nation as shipping breweries popularized national brands with the help of television advising.
Today
Of course, today’s syndications make those of the last century pale in comparison. Who would have thought America’s “King of Beers” would be absorbed by an international cartel based in Belgium? Or that the nation’s second largest brewer and what had been the nation’s third largest, family-owned brewery, along with a Canadian brewer owning title of “North America’s Oldest Brewery” would be combined as a subsidiary of a South African-based corporation? “America’s Oldest Brewery” has even entered into agreements with that company for production and distribution rights. The recent closure of America’s first microbrewery, owned by a corporation based in Singapore is just one more example. The big players have bought into craft breweries providing distribution advantages and technical support and there seems to be no end to the variations on the theme. Just like an active fermentation, the global brewing industry, as always, is bubbling away and it would appear that anything is possible.
21 Welde & Thomas Litho. (Cartin Collection)
22 Consumers’ Litho. (Cartin Collection)
23 Consumers’ Litho 1900. (Cartin Collection)
24 Consumers’ Litho 1912. (Cartin Collection)
Additions and Corrections
I've made a few additions that didn't appear in the printed version of the article.
Also
Breweriana Collectors Newsletter: Greater Delaware Chapter July/August 2024
Dale Van Wieren wrote about Spaeth & Hess Anchor Brewery which dials in on how and when the name was changed from Spaeth Krautter & Hess: Legal challenges delayed the formal merger until the late spring of 1898. Not wishing to be part of Consumers, Louis Krautter left the firm in 1897, and bought John Weihman’s brewery at 409-411 North 10th Street. With the merger complete, the former Spaeth, Krautter & Hess became the Spaeth & Hess Department of the Consumers Brewing Co. So where did the Spaeth and Hess brewery come in? It took rummaging through several directories and newspaper files of 1897 and 1898 to find a reference. Louis Boyd’s Co-partnership and Residence Business Directory of the City of Philadelphia, 1898, which was published January 1, 1898, lists the Spaeth and Hess Brewery at the Ridge and Lehigh address. Thus for a few months in 1897, after Krautter left, and early 1898, before it became a Department of Consumers, the business was known simply as Spaeth & Hess Anchor Brewery.