If You Have Any Information On The Bottles Marked, No Info, Please Send Me An Email. I Am Looking For The History Of The Companies Specifically. Thank You!
Medium Blob Tops
Brooklyn
Consumers Park Brewing Co.Address: 946-978 Franklin ave. / 124-150 Montgomery ave.
The Consumers Park Brewery was run by a union of sorts whose members consisted of many hotel and saloon owners who wanted control over their own product. The owner of the Central Railroad Hotel, Herman Raub, would become the company's first president. The company began producing beer in 1897, before the complex was completed, boasting that over 71,000 barrels were brewed. The brewery officially opened in January of 1901, which also contained a hotel and restaurant on the property known as Brick Hill. In 1902 a train station was built on the property known as the Consumers Park station. The complex also became credited as America's first electrically powered brewery. The company had tragedies as well. In 1901 one of the workers ran over 2 children with his wagon. He had spilled a wheat product and after local children had helped him gather the spilled contents he signaled them to back away. Two 6 year old boys then ran over the wagon. One died, and the other had his arms amputated as a result of the accident. The worked turned himself into the police but the incident was later deemed a tragic accident. Only two weeks later the brewery suffered a devastating fire. By the 1907 the shareholders of the company turned vicious, turning the business into a power struggle. The president, Herman Raub, sick of all of the antics retired back to the hotel business. He died at the age of 46 in 1915. In 1913 the company merged with another brewery and became known as the New York & Brooklyn Brewery and then split into two companies in the same year. One kept the name of the New York & Brooklyn Brewery and the other became known as the Interboro Brewing Co. The businesses closed down sometime in the 1920s due to prohibition. |
Diogenes Bottling Co.Address: Wyckoff ave. & Van Voorhis st. (modern day Decatur st.)
The company started near the end of the blob top age in 1898. The name Diogenes came from a Greek philosopher who carried around a lantern looking for an honest man. The company closed in 1920 at the start of prohibition. The unusual thing about the location of the brewery was that it was technically located in Queens. It was just 1 block over the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Yet I will keep it on the Brooklyn page because it bears the Brooklyn location on the bottle. This is the second bottle that is on the border. SEE ALTERNATE VARIANT BELOW. |
Doelger, Peter / Heiberger, Wm.Address: 43, 45, 47 Newal st.
Peter Doelger opened his brewery in Manhattan in 1859 at 101 ave A. between 6th and 7th sts. He then proceeded to open up many other branches throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. He opened the Brookyln branch from where this bottle came from in 1887. The company closed in 1937. SEE NEWER VARIANT BELOW. |
Eppig, JosephAddress: 237 Irving ave.
37 Johnson ave. 244 Humboldt ave. 170 Johnson ave. 271 Devoe st. Joseph Eppig is the son of Leonhard Eppig. He had many branches following the success of his father's brewery. However, the exact branch in which these bottles were used cant be identified. Associated with: Leonhard Eppig |
Eppig, LeonhardAddress: 579 Hart st.
<------ 24-44 George st. Leonhard Eppig was an immigrant from Germany. He was born in 1839 and died in 1893. He was first employed in his uncle's brewery, Nicholas Seitz. After beginning his own brewery with Hubert Fischer (who had later left the company), he had done much to help his community. He built houses and multiple churches all throughout the neighborhood. He was a democrat, and a member of the Glenmore Rod and Gun club of Brooklyn. He also had 8 children. Associated with: N. Seitz's Son. Joseph Eppig |
Eurich & HellerAddress: UNKNOWN
So little is known about the history of this company. All I know from variations of these bottles is that Eurich (possibly) had his own brewery before renaming it to Eurich and Heller. Also, I have seen one version of these bottles that had Coney Island embossed instead of Brooklyn. This is also the most common blob top from Brooklyn. Possibly associated with Conrad Eurich's Brewery / Eurich Brewing Co. |
Frank Brewery, TheAddress: Cypress ave. between Greene st. & Willow st. (present day Hancock st. & Weirfield st.)
The Frank Brewery (not under that name until 1892) was founded in 1867 by John Marquardt. He had launched the career of Charles Zerwick. A fire destroyed the entire building in 1878 and during the two years that it took to rebuild, John Marquardt died in 1880. In 1884 his widow sold the brewery to Gustave Feigenspan for only $85,000, compared to the prices and values of other breweries which cost $3,000,000 and up. In 1892 Feigenspan sold the brewery to William Frank. Frank died in 1917 and the company switched hands over a dozen times until 1950 when the brewery had permanently closed down. The buildings were demolished in 1959. The unusual thing about the location of the brewery was that it was technically located in Queens. It was just 1 block over the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Yet I will keep it on the Brooklyn page because it bears the Brooklyn location on the bottle. Associated with Welz & Zerwick High Ground Brewery. SEE ALTERNATE VARIANTS BELOW. |
Frank Brewery, TheAddress: Cypress ave. between Greene st. & Willow st. (present day Hancock st. & Weirfield st.)
This is a slightly alternate clear variant with the slug plate raised higher on the front of the bottle. Associated with Welz & Zerwick High Ground Brewery. SEE ALTERNATE VARIANTS ABOVE AND BELOW. |
Huber, Otto, BreweryAddress: 1 Bushwick Place
Otto Huber Sr. had worked in breweries since he immigrated to America. In 1866 he purchased the Hoerger Brewery and it became one of the most successful breweries in New York. He died in 1900 after being deathly ill for six weeks from heart disease. The company was succeeded by Otto Huber Sr.'s four sons who sold the brewery after prohibition was passed in the early 1920s. Otto Huber Jr. however, was also involved in the building and ownership of many funds, music halls, banks, and trust funds including the first national bank of Brooklyn. He was also an admirable caretaker of horses and owned many in his private stables. |
India Wharf Brewing Co.Address: 48-60 Hamilton ave.
This was Leonhard Michel's first owned brewery. It opened in 1889 and closed in 1934. There is not much listed about his legacy in this brewery as there was in his self named brewery. SEE NEWER VARIANT BELOW. Associated with the L. Michel Brewing Co. |
Kahl, WilliamAddress: 1084 & 1086 Decatur st.
There is no info on the company except that at one point they had offered 75 birch beer half barrels equipped with Golden Gate Valves in the January, 1912, edition of The American Bottler. At around the same time the company switched production from beer to inks and pastes. |
Leavy & Britton Brewing Co.Address: Jay st. & Front st.
The company was opened by John Johnson in the mid 1800s. The business was renamed to Leavy & Keanny in 1878. Under old management they made 250 barrels of beer per week, now under the new Leavy & Britton management they make that same amount daily. |
Liebinger Brewing Co., TheAddress: Wyckoff ave. & Fairfield st.
The company opened in 1887 and closed in 1907. The Ph. in the title stands for Phil which was Liebinger's first name. This version of the bottle was used from 1887 to 1895. Associated with: Conrad Eurich's Brewery Eurich Brewing Co. Ph. Leibinger Brewing Co. |
Liebinger, Ph., Brewing Co.Address: Wyckoff ave. & Fairfield st.
The company opened in 1887 and closed in 1907. The Ph. in the title stands for Phil which was Liebinger's first name. This version of the bottle was used from 1895 to 1899. Associated with: Conrad Eurich's Brewery Eurich Brewing Co. The Leibinger Brewing Co. |
Liebmann's, S., Sons Brewing Co.Address: 36 Forrest & Bremen Sts.
The S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing co is one of the most influential beer companies in New York history. It branched out of Obermeyer & Liebmann's Botg. Dept. in 1868 when Samuel Liebmann opened the S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Co. for his two sons in law. The company became so large that it was picking off smaller breweries one by one by purchasing them, and expanding the company across the country including the John Eichler Brewing Co., and their own father in law's company in 1924. in 1964 the Co. bought out The pepsi co, aka United Bottling Co. It was a bad move. S. Liebmann's Sons was bought out in 1974 in Brooklyn by a coffee company. All of the other branches scattered throughout the country were purchased in 1977, thus ending one of New York's famous brewing companies. Associated with: Obermeyer & Liebmann's Botg. Dept. SEE OBERMEYER & LIEBMANN'S BOTG. DEPT. FURTHER DOWN THE PAGE FOR MORE INFO. |
Lutz, Chas., & Bro.Address: 185 Harrison ave.
Charles G. Lutz was an active police officer for many years in Brooklyn. He entered the service in 1884 and was appointed as a sergeant in 1895. He was also a free-mason. There is no clear history on his involvement with the Chas. Lutz & Bro. organization. |
Meltzer Bros. BreweryAddress: 185 - 207 Suydam st.
The company was opened by John and Gottfried Meltzer in 1865 and operated at the 60 Meserole st. address until 1873. They then moved to 185 - 207 Suydam st. and opened a second branch at 170 Myrtle ave. The brothers died one after the other sometime after 1881 and operations were then run by their wives. They continued operation at those two branches until the company closed down in 1917. |
Michel, L., Brewing Co.Address: Bond st. & 4th st.
Leonhard Michel worked for 13 years in America's oldest brewery, The Yuengling Brewery. He later went on to found the India Wharf Brewing Co. and his own L. Michel Brewing Co. He worked in India Wharf for seventeen years before founding the L. Michael Brewing Co. in 1907. He was able to survive by appealing to the Brewing Council of N.Y. to keep his brewery even though prohibition had passed in 1920. It kept going by making near beer. After his death in 1926 the building was purchased by the Rubel Ice Co. and later sold beck to Leonhard's heir. In April 1903 L. Michel and John F. Betz had gotten into a lawsuit for ownership of the famous Yuengling Brewery. John F. Betz won and L. Michel lost $45,000 in Lawyer fees which back then was alot of money. The Ebling company briefly made beer under the old Leonhard Michel Brewery in Brooklyn between 1927 and 1940 under the White Horse Ale label. The reason that Leonhard's heir abandoned the brewery was that after all of his success he was being tracked down by the law. It turned out that he had been running one of the most important breweries in Brooklyn at the time without any brewing licences. Associated with India Wharf Brewing Co. |
Nassau Brewing Co.Address: 1042 Dean st.
The company was founded in 1849 as Liberger and Walter, then changing names in 1866 to the Bedford Brewery, owned by Christian Goetz. In 1884 it was purchased by William Brown and renamed yet again to the Budweiser Brewing Co. Anheuser-Busch then sued Brown over name copyrights and won since they had a trademark on the name since 1878. Brown was then forced to rename the company to the Nassau Brewing Co. which operated from 1898 to and closed in 1914. The building stands today and has been converted into an apartment / studio building with a number of occupants residing within. New additions have been attached to the brewery building to give it stability. |
Obermeyer & LiebmannAddress: 59 & 71 Bremen st. & Noll st.
On November 27th 1854, a German immigrant named Samuel Liebmann purchased a brewery in Williamsburg which would become the greatest brewery in New York over the course of the next 100 years. In 1868 he retired, and in 1872 he passed away, leaving the business to his three sons, Joseph, Henry, and Charles. It is unclear which of the sons branched off to create the S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Co. The company was successful until 1905, when it was passed down to their grandsons. To this day, no one is sure where the name Obermeyer comes from in the companies history. Associated with: S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Co. SEE ALTERNATE SUN VARIANTS BELOW. |
Olifiers, B. J.Address: 85 Orient ave. / 556 Orient ave.
Olifiers was contracted by the City of New York to make 400,000 glasses at $80 per 1000 to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the discovery of America. It was agreed that Olifiers would buy back glasses after the the celebration at $10 per 1000. A few days after Olifiers started producing the glasses he received a memo that the number was supposed to be 40,000, not 400,000. By that time he had completed 200,000 glasses. He sued the office that contracted him for the damages and won over $13,000, $1,000 of which was interest from the time the suit was filed. The law suit took place in the New York Supreme Court in 1895 but was first filed in 1892. |
Seitz's, N., SonAddress: 256-268 Maujer st.
This company has a rich history in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn City Brewery was founded in 1846 in Manhattan by N. Seitz. He moved the Brewery to Brooklyn itself in 1852. In 1871 he retired and left the brewery to his son and son in law. In 1873 the company switched hands again and was given to N. Seitz's grandchildren. The brewery was the most state of the art in existence at the time in a four story building. It would produce less every year then the building was capable of making yet sold more than almost all of the other companies in the area. Nicholas Seitz was the uncle of Leonhard Eppig. Associated with: Leonhard Eppig. SEE NEWER VARIANTS BELOW. |
Sullivan, JohnAddress: Bath ave. & Bay 22nd st.
John Sullivan was born in 1862 in Ireland and came to America in 1887. He was an avid yachtsman and restaurant owner in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. He had membership in the Bay Ridge Yacht Club, the Brooklyn Elks Lodge, and the Democratic Club of Bay Ridge. He had one daughter, Joseph Sullivan (later Mrs Joseph J. Farrell) with his wife Catherine Sullivan. He died at the age of 65 in 1927. |
Trommer's, John F., Evergreen BreweryAddress: Bushwick ave. & Conway st.
John F. Trommer was an immigrant from Germany who purchased the newly built Evergreen Brewery in 1896. In 1898 John died and was succeeded by his son George who was able to keep the business going successfully through prohibition. the company finally closed down in 1951 after opening a sister branch in New Jersey. SEE SECOND VARIANT BELOW. Associated with: Trommer's Evergreen Brewery |
Welz & Zerwick High Ground BreweryAddress: Corner of Myrtle ave. & Wyckoff ave.
In 1874 Charles Zerwick was hired by Jacob Marquardt to be the brewmaster of The Frank Brewery (not that name until 1892). Three years later Zerwick married the daughter of John Welz, the owner of the Welz brewery a few blocks away. Yet for the next few years Zerwick stayed loyal to the Frank Brewery until a fire destroyed the building in 1878. During the two years that it took to rebuild the brewery Zerwick accepted the offer of Welz to be the brewmaster in the Welz brewery. Zerwick made the company very popular by using new brewing techniques and the most up to date machinery. He was also very successful in marketing the company to most of Brooklyn. John Welz was so pleased with the things that Zerwick had done for the company that he changed the name to the Welz & Zerwick High Ground Brewery. It was called the High Ground Brewery because the brewery started on the second floor of the building that the company was in. The first was a large store owned by the company. This was unusual because most breweries didnt sell their product in the same place that it was made. Associated with The Frank Brewery. SEE SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH VARIANTS BELOW. |
Canarsie
Evergreen
Vanderveer Park
No Location
Piel Bros.Address: 315 Liberty ave.
The company was founded in 1883 by the three Piel brothers, Gottfried, William, and Michael, all born in Germany. In the 1950s Piel bought Trommers, and Rubsam & Hormann. The company finally closed after 90 years when it was bought out by F&M Schaefer, then sold to Stroh, then Anheuser-Busch and Miller, and later being sold to Pabst in 1973. SEE AMBER VARIANT BELOW. |
Large Blob Tops
Brooklyn
Neff's, T. L., SonsAddress: 105 Maujer st.
The company's slogan was "Watch Your Thirst" and made 2000 soft drink daily, sending out 24,000 of these bottles every working day. They specialized in sarsaparilla (root beer) and ginger ale, and also sold a wide range of other soft drinks worldwide. The company was bought out by Kirsch. T. L. Neff was the first president and founder of the Bottler's Association of New York. |
Wehmhoefer Bros. Co.Address: 111 Conselyea st.
A second address was 329 Manhattan ave. A third is seen on the smaller variant. The company had a special wagon made to deliver its products by the Pope Harford Co. The truck debuted on February 24th at the Brooklyn Auto Show in 1911. SEE SMALL VARIANT FURTHER DOWN THE PAGE. |
Canarsie
Vreeland, J. H., & SonAddress: E. 92nd st. & ave. N
J.H. Vreeland & Son were not in the bottling business, but rather in the oyster fishing business which begs the question why a bottle from the company exists. They owned a 25 horsepower, 48 foot, 13 tonnage boat that ran on a gas engine which they offered for sale for the price of $5000 in 1906. |
Greenpoint
Small Blob Tops
Brooklyn
Goodwin, Hugh, Aromatic Ginger AleAddress: 1st: 325 Pearl st.
<------ 2nd: No. 47 Montgomery st. 3rd: 621 Bergen st. Hugh Goodwin began his business in 1868 at 325 Pearl st. At one point he combined his business with the Russel Bros. but the business relationship didnt last. He closed the business in 1906. Associated with: George Russel Aromatic Ginger Ale Russel, Bro., & Goodwin Aromatic Ginger Ale |
Plant, H. L.Address: 101 Pearl st.
The company opened in 1884. Humphrey L. Plant died at the age of 56 in 1914. He was a member of the Long Island Bottlers' Union and a member of many clubs and lodges. The company closed the same year he died because his wife could not run the company and take care of 7 children at the same time; 3 sons and 4 daughters. This is a dug rough variant. SEE CLEANER VARIANT BELOW. |
Russel, Bro., & Goodwin Aromatic Ginger AleAddress: 373 & 379 Bridge st.
This bottle came from the short lived merger of the Russel Brothers and Hugh Goodwin which took place in the late 1880s. See the other bottle companies associated with this one to find out more info on this company's history. Associated with: Hugh Goodwin Aromatic Ginger Ale George Russel Aromatic Ginger Ale |
Russel, George, Aromatic Ginger AleAddress: 373 to 379 Bridge st.
George was in business with his brother at some point throughout the company's history under the name Russel Bros. They also merged the company with Hugh Goodwin for a while but it did not last. Associated with: Hugh Goodwin Aromatic Ginger Ale Russel, Bro., & Goodwin Aromatic Ginger Ale |
Wehmhoefer Bros.Address: 327-333 Ewen st.
A second address was 329 Manhattan ave. A third is seen on the larger variant. The company had a special wagon made to deliver its products by the Pope Harford Co. The truck debuted on February 24th at the Brooklyn Auto Show in 1911. SEE LARGE VARIANT FURTHER UP THE PAGE. |