Rheingold Beer
Encyclopedia
Rheingold Beer, introduced in 1883, is a New York
beer
that held 35 percent of the state's beer market from 1950 to 1960. The company was sold by the founding Liebmann family in 1963. According to the New York Times, "Rheingold Beer was once a top New York brew guzzled regularly by a loyal cadre of workingmen who would just as soon have eaten nails as drink another beer maker's suds." Its VP-Technical Joseph Owades
claims credit for Rheingold developing the first light beer.
Rheingold shut down operations in 1976, when they were unable to compete with the large national breweries. Corporate consolidation and the rise of national breweries led to the demise of dozens of regional breweries. The Orange, New Jersey
brewery was the last facility to close.
The label was revived in 1998 by Terry Liebmann and partner Mike Mitaro.
. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, "the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House." The first Miss Rheingold was Spanish-born Jinx Falkenburg
. When Nat King Cole
became the first major black entertainer to host a television show, advertisers stayed away—but not Rheingold; Rheingold was the New York regional sponsor for Cole's show. As early as 1965, Rheingold aired television ads featuring African American, Puerto Rican and Asian actors, to appeal to its racially diverse customer base. The company's headquarters was in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn
. Rheingold was the official beer of the New York Mets
, and its advertisements featured John Wayne
, Jackie Robinson
, and the Marx Brothers
.
1940 Falkenburg, Jinx;
1941 Ownbey, Ruth;
1942 Drake, Nancy;
1943 Gover, Sonia;
1944 House, Jane;
1945 Boyd, Pat;
1946 Daigle, Rita;
1947 Fallon, Michaele;
1948 Quinlan, Pat;
1949 McElroy, Pat;
1950 Burrage, Pat;
1951 Gammon, Elise;
1952 Hogan, Anne;
1953 Austin, Mary;
1954 Garrett, Adrienne;
1955 Woodruff, Nancy;
1956 Merritt, Hillie;
1957 McNally, Margie;
1958 Darrow, Madelyn;
1959 Bain, Robbin;
1960 Banks, Emily;
1961 Mick, Janet;
1962 Kersh, Kathy;
1963 Rissell, Loretta;
1964 Yarnall, Celeste;
1965 Vaughn, Sharon
was completed. During the cleanup of the WTC site following the collapse of the towers on September 11, 2001
, numerous Rheingold beer cans were found in the rubble, having been hidden in the beams of the building decades earlier by construction workers who had drunk the beers on the job.
During the interim period, it appears that the name was most likely licensed to the Miller brewing company for an inexpensive beer sold primarily in the northeastern part of the United States.
According to an October 18, 1999 New York Observer
article, Mitaro's Rheingold Brewing Company LLC bought the brand in 1998. Liebmann is a relative of Rheingold's founding family. When Rheingold re-launched, they revived the Miss Rheingold pageant. The new Miss Rheingold contestants no longer wore ball gowns and white gloves--"They had tattoo
s. They were pierced. They were badasses." In 2003, the Village Voice noted Rheingold for "the best marketing campaign co-opting hipster
drinking habits." In 2004, Rheingold stirred controversy in New York City with a series of ads which mock New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
's ban on smoking in bars and enforcement of city laws which prohibit dancing in bars which do not have a "cabaret license." Bloomberg responded by drinking Coors
in public.
In 2005, Drinks Americas
of Wilton Ct., whose iconic brands include Trump Vodka and Dr. Dre
Cognac, purchased Rheingold Brewing. Drinks Americas has reformulated the Rheingold product for follow through distribution throughout the US. The date of the release is currently unknown.
Rheingold beer will return to the New York Metropolitan market. Drinks Americas will be selling Rheingold Beer in August 2010.
" (The Students' Waltz), op. 191, No. 4; it was sung nostalgically by Sophia, Blanche and Dorothy on an episode of The Golden Girls
. She commented to her daughter, Dorothy, "Your father was always singing that damn jingle."
Les Paul
recorded a very popular radio commercial
for Rheingold in 1951.
In the film The Godfather
, a Rheingold delivery truck can be seen in the background while Sonny
beats up his brother-in-law Carlo.
In the film Silver Bullet
, Arnie Westrum is first seen singing a drunken rendition of the Rheingold beer song.
The title of the novel Ice-Cold in Alex
refers to Captain Anson longing for a Rheingold in Alexandria
.
The history of the Rheingold Girl contest is recounted in Wally Lamb
's The Hour I First Believed (Harper 2008).
In Life on Mars
Gene Hunt is seen drinking a Rheingold beer, Green bottle, during one of the scenes
In the Hi Def Jam episode of King of Queens, Doug and his friends are all seen drinking Rheingold while playing poker.
In the movie Just Looking
,which takes place in 1955, Rheingold beer and advertisements are shown throughout.
In the movie Sophie's Choice
, Nathan Landau played by Kevin Kline
throws a beer to Stingo played by Peter MacNicol
The November, 1954, issue of Mad
(#17), has a parody of Miss Rheingold, drawn by Basil Wolverton
, where the readers are asked to "Choose Miss Potgold of 1955."
In the Summer 2011 edition of San Francisco Opera's "The Ring of the Nibelung" (a cycle of four related operas by German composer Richard Wagner). the character Wotan who represents the God of Gods, sips from a can of Rheingold Beer, an homage to Das Rheingold
, one of the ring operas, and also a direct reference to the gold in the rhine river, of which the Ring of Nibelung is fashioned.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
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...
that held 35 percent of the state's beer market from 1950 to 1960. The company was sold by the founding Liebmann family in 1963. According to the New York Times, "Rheingold Beer was once a top New York brew guzzled regularly by a loyal cadre of workingmen who would just as soon have eaten nails as drink another beer maker's suds." Its VP-Technical Joseph Owades
Joseph Owades
Joseph L. Owades was one of the preeminent figures in the world of light and industrially-produced beer. He adjusted analytical techniques and quality control; developing the first "light" beer and the process for making it; creating many new, unique, and successful specialty beers; and passing on...
claims credit for Rheingold developing the first light beer.
Rheingold shut down operations in 1976, when they were unable to compete with the large national breweries. Corporate consolidation and the rise of national breweries led to the demise of dozens of regional breweries. The Orange, New Jersey
Orange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
brewery was the last facility to close.
The label was revived in 1998 by Terry Liebmann and partner Mike Mitaro.
Miss Rheingold Girls 1940 - 1965
At the center of its media campaign was the "Miss Rheingold" pageantBeauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, "the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House." The first Miss Rheingold was Spanish-born Jinx Falkenburg
Jinx Falkenburg
Jinx Falkenburg was an actress, expert swimmer and tennis star, and one of the highest-paid and most ubiquitous cover-girl models in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, one of the first supermodels. She married journalist and influential publicist Tex McCrary in 1945...
. When Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
became the first major black entertainer to host a television show, advertisers stayed away—but not Rheingold; Rheingold was the New York regional sponsor for Cole's show. As early as 1965, Rheingold aired television ads featuring African American, Puerto Rican and Asian actors, to appeal to its racially diverse customer base. The company's headquarters was in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Rheingold was the official beer of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, and its advertisements featured John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, and the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
.
1940 Falkenburg, Jinx;
1941 Ownbey, Ruth;
1942 Drake, Nancy;
1943 Gover, Sonia;
1944 House, Jane;
1945 Boyd, Pat;
1946 Daigle, Rita;
1947 Fallon, Michaele;
1948 Quinlan, Pat;
1949 McElroy, Pat;
1950 Burrage, Pat;
1951 Gammon, Elise;
1952 Hogan, Anne;
1953 Austin, Mary;
1954 Garrett, Adrienne;
1955 Woodruff, Nancy;
1956 Merritt, Hillie;
1957 McNally, Margie;
1958 Darrow, Madelyn;
1959 Bain, Robbin;
1960 Banks, Emily;
1961 Mick, Janet;
1962 Kersh, Kathy;
1963 Rissell, Loretta;
1964 Yarnall, Celeste;
1965 Vaughn, Sharon
History
The company shut down four years after the construction of the twin towers of the World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
was completed. During the cleanup of the WTC site following the collapse of the towers on September 11, 2001
Collapse of the World Trade Center
The twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001, as a result of al-Qaeda's September 11 attacks, in which terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners, flying one into the North Tower and another into the South Tower...
, numerous Rheingold beer cans were found in the rubble, having been hidden in the beams of the building decades earlier by construction workers who had drunk the beers on the job.
During the interim period, it appears that the name was most likely licensed to the Miller brewing company for an inexpensive beer sold primarily in the northeastern part of the United States.
According to an October 18, 1999 New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
article, Mitaro's Rheingold Brewing Company LLC bought the brand in 1998. Liebmann is a relative of Rheingold's founding family. When Rheingold re-launched, they revived the Miss Rheingold pageant. The new Miss Rheingold contestants no longer wore ball gowns and white gloves--"They had tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s. They were pierced. They were badasses." In 2003, the Village Voice noted Rheingold for "the best marketing campaign co-opting hipster
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
drinking habits." In 2004, Rheingold stirred controversy in New York City with a series of ads which mock New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
's ban on smoking in bars and enforcement of city laws which prohibit dancing in bars which do not have a "cabaret license." Bloomberg responded by drinking Coors
Coors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
in public.
In 2005, Drinks Americas
Drinks Americas
Drinks Americas is a beverage distribution company based out of Wilton, Connecticut. Drinks Americas Holdings, LTD., develops, owns, markets, and internationally distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages associated with celebrities.-Products:...
of Wilton Ct., whose iconic brands include Trump Vodka and Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
Cognac, purchased Rheingold Brewing. Drinks Americas has reformulated the Rheingold product for follow through distribution throughout the US. The date of the release is currently unknown.
Rheingold beer will return to the New York Metropolitan market. Drinks Americas will be selling Rheingold Beer in August 2010.
In popular culture
The theme song of Rheingold Beer, applied lyrics to Emil Waldteufel's "Estudiantina ValseEstudiantina
The Estudiantina waltz, or Band of Students Waltz is a musical arrangement, made in 1883, by Emile Waldteufel, which would be his Opus 191, No. 4. Its melody was composed earlier in 1881 by Paul Lacome, with lyrics by J. de Lau Lusignan....
" (The Students' Waltz), op. 191, No. 4; it was sung nostalgically by Sophia, Blanche and Dorothy on an episode of The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
. She commented to her daughter, Dorothy, "Your father was always singing that damn jingle."
Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
recorded a very popular radio commercial
Radio commercial
Commercial radio stations make most of their revenue selling “airtime” to advertisers. Of total media expenditures, radio accounts for 6.9%. Radio advertisements or “spots” are available when a business or service provides valuable consideration, usually cash, in exchange for the station airing...
for Rheingold in 1951.
In the film The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, a Rheingold delivery truck can be seen in the background while Sonny
Sonny Corleone
Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation. He also appears as an infant, as a young boy, and an adult in The Godfather Part II....
beats up his brother-in-law Carlo.
In the film Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (film)
Silver Bullet is a 1985 horror film based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Megan Follows, Corey Haim, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon...
, Arnie Westrum is first seen singing a drunken rendition of the Rheingold beer song.
The title of the novel Ice-Cold in Alex
Ice-Cold in Alex
Ice-Cold in Alex is a British film based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival...
refers to Captain Anson longing for a Rheingold in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
.
The history of the Rheingold Girl contest is recounted in Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb is an American author known as the writer of the novels She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club.Lamb was born in Norwich, Connecticut...
's The Hour I First Believed (Harper 2008).
In Life on Mars
Life on Mars
Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. Fictional Martians have been a recurring feature of popular entertainment of the 20th and 21st centuries, but it remains an open question whether life currently exists on...
Gene Hunt is seen drinking a Rheingold beer, Green bottle, during one of the scenes
In the Hi Def Jam episode of King of Queens, Doug and his friends are all seen drinking Rheingold while playing poker.
In the movie Just Looking
Just Looking
Just Looking is an American feature film from the year 1999. It starred Ryan Merriman, was directed by Jason Alexander and received a limited theatrical release....
,which takes place in 1955, Rheingold beer and advertisements are shown throughout.
In the movie Sophie's Choice
Sophie's Choice (film)
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 American romantic drama film that tells the story of a Polish immigrant, Sophie, and her tempestuous lover who share a boarding house with a young writer in Brooklyn. The film stars Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Peter MacNicol. Alan J...
, Nathan Landau played by Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
throws a beer to Stingo played by Peter MacNicol
The November, 1954, issue of Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
(#17), has a parody of Miss Rheingold, drawn by Basil Wolverton
Basil Wolverton
Basil Wolverton was an American cartoonist, illustrator, comic book writer-artist and professed "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet", whose many publishers included Marvel Comics and Mad.His unique, humorously grotesque drawings have elicited a...
, where the readers are asked to "Choose Miss Potgold of 1955."
In the Summer 2011 edition of San Francisco Opera's "The Ring of the Nibelung" (a cycle of four related operas by German composer Richard Wagner). the character Wotan who represents the God of Gods, sips from a can of Rheingold Beer, an homage to Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
, one of the ring operas, and also a direct reference to the gold in the rhine river, of which the Ring of Nibelung is fashioned.
External links
- "The Originators of Rheingold Beer," by Rolf Hofmann
- http://www.archive.org/details/ClassicT1948_4 A classic Rheingold advertisement, featuring dancing beers - clip 31 at 00:09:030 in the archive.
- Rheingold's "Little Old New York" at the 1964/1965 NY World's Fair - Featured at nywf64.com
- http://www.blacktable.com/thompson030625.htm Interview with Kate Duyn, Miss Rheingold 2003.