Karl Strauss
Encyclopedia
Karl Martin Strauss was a German-American
brewer
. A Jew, he fled Nazi Germany
in 1939, and went on to become a brewer, executive, and consultant in the American brewing industry. He received numerous awards during his career, which spanned both the large national brewery and the microbrew
segments of the industry. The Karl Strauss Brewing Company
, which he helped found in 1989, continues to bear his name.
. During his young life he assisted his father as a brewer and intern while living in the family quarters at the brewery. At age 19, he went to the Technical University of Munich
at Weihenstephan
, where he received a degree in the science and practice of malting and brewing. In addition, he received Master Brewer certification, allowing him to teach apprentice brewers. With his diploma in hand, he began working at breweries including the Falkenkreuz Brauerei Lippert in Detmold
, Westphalia
; the Bauer Brauerei in Lübeck
, Holstein
; and the Altstädter Malzfabrik in Altstadt, Thuringia
.
But with the rise of the Nazis, Germany was not a safe place for the Jewish Strauss family, and work became scarce. "I graduated from college while Hitler was in power and as a Jew could not find employment in the brewing industry," he wrote in 1943. Thanks to family living in the United States, he was able to secure sponsorship to emigrate. But other members of his family were not so lucky. The last time he saw his mother was the night he left Germany. She later was killed in a concentration camp. His brother was killed in a Nazi raid on the Polish underground.
, but stopped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, at the urging of an uncle to visit family friends. While there he applied for a job with the Pabst Brewing Company
.
"I arrived in Milwaukee on St. Patrick's Day, 1939," he later recalled. "I started to work at Pabst on May 11, 1939, and I worked for Pabst for 44 years."
He began his work at Pabst feeding bottles to the bottle soaker. Within a few months he was promoted to foreman of filtration. He continued to quickly move up the corporate ladder, becoming an assistant superintendent and later malt house superintendent. In 1942, he was transferred to Pabst's brewery in Peoria, Illinois
, as the plant production manager. Within a few years he was made head maltster in Milwaukee and was assistant superintendent of the malt house and brewhouse. In 1948, he was promoted to superintendent of Pabst's newly-purchased plant in Los Angeles
, and remained there until 1956. He was named technical director of Pabst in 1958, and promoted to vice-president of production in 1960. He helped Pabst reformulate its beer, as well as create a new Pabst Blue Ribbon
. He continued as vice-president until retiring from Pabst in 1983.
His first wife died in 1978. He married his second wife, Marjean Schaefer, in 1980.
, Oldenburg Brewery, and Goose Island Brewery
.
He also co-authored a book, The Practical Brewer, published by the Master Brewers Association of the Americas
.
In 1989, a cousin, Chris Cramer, and Cramer's college roommate, Matt Rattner, asked Strauss to help them develop a brewpub in San Diego, California. He helped design the facility, train the brewers and provided brewing recipes; he also lent his name to the enterprise. The Karl Strauss Brewing Company now includes six brewpubs/restaurants and a brewery, as well as a beer truck at Disney's California Adventure
. Karl Strauss beers are available throughout southern California.
With his face plastered on advertisements and the labels of the company's beers, and the use of his booming, German-accented voice in radio spots, Strauss became something of a celebrity in San Diego, even though his home remained in Milwaukee. One memorable appearance was introducing the legendary punk rock group the Sex Pistols
at the San Diego Street Scene in 2003.
Strauss died on December 21, 2006, in Milwaukee, of complications following surgery for cancer.
from 1961–63, Strauss is the only person to receive the three highest awards given by the association. These include the Award of Merit (1981), given to an individual or individuals who made an outstanding contribution to the brewing industry; the Award of Honor (1992), given to a member who has rendered outstanding service to the association; and the Distinguished Life Service Award (2003), which recognizes MBAA members who have given exceptional service to the association.
Strauss was a founder and director of the Museum of Beer and Brewing
in Milwaukee. The museum now presents the annual Karl Strauss Award to individuals for lifetime contributions to the industry.
The Karl Strauss Brewing Company set up the Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund with the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. The fund provides financial educational support to aspiring southern California brewers pursuing a career in the field of brewing.
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
. A Jew, he fled Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1939, and went on to become a brewer, executive, and consultant in the American brewing industry. He received numerous awards during his career, which spanned both the large national brewery and the microbrew
Microbrewery
A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....
segments of the industry. The Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Karl Strauss Brewing Company is a San Diego, California-based beer business with a microbrewery and a chain of brewpub restaurants.In 1988, Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner asked Cramer’s cousin, the late Karl Strauss, to help them develop a brewpub...
, which he helped found in 1989, continues to bear his name.
Early life
Strauss was born October 5, 1912, on the second floor of the administration building of the Feldschlösschen Bräu, a brewery in Minden, Germany, of which his father was president. The second born of two boys and a girl to Albrecht and Mathilde Strauss, he attended the Oberrealschule in Minden where he received his AbiturAbitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
. During his young life he assisted his father as a brewer and intern while living in the family quarters at the brewery. At age 19, he went to the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
at Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan is a part of Freising north of Munich, Germany.Weihenstephan is known for:* the site of one of the three campuses of the Technische Universität München , namely the one for life sciences* the Fachhochschule Weihenstephan...
, where he received a degree in the science and practice of malting and brewing. In addition, he received Master Brewer certification, allowing him to teach apprentice brewers. With his diploma in hand, he began working at breweries including the Falkenkreuz Brauerei Lippert in Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
, Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
; the Bauer Brauerei in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Holstein
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
; and the Altstädter Malzfabrik in Altstadt, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
.
But with the rise of the Nazis, Germany was not a safe place for the Jewish Strauss family, and work became scarce. "I graduated from college while Hitler was in power and as a Jew could not find employment in the brewing industry," he wrote in 1943. Thanks to family living in the United States, he was able to secure sponsorship to emigrate. But other members of his family were not so lucky. The last time he saw his mother was the night he left Germany. She later was killed in a concentration camp. His brother was killed in a Nazi raid on the Polish underground.
Emigration to America
In 1939, Strauss was able to leave Germany for the United States, followed soon by his first wife, Irene Vollweiler. He had planned to join family members in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but stopped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, at the urging of an uncle to visit family friends. While there he applied for a job with the Pabst Brewing Company
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...
.
"I arrived in Milwaukee on St. Patrick's Day, 1939," he later recalled. "I started to work at Pabst on May 11, 1939, and I worked for Pabst for 44 years."
He began his work at Pabst feeding bottles to the bottle soaker. Within a few months he was promoted to foreman of filtration. He continued to quickly move up the corporate ladder, becoming an assistant superintendent and later malt house superintendent. In 1942, he was transferred to Pabst's brewery in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, as the plant production manager. Within a few years he was made head maltster in Milwaukee and was assistant superintendent of the malt house and brewhouse. In 1948, he was promoted to superintendent of Pabst's newly-purchased plant in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and remained there until 1956. He was named technical director of Pabst in 1958, and promoted to vice-president of production in 1960. He helped Pabst reformulate its beer, as well as create a new Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pabst Blue Ribbon is a brand of beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, originally established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but now based in Los Angeles. Pabst Blue Ribbon is contract-brewed in six different breweries around the U.S...
. He continued as vice-president until retiring from Pabst in 1983.
His first wife died in 1978. He married his second wife, Marjean Schaefer, in 1980.
Post-retirement
Strauss began a new career as a brewery consultant, providing services for both large breweries and microbreweries throughout the world. His services were called upon in Europe and Asia, as well as North America. He counted more than 50 brewpubs and microbreweries he helped design. Some of his clients included Kurth Malting, MolsonMolson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
, Oldenburg Brewery, and Goose Island Brewery
Goose Island Brewery
Goose Island Brewery is a brewery located in Chicago, Illinois, that began as a single brewpub known as Clybourn, which was opened in May 1988 by John Hall in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. The larger brewery was opened in 1995, while the second brewpub, Wrigleyville, was opened in 1999...
.
He also co-authored a book, The Practical Brewer, published by the Master Brewers Association of the Americas
Master Brewers Association of the Americas
The MBAA was founded in 1887. It publishes the Technical Quarterly, a technical journal; some of the articles are peer-reviewed.See also Institute of Brewing and Distilling...
.
In 1989, a cousin, Chris Cramer, and Cramer's college roommate, Matt Rattner, asked Strauss to help them develop a brewpub in San Diego, California. He helped design the facility, train the brewers and provided brewing recipes; he also lent his name to the enterprise. The Karl Strauss Brewing Company now includes six brewpubs/restaurants and a brewery, as well as a beer truck at Disney's California Adventure
Disney's California Adventure
Disney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
. Karl Strauss beers are available throughout southern California.
With his face plastered on advertisements and the labels of the company's beers, and the use of his booming, German-accented voice in radio spots, Strauss became something of a celebrity in San Diego, even though his home remained in Milwaukee. One memorable appearance was introducing the legendary punk rock group the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
at the San Diego Street Scene in 2003.
Strauss died on December 21, 2006, in Milwaukee, of complications following surgery for cancer.
Legacy
President of the Master Brewers Association of the AmericasMaster Brewers Association of the Americas
The MBAA was founded in 1887. It publishes the Technical Quarterly, a technical journal; some of the articles are peer-reviewed.See also Institute of Brewing and Distilling...
from 1961–63, Strauss is the only person to receive the three highest awards given by the association. These include the Award of Merit (1981), given to an individual or individuals who made an outstanding contribution to the brewing industry; the Award of Honor (1992), given to a member who has rendered outstanding service to the association; and the Distinguished Life Service Award (2003), which recognizes MBAA members who have given exceptional service to the association.
Strauss was a founder and director of the Museum of Beer and Brewing
Museum of Beer and Brewing
The Museum of Beer and Brewing is a non-profit educational organization that was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, by a group of beer history enthusiasts. Since its conception, the group has lost one of its founding members, Karl Strauss, a retired brewer from the Pabst Brewing Company...
in Milwaukee. The museum now presents the annual Karl Strauss Award to individuals for lifetime contributions to the industry.
The Karl Strauss Brewing Company set up the Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund with the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. The fund provides financial educational support to aspiring southern California brewers pursuing a career in the field of brewing.