Hudepohl Brewing Company
Encyclopedia
Hudepohl Brewing Company was a brewery
established in Cincinnati, Ohio
in 1885 by founder Ludwig Hudepohl II. Hudepohl was the son of Bavaria
n immigrants and had worked in the surgical tool business before starting his brewery. Hudepohl combined with Schoenling Brewing Company in 1986. Today, the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.
.
beer of their homeland and Cincinnati's German beer
barons were only too willing to answer the demand. Hudepohl brewed golden lager, dark lager, seasonal bock beer
and several other regional styles of lager that were popular in the German homeland.
Hudepohl was among the top 5 brewers in Cincinnati when Prohibition
hit the nation in 1918. Hudepohl survived Prohibition by making near beer and soft drinks. In 1933, Prohibition was repealed and Hudepohl quickly jumped back into the beer business. Within two years Hudepohl was clearly becoming the dominant brewer in Cincinnati. The company was selling all it could make in its home market and really didn't see an immediate need to "export" beer to other states. Deviating from this philosophy would come back to haunt Hudepohl and most other regional brewers in the decades to come. During World War II
, Hudepohl Beer was among the beers selected by the War Department for use by U.S. troops in the Pacific. Special olive green Crowntainer cans, produced by Crown Cork and Seal Company, but bearing a Hudepohl label, were filled at the Cincinnati brewery then packed in cases with straw before being shipped overseas. Many cases of Hudepohl Beer were actually parachuted to troops on islands throughout the Pacific.
, Blatz and Budweiser
. Over time many of these brands along with strong regional competitors like Stroh's would whittle away at Hudepohl's dominance of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky market. Cincinnati breweries were slowly closing shop. Red Top Brewing Company closed in the late 1950s, the Bavarian Brewing Company
, just across the Ohio River
in Covington, Kentucky
, closed in 1966. By 1973, Burger Brewing Company, a once dominant Cincinnati brand, announced its closure. Hudepohl stepped in and purchased the brands and recipes of Burger, which included Burger Beer, Bohemian Tap and Red Lion Malt Liquor. Burger Beer became Hudepohl's budget priced brand.
Hudepohl continued to fight market erosion caused by the influx of national brands. Hudepohl attempted to expand regionally but with only limited success. Had the company followed the lead of Anheuser-Busch
and Pabst and struck out towards a national market in its early years it might have become a powerhouse.
, Stroh's, Schlitz and Pabst. Wiedemann Beer, which was brewed across the river in Newport, Kentucky
had been purchased by G. Heileman Brewing Company
of La Crosse, Wisconsin
in the early 1970s. Heileman's marketing muscle kept Wiedemann competitive and helped it become a major competitor to Hudepohl as well.
Hudepohl-Schoenling operated in Cincinnati as an independent brewer until late 1997 when the brewery was sold to Boston Beer Company
, brewers of Samuel Adams Beer. Hudepohl-Schoenling brands would continue to be brewed and packaged in Cincinnati under contract by Boston Beer Company, which had renamed the Schoenling Brewery "Samuel Adams Brewery." This arrangement continued until 2001 when the contract was not renewed by Boston Beer Company.
Hudepohl-Schoenling continued to operate as a sales and marketing company for its many brands of beer, which included Little Kings Cream Ale, Hudy Delight, Hudy Gold, Christian Moerlein, Mt. Everest Malt Liquor, Burger and Burger Light. The company also produced a successful line of iced teas and juice drinks under the Tradewinds name. Hudepohl-Schoenling was also the importer and master distributor of Whitbread Pale Ale, Mackeson Stout and Cerveza Panama. The company also served as a master distributor for Anchor Steam Beer in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The rights to these brands went to Royal Imports, LLC of Cincinnati.
In 1999, the Lichtendahl family, who dominated the Hudepohl-Schoenling ownership group, elected to exit the beer business. They retained the Tradewinds iced tea and juice drink line, but sold the domestic beer brands to Cleveland
based Crooked River Brewing Company, which eventually became Snyder International Brewing Group.
Snyder International also purchased Frederick Brewing Company
of Frederick, Maryland in 1999. The Frederick brewery was underutilized and so production of bottled and draft Hudepohl-Schoenling brands shifted to the Frederick brewery. Since Frederick had no canning facility, production of Hudy Delight, Burger Beer and Burger Light in cans was shifted to City Brewery in LaCrosse, Wisconsin under a special contract arrangement.
from Snyder for all other brands, recipes and trademarks of the Hudepohl-Schoenling brewing company should they ever be sold in the future. On May 1, 2006, Mr. Hardman’s Christian Moerlein Brewing Company and a private investment group purchased all remaining brands and recipes of the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company.
As of April, 2008 the Hudepohl building on Gest street still stands, though it appears to be in the process of being deconstructed. The smoke stack bearing the Hudepohl name is still in great condition. As of November 2008, Little Kings, Hudy Delight and the Moerlein brands remain in production under contract brewing arrangements with other regional brewers.
On May 20, 2009 Mr. Hardman announced the relaunch of Burger Beer and Burger Light. Hudepohl 14-K was relaunched on September 23, 2009. Hudepohl Amber Lager has also been released as a 125th Anniversary beer as of September 30, 2010.
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....
established in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
in 1885 by founder Ludwig Hudepohl II. Hudepohl was the son of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n immigrants and had worked in the surgical tool business before starting his brewery. Hudepohl combined with Schoenling Brewing Company in 1986. Today, the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.
Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.
Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. is a historic, high quality craft beer company headquartered in the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.Hudepohl Brewing Company is wholly owned by the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company.-History:...
.
Early history
Hudepohl Brewing Company became one of many Cincinnati breweries to thrive in the Queen City in the 1880s. Waves of German immigrants began settling in and around Cincinnati in the 1850s and 60s. These immigrants had a taste for the lagerLager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
beer of their homeland and Cincinnati's German beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
barons were only too willing to answer the demand. Hudepohl brewed golden lager, dark lager, seasonal bock beer
Bock
Bock is a strong lager of German origin. Several substyles exist, including maibock or helles bock, a paler, more hopped version generally made for consumption at spring festivals; doppelbock, a stronger and maltier version; and eisbock, a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer...
and several other regional styles of lager that were popular in the German homeland.
Hudepohl was among the top 5 brewers in Cincinnati when Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
hit the nation in 1918. Hudepohl survived Prohibition by making near beer and soft drinks. In 1933, Prohibition was repealed and Hudepohl quickly jumped back into the beer business. Within two years Hudepohl was clearly becoming the dominant brewer in Cincinnati. The company was selling all it could make in its home market and really didn't see an immediate need to "export" beer to other states. Deviating from this philosophy would come back to haunt Hudepohl and most other regional brewers in the decades to come. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Hudepohl Beer was among the beers selected by the War Department for use by U.S. troops in the Pacific. Special olive green Crowntainer cans, produced by Crown Cork and Seal Company, but bearing a Hudepohl label, were filled at the Cincinnati brewery then packed in cases with straw before being shipped overseas. Many cases of Hudepohl Beer were actually parachuted to troops on islands throughout the Pacific.
Expanding business
The post-war years were marked by continual expansion of Hudepohl Brewery. The company even purchased a second brewery from a local competitor and operated both plants for many years in order to keep up with demand. However, the late 1950s and early 1960s saw increased market infiltration from national brands such as Schlitz, PabstPabst 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...
, Blatz and Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
. Over time many of these brands along with strong regional competitors like Stroh's would whittle away at Hudepohl's dominance of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky market. Cincinnati breweries were slowly closing shop. Red Top Brewing Company closed in the late 1950s, the Bavarian Brewing Company
Bavarian Brewing Company
Bavarian Brewing Company was a brewery established in Covington, Kentucky, in 1866 by Julius Deglow as the Deglow & Company Brewery, but became known as the Bavarian Brewery as early as 1869. The brewery was originally located on Pike Street and the business expanded to include the 12th street...
, just across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
, closed in 1966. By 1973, Burger Brewing Company, a once dominant Cincinnati brand, announced its closure. Hudepohl stepped in and purchased the brands and recipes of Burger, which included Burger Beer, Bohemian Tap and Red Lion Malt Liquor. Burger Beer became Hudepohl's budget priced brand.
Hudepohl continued to fight market erosion caused by the influx of national brands. Hudepohl attempted to expand regionally but with only limited success. Had the company followed the lead of 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...
and Pabst and struck out towards a national market in its early years it might have become a powerhouse.
Hudepohl's Christian Moerlein
In 1981, Hudepohl introduced a new super-premium brand of beer called Christian Moerlein Cincinnati Select Lager. The brand was named after a popular pre-Prohibition Cincinnati brewer. The beer was more flavorful and had a deeper, richer golden color than most American beers of the time. Hudepohl intended to follow the lead of San Francisco's Anchor Steam brand into the specialty beer market. At the time, there were only a handful of specialty beers in the United States so Christian Moerlein was most often compared to imported European beers. The Moerlein brand proved popular, propelled by a $1 million initial advertising budget. Soon, Hudepohl introduced Christian Moerlein Doppel Dark beer as a companion brand. While the Moerlein brands were successful, they did not represent enough volume to save the Hudepohl Brewing Company. The company's primary brands, Hudepohl 14-K and Hudy Delight (introduced in 1978) were strong local beers but were losing increasing market share to BudweiserBudweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
, Stroh's, Schlitz and Pabst. Wiedemann Beer, which was brewed across the river in Newport, Kentucky
Newport, Kentucky
Newport is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is part of the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio Metro Area which...
had been purchased by G. Heileman Brewing Company
G. Heileman Brewing Company
The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, was a brewery firm that operated in 1858-1996. It was acquired in the latter year by Stroh's, and its independent existence ended...
of La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
in the early 1970s. Heileman's marketing muscle kept Wiedemann competitive and helped it become a major competitor to Hudepohl as well.
Hard times at Hudepohl
Hudepohl celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1985. But business was down and company president, Bob Pohl, began looking for a buyer or merger partner. In 1986, Hudepohl was sold to crosstown rival, Schoenling Brewing Company, makers of Little Kings Cream Ale, Schoenling Lager, Top Hat Beer and Fehr's X/L (originally a Louisville brand that was purchased by Schoenling when Frank Fehr Brewing Company closed in the 1960s). For about a year the now combined Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company continued to operate the Hudepohl plant on Gest Street while capacity was increased at the Schoenling plant at 1625 Central Parkway. In 1987, all beer production was moved to the Schoenling facility and the Hudepohl plant was closed. Most of the buildings still stand as of 2008, including a giant smokestack bearing the Hudepohl name.Hudepohl-Schoenling operated in Cincinnati as an independent brewer until late 1997 when the brewery was sold to Boston Beer Company
Boston Beer Company
Samuel Adams is an American brand of beer brewed by the Boston Beer Company and its associated contract brewers. The company was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, Harry M. Rubin, and Lorenzo Lamadrid in Boston, Massachusetts, USA...
, brewers of Samuel Adams Beer. Hudepohl-Schoenling brands would continue to be brewed and packaged in Cincinnati under contract by Boston Beer Company, which had renamed the Schoenling Brewery "Samuel Adams Brewery." This arrangement continued until 2001 when the contract was not renewed by Boston Beer Company.
Hudepohl-Schoenling continued to operate as a sales and marketing company for its many brands of beer, which included Little Kings Cream Ale, Hudy Delight, Hudy Gold, Christian Moerlein, Mt. Everest Malt Liquor, Burger and Burger Light. The company also produced a successful line of iced teas and juice drinks under the Tradewinds name. Hudepohl-Schoenling was also the importer and master distributor of Whitbread Pale Ale, Mackeson Stout and Cerveza Panama. The company also served as a master distributor for Anchor Steam Beer in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The rights to these brands went to Royal Imports, LLC of Cincinnati.
In 1999, the Lichtendahl family, who dominated the Hudepohl-Schoenling ownership group, elected to exit the beer business. They retained the Tradewinds iced tea and juice drink line, but sold the domestic beer brands to Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
based Crooked River Brewing Company, which eventually became Snyder International Brewing Group.
Snyder International also purchased Frederick Brewing Company
Frederick Brewing Company
Frederick Brewing Company is a brewery in Frederick, Maryland, United States. The company's labels include Wildgoose, Blueridge, Little Kings, and others. Contract brewing is common at this brewery...
of Frederick, Maryland in 1999. The Frederick brewery was underutilized and so production of bottled and draft Hudepohl-Schoenling brands shifted to the Frederick brewery. Since Frederick had no canning facility, production of Hudy Delight, Burger Beer and Burger Light in cans was shifted to City Brewery in LaCrosse, Wisconsin under a special contract arrangement.
Bringing it back
In March 2004, Gregory Hardman, a greater Cincinnati resident and successful beverage industry veteran, purchased the brands and recipes of Christian Moerlein from Snyder International Beverage Group bringing back the local ownership to Cincinnati. At that time, he also obtained a first right of refusalRight of first refusal
Right of first refusal is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party...
from Snyder for all other brands, recipes and trademarks of the Hudepohl-Schoenling brewing company should they ever be sold in the future. On May 1, 2006, Mr. Hardman’s Christian Moerlein Brewing Company and a private investment group purchased all remaining brands and recipes of the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company.
As of April, 2008 the Hudepohl building on Gest street still stands, though it appears to be in the process of being deconstructed. The smoke stack bearing the Hudepohl name is still in great condition. As of November 2008, Little Kings, Hudy Delight and the Moerlein brands remain in production under contract brewing arrangements with other regional brewers.
On May 20, 2009 Mr. Hardman announced the relaunch of Burger Beer and Burger Light. Hudepohl 14-K was relaunched on September 23, 2009. Hudepohl Amber Lager has also been released as a 125th Anniversary beer as of September 30, 2010.