The of , : a case study in regional brewery prosperity and decline

Timothy J Holian

Introduction Unfortunately the work would remain largely unaccomplished: within two years On the occasion of the 100th anniversary the brewery would be sold to a local rival, of the Hudepohl Brewing Company in the Schoenling Brewing Company, ultimate- 1985, then-executive vice president and ly to be shut down and dismantled as general manager Bob Pohl noted the another casualty in the ongoing consoli- strengths of the firm that enabled it to dation of the American brewing industry celebrate the milestone. Among the during the post-Prohibition era. virtues of the brewery were ‘quality prod- ucts,’ ‘hard working and loyal employees,’ A closer examination of Hudepohl busi- and ‘a special bond between the whole- ness practices over its last half-century salers who handle our products and the reveals a representative portrait of the retailers who sell our products,’ the hall- successes and failures of regional brew- marks of a community-minded enterprise ing enterprises nationwide during the which led Pohl to stress that ‘Hudepohl period, from the rise of the firm from the has always been a good local brewer ashes of Prohibition to sustained and with a good reputation.’ Yet at the same growing local sales success; through a time Pohl acknowledged the challenges period of stagnation and gradual decline that stood in its path, most notably that in the face of a loss of consumer loyalty and increasing competitive pressures the market is changing every day, and we from larger, more financially secure have to adjust to it. We realize that we cannot regional and national brewers; to closure compete head-on with the large national as the ultimate acknowledgment of an brewers on a national scale. We must go inability to remain profitable and hold around them. … We are well on our way to market presence into an uncertain future. accomplishing our goals, but there is still The trend did not discriminate between plenty of work to do.1 the size of the brewery and its location. A plethora of small towns gave ample evi- dence of the shift: during the 1970s and 1980s alone the casualty list in the battle- * This article has undergone peer review. ground northern states encompassed

12 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 1. A Hudepohl tin advertising sign celebrates the repeal of Prohibition (‘Something to Blow About’), 1933. (author's collection)

several dozen once-successful firms Goebel), and Chicago (Meister Brau, within a thousand-mile range from Canadian Ace, Atlas, Schoenhofen Allentown, Pennsylvania (Horlacher) and Edelweiss); within southern markets Dunkirk, New York (Koch) to Houghton, (Jackson in New Orleans, Pearl and Lone Michigan (Bosch) and Eau Claire, Star in San Antonio); as well as along Wisconsin (Walter). Large cities were no the West Coast (Rainier in Seattle, Blitz- less susceptible to the pattern over time, Weinhard in Portland). All across the as demonstrated by prominent breweries United States, the era of the traditional along the East Coast in Greater New local and regional brewery gradually York (Schaefer, Piel, Rheingold, drew to a close.2 Ballantine), Philadelphia (C Schmidt, Ortlieb, Gretz, Esslinger), and Baltimore (Gunther, National); in Upper Midwest The return of an old friend bastions including Minneapolis (Grain Belt, Gluek), St. Paul (Hamm, Schmidt), The end of Prohibition on 7 April 1933 (Gettelman, Independent was met with wild enthusiasm by a public Milwaukee), (Stroh, Pfeiffer, which had been forced to do without legal

Brewery History Number 141 13 alcoholic beverages for the previous 14 production among its roughly two-dozen years. While many consumers simply local competitors, growing from approxi- were glad to have from whatever mately 25,000 barrels manufactured in producers might supply it, considerable 1886 to 40,000 barrels at the onset of the anticipation concerned the state of brew- 1890s, and an estimated 68,800 barrels ers that had been successful in their by the end of the 1896 fiscal year.3 But markets in the years before dry legisla- despite the impressive growth registered tion. Established in Cincinnati in 1885 by by Hudepohl & Kotte during its formative Ludwig Hudepohl II and George Kotte, years, the brewery still stood deeply in the Hudepohl & Kotte Buckeye Brewery - the shadows of its most prominent area formally organized in corporate form as rivals, most notably Christian Moerlein the Hudepohl Brewing Company in (300,000 barrels produced in 1896), February 1900 - became a well-estab- Windisch-Muhlhauser (140,000), and lished name in its home market and John Hauck (120,000). nearby environs over the next 35 years, carving out a steady trade with its As it turned out, the arrival of Prohibition Golden Jubilee, Buckeye, Dortmunder, in Cincinnati in May 1919 paved the way and Hudepohl brands. The firm quickly for later success for Hudepohl, at the positioned itself among the top third in expense of larger firms either forced to

Figure 2. A Hudepohl & Kotte Buckeye Brewery advertisement of the late nineteenth century. (author's collection)

14 Journal of the Brewery History Society March 1927, when the final 46,500 gal- lons of malt beverage were dumped unceremoniously down the city sewer system in advance of closure.4 In con- trast, Hudepohl managed to survive the dry years by manufacturing not only near beer, but also vichy water, sundry soft drinks, and a ‘Dutch Cocktail’ made of real beer mixed with ginger ale. The latter product was discontinued sometime around 1928, along with its own near beer manufacture, in favor of taking on local distribution of a non-alcoholic brew from the Falls City Ice & Beverage Company (after Prohibition the Falls ) of Louisville, Kentucky.5 The active state of the busi- ness made it possible for Hudepohl to Figure 3. Cases of Hudepohl Pure retool its production quickly with the Beer come down the bottling line in the late 1930s. (author's collection) advent of repeal, such that by October 1933 it was one of seven Cincinnati breweries producing beer for the thirsty close during the dry years or unwilling masses. Like many brewers across the to attempt to ride out the storm. Despite country, Hudepohl was forced to hastily its status as the unquestioned leader update and modernize, in ways such as among area breweries, Christian the purchase of a new condenser and Moerlein made only a perfunctory effort water cooler to improve the efficiency of to market two near - Moer-lo and the physical plant, given the progression Chrismo - before announcing on 1 June of technology during the dry years and 1919 the decision to cease business and the relative obsolescence of much of the divest itself of brewery property and brewery's equipment as a result of the equipment. Windisch-Muhlhauser likewise hiatus. Hudepohl also was one of the produced a near beer, Lion Beverage, as earliest brewers to demonstrate an well as a root beer, and marketed malt awareness of a pending consumer shift extract and hops for enterprising home away from draft brews in favor of pack- brewers, before lackluster sales forced aged beer: in early 1933 it spent the firm to end operations in 1922. John $130,000 in part to install a new bottling Hauck managed to hold on slightly unit, including a modern soaker and pas- longer, manufacturing near beer and soft teurizer as well as filling, capping, and drinks at its Dayton Street facility until labeling machinery designed to handle

Brewery History Number 141 15 Figure 4. Hudepohl Pure Lager Beer quart Figure 5. A Hudepohl Chevy Ale label, bottle label, circa late 1930s. (author's circa early 1940s. (author's collection) collection)

what was foreseen as an increasing name recognition, develop new brands, trade in bottled beer.6 Along the same and establish vital distribution networks, lines, the company adopted cans for all existing strengths for Hudepohl. Aided packaging beer relatively soon after their by the fact that regional and national introduction in 1935, and during the late rivals were only a minor presence in the 1930s and early 1940s the firm produced local trade, the result was an early period its flagship brand, Hudepohl Pure Lager of prosperity that made the company the Beer, and a companion brew, its top-fer- leading producer among Cincinnati mented Chevy Ale, in ‘J’ spout cone top brewers during the critical reestablish- and Crowntainer cans manufactured by ment phase of the industry. One signal of Crown Cork & Seal of Philadelphia. newfound success, as well as a clear indicator of the company's desire to Modernization and a lack of strong rivals become the dominant local brewer, was gave Hudepohl a leg up on its early local the acquisition in 1934 of the former post-Prohibition competition. Returning Lackman Brewery at Sixth and Stone breweries such as Vienna, Jackson, and Streets. The buildings had not witnessed Foss-Schneider were saddled with small, beer production since the onset of inefficient, mostly landlocked plants and Prohibition, but their use by the Niser showed little serious potential for growth Company, a local ice cream manufactur- and expansion. New brewers such as er, ensured that much of the needed Red Top (utilizing the former Hauck equipment had been well-maintained in plant), Burger (in the Windisch- the meantime. Combined with its existing Muhlhauser facility), and Schoenling (a plant along East McMicken Avenue, in startup operation) needed time to garner the old German district known as Over

16 Journal of the Brewery History Society inferior alternative adjuncts, such as potatoes and lower-grade corn, Hudepohl opted for reduced output but better beer, unwilling to risk its good name for short- term gain. The strategy was reinforced in contemporary advertisements where the company noted that, unlike some brew- ers which sought to gain market share in a time of crisis at the expense of others, it was willing to wait out the difficulties in the hope that the public would show Figure 6. The Hudepohl Pure Lager Beer patience under the circumstances. label in its most familiar design, late 1940s. (author's collection) Hudepohl patrons know that the rich mellowness of this delicious brew is zealously guarded for them during these abnormal the Rhine, the new site gave Hudepohl times, by a loyal Hudepohl organization. The two brewery facilities when most of its present beer shortage will last as long as competition could sustain no more than grain restrictions exist, but Hudepohl will one.7 continue to produce quality beer only. Hudepohl Beer requires the best ingredients The upward trajectory of the firm was and substitutes will not meet Hudepohl interrupted somewhat with American Quality standards.8 entry into World War II in December 1941 and the resultant changes which While most American brewers were impacted all aspects of the manufactur- denied the opportunity to can their beer ing sector. Like other brewers, Hudepohl during the war era, Hudepohl was one lost vital manpower through conscription; of a few that secured a contract with the brewed under reduced grain allocations; federal government to use the metal felt the impact of gasoline, tire, and other containers, specifically for distribution of rationing measures; and was deprived of its Pure Lager Beer to military installa- metal for caps for bottles and cone top tions in the Pacific theatre. The cans - cans, in the former case compensating with an olive drab paint scheme that via reconditioning used caps and utilizing prevented light from reflecting off the quart and half-gallon (‘picnic’) bottles that surface and potentially alerting the did the work of as many as six standard enemy - gave Hudepohl another strategic containers. Faced with the choice of advantage over its hometown competi- brewing less but higher-quality beer with tion, involving increased production, the a smaller grain allotment or more beer extension of its name to unfamiliar con- but of lesser quality through the use of sumers who eventually would return

Brewery History Number 141 17 stateside, and goodwill earned from the naled the beginning of a new era for the patriotic endeavor. Hudepohl also stood brewing industry. Reacting to the new at the forefront of local brewers in adver- freedom as if shot out of a cannon, large tising designed to support the war effort, national brewers led the way in expand- sponsoring a series of promotional mes- ing and modernizing still further, with a sages entitled ‘Back the Attack’ that vigor previously unseen and with an eye urged the public to purchase war bonds, toward both increasing sales in existing also noting that it had contributed more territories and penetrating new and dis- than its fair share of payroll savings tant markets. The measures became toward the same end. necessary due in part to rapid growth, accomplished to no small extent through effective use of mass media advertising Postwar expansion and prosperity in newsprint, on radio, and by the early 1950s with greater frequency via a new The end of World War II in 1945 and the but increasingly powerful format: televi- subsequent elimination of materials sion. The overall level of sales exhibited restrictions placed upon brewers sig- by the brewing industry during the post-

Figure 7. Installing a new pasteurizer at the Hudepohl Sixth Street brewery, August 1947. (Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company archives)

18 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 8. Preparing to install a new quart bottle soaker at the Hudepohl Sixth Street brewery during postwar modernization, September 1947. (author's collection)

Figure 9. Installing a new storage tank at the Hudepohl Sixth Street brewery, late 1940s. (author's collection)

Brewery History Number 141 19 war period was stagnant, and gains washer and sterilizer that could handle registered by giants such as Anheuser- an increased rate of 220 bottles per Busch and Schlitz on a national basis, minute, and over time 40 new Smithway and Carling, Hamm, Schaefer and Stroh glass-lined tanks brought to the city via on a regional level, took place largely at railroad were installed to enhance beer the expense of smaller local producers storage capabilities.10 In subsequent with a limited sales area and little money years Hudepohl continued its efforts to for expansion and advertising. Inevitably augment production and efficiency, most an intense period of consolidation began, notably through construction of a new in which a rapidly growing number of fully-automated brewhouse beginning in small brewers were forced to close their 1959 under the Kenyon-Barr urban doors, early victims of a ‘grow or go’ men- renewal plan. The facility, opened in 1961 tality that came to dominate the industry. as the first phase of a planned five-year Greater Cincinnati was by no means expansion, featured state-of-the-art immune from the curse: from a high of Pfaudler stainless steel equipment seventeen post-Prohibition brewers in including a 30,000-pound malt hopper, 1937 - including fourteen in the city and 8,500-gallon cereal cooker, 17,500-gal- three others across the in lon mash mixer, 15,000-gallon lauter tub, neighboring Newport and Covington, and 660-barrel brew kettle. In June 1964 Kentucky - only 15 years later the num- the brewery initiated construction of a ber had dwindled to six: Hudepohl, new packaging warehouse and service Burger, Red Top, and Schoenling in facility; in September 1965 an updated Cincinnati, and Wiedemann and seventy-five ton bottle washer was Bavarian in Northern Kentucky. shipped from Milwaukee to Cincinnati and installed; and in May 1967 work was Aware of the trend toward modernization concluded on a new Hudepohl adminis- in the industry, and attempting to recover trative building that allowed the company from war-mandated production short- finally to consolidate all of its business ages, Hudepohl began an extensive activities along Sixth and Gest Streets in process of updating its Sixth Street facili- Queensgate, west of downtown, nine ty shortly after the end of governmental years after phasing out beer production restrictions. In 1947 the brewery installed at the East McMicken Street plant in Over a new pasteurizer so large - at 50 feet the Rhine.11 long, eleven feet wide, six feet high, and 64,000 pounds - that streetcars had to be The expansion of brewery property, while temporarily rerouted and overhead elec- beneficial on multiple levels, did not sell tric lines raised to permit its passage. the beer; advertising did. By the 1950s One month later virtually the same proce- brewers without an ambitious promo- dure took place again, to allow for the tional program and a catchy slogan for delivery and installation of a new bottle their product stood little chance of sur-

20 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 10. A view of the northeast portion of the Hudepohl Sixth Street brewery complex, as it appeared in August 1951. (author's collection)

vival against well-heeled competitors with and ‘Miller Makes It Right.’ Years later a deep awareness of the power of image Bob Pohl noted the difference such and marketing. In a realm where money advertising campaigns made upon the spoke volumes, large brewers spent competitive balance of the industry, to many of their smaller rivals into oblivion, the detriment of local producers like utilizing expensive but highly effective Hudepohl whose own high-quality prod- advertising agencies to come up with ucts got lost in the shuffle created by glitzy and convincing campaigns. Sales different levels of advertising savvy and of premium brands soared despite being economic prosperity. higher in price than their local counter- parts, partly due to a growing ‘bigger is The way we brewed [at Hudepohl] was the better’ mentality but also on the basis of old world way, with no shortcuts, no name recognition and catchy, often-heard gimmicks, nothing. It was just [the] traditional slogans such as ‘Where There's Life, way of brewing. It would cost us a little bit There's Bud,’ ‘Move Up to Quality, Move more to brew beer, and on top of it over the Up to Schlitz,’ ‘Pabst Makes It Perfect,’ years the bigger breweries were able to twist

Brewery History Number 141 21 around certain terms to their advantage. It While national brands made highly effec- used to be that if you were in Cincinnati and tive use of television, radio, and major you were drinking a locally manufactured magazines like Time and Life through beer, that was the local beer, and then there coast-to-coast sponsorships, reaching was the premium beer. Well, the reason it millions of potential consumers with a was called a premium beer was because it single message, local brewers were cost a premium to ship it from St. Louis to obliged to utilize more cost-effective and Cincinnati, while eventually they were able to traditional means such as billboards and turn the premium around to mean "better," as newsprint, each a useful format but by no opposed to "paying shipping." And, you know, means capable of garnering the same Budweiser was no better than any other beer, level of saturation. Less able to sell or Miller was no better than any other beer, or image than product quality, smaller Stroh's was no better than any other beer, or brewers in Cincinnati, like elsewhere, Pabst, or Hudepohl, or Wiedemann, or frequently hyped their product with buzz Burger. It was just how they marketed and phrases occasionally folksy in nature what they could afford to do. You know the (Red Top: ‘Brewed the Light Lager old saying, "You get what you pay for." Well, if Way;’ Felsenbrau: ‘The Biggest Treat in it's a little more expensive, you think maybe Town;’ 20 Grand Ale: ‘A Prize Winner;’ you get something a little bit better.12 Schoenling: ‘All We're Selling Is Real

Figure 11. Inside the Hudepohl fermentation cellars during the 1950s. (author's collection)

22 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 12. Taste panel sampling Hudepohl 14-K Beer for quality control purposes, August 1968. (Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company archives)

Good Beer’) and sometimes confusing lagered beer and the filtering processes are (Gotham: ‘Jetter Controlled;’ Burger: accurately controlled and supervised by ‘Sparkle Brewed;’ Brucks: ‘It's Jubilating;’ Hudepohl's well-trained brewing technicians. Wiedemann: ‘Live Flavor in the The exact brewing and blending and filtering Bubbles’). In the end Hudepohl scored produces a uniformly fine finished product the biggest hit with its ‘Process 14-K’ which passes the rigid requirements of 118 moniker, a successful attempt to capital- separate laboratory tests. Hudepohl's Master ize on the rich golden color of its beer Brewers augment all of the ancient skill of the and the perceived quality and status of Art of Brewing with modern science and a gold as a commodity. Master brewer new technique, which we call Process 14-K, Peter Marcher detailed the procedures and give you a golden grain treasure of involved in bringing the beer to fruition drinking pleasure.13 upon its release in 1953: Hudepohl 14-K Beer became an instant Under Process 14-K, each brew is sampled hit with the public - replacing the former and checked daily, from the beginning of the flagship Hudepohl Pure Lager as the brewing operation in the mash tubs and largest-selling beer in the city before the kettle, through the unhurried fermentation and end of 1954 - so much so that brewery lagering periods. The final blending of the advertising gleefully noted that

Brewery History Number 141 23 [it] kind of surprised us, though, how fast strated by one particularly effective radio everyone started using '14-K' as a friendly commercial. nickname in asking for Hudepohl. We like the idea. We like it just fine.14 Wouldn't you say there's something kind of special about the satisfaction you get at your Sales figures bore out the wisdom of the favorite tavern when you order up a tall, cool, image-based approach: after producing refreshing glass of draft beer? It's kind of 535,000 barrels of beer in 1952, personal and friendly to have the bartender Hudepohl manufactured 596,000 barrels draw a frosty, cold beer-especially for you. in 1953, 652,000 for 1954, and 680,000 You lift that sparkling glass with its snow- over the course of 1955, a 27% gain white creamy head of foam. And you pause a over the three-year period despite second, just thinking about how good it's increasingly intense competition.15 Over the going to taste. How extra good, because it's years specific campaigns were formulat- golden Hudepohl draft. Just about the golden ed by advertising agency Stockton-West- smoothest beer there is. And you know the Burkhart for 14-K and the ‘Pure Grain’ reason why. It's Hudepohl's special slogan that accompanied it - the common flavor-smoothing process. That costlier step theme of which centered around the beer in brewing that makes Hudepohl taste so serving as a reward for a job well done, a clean, so bright, so golden smooth they hard day's work, and other personal named the process 14-K. And 14-K just sort accomplishments - including ‘Hudepohl's of caught on, as a handy, friendly way to ask Golden Difference’ (utilized in 1952); ‘For for Hudepohl draft. So next time you stop in Golden Smoothness’ (1953); ‘Just Say for a real, tall cooler, just say 14-K.17 14-K’ (1954); ‘14-K Saves the Day’ (1955-57); ‘It's a Great Day’ (1958-59); Although beer advertising lent itself ‘Cold and Golden Hudepohl’ (1960); well to a variety of different approaches, ‘When a Beer Would Taste Good’ (1961- small brewers found sports marketing to 65); and ‘Beautiful’ (1966).16 Taken be notably fertile ground, combining the together, the Hudepohl advertising popularity of athletic competition in campaigns firmly positioned the product American culture with the male demo- as a premium-quality brew worthy of graphic so strongly associated with the both special occasions and everyday beverage. Baseball provided far and consumption. While not nationally famous away the most lucrative sponsorship like some of the agencies representing opportunities, such that during the 1940s larger brewers, Stockton-West-Burkhart and early 1950s major league teams clearly knew which buttons to push in which had entered into agreements with order to reinforce Hudepohl brand iden- breweries did so almost exclusively with tity with the 14-K name, as well as how local or regional brewers based in or to make it an especially appetizing near the home of the franchise. By the choice in a social setting, as demon- early 1950s 15 out of 16 major league

24 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 13. Hudepohl shares advertising space with the Bavarian Brewing Company at , home of the , 1957. (author's collection)

teams - only the Pittsburgh Pirates held from 1942 through the end of the 1965 themselves apart from the trend - had season. Hudepohl in turn became the breweries as a primary or secondary exclusive beer sponsor for Reds televi- sponsor of their games. At the time the sion transmissions beginning in 1956 and only true national brewer with such a carrying that forward for eighteen of the sponsorship agreement was Anheuser- next twenty seasons, until the end of Busch (St. Louis Cardinals), yet the 1975 save for a brief period from 1971 to company did not have an exclusive 1973 when Burger held the rights. As contract with the team, obliged to share was the case with other small brewers promotional space with brewers nationwide, rising costs for advertising Griesedieck Bros. and Falstaff, both also on increasingly expensive broadcasts, of St. Louis.18 In Cincinnati Hudepohl combined with a decreasing revenue shared sponsorship of the Cincinnati stream and consequent lack of money to Reds baseball team with the Burger spend on mass media promotions, forced Brewing Company, with Burger doing Hudepohl to relinquish sponsorship of beer advertising for radio broadcasts the Reds for purely fiscal reasons,

Brewery History Number 141 25 despite - or perhaps because of - the business decisions, and whose leader- fact that the team was enjoying the best ship styles often meshed well when on-field success in its history at the time. dealing with critically important aspects of running a small brewery operation The last year that Hudepohl sponsored the both from the production and personnel Reds - the following year Pabst got it - the sides. Throughout the 1960s secretary reason Hudepohl gave it up was, the cost of and general manager William L Pohl and broadcasting the Reds doubled in one year. It president John A Hesselbrock - both of [would have been] our total advertising whose forebears had married into the budget to just do Reds television, and maybe, Hudepohl family before and during what did they do, twenty games a year on TV, Prohibition respectively - provided the something like that? Twenty games a year on continuity necessary for the stability of television for your total advertising budget just the firm. Each held strengths that com- didn't make sense. And so we had to give it pensated for areas less pronounced in up, and Pabst was big enough to take it.19 the other, as well as components of suc- cess found in many of the prosperous By the early 1960s Hudepohl had staked breweries of the time. In contrast, many its claim to being the largest brewer in other small brewers of the period sold Cincinnati, despite the fact that it had their interests to outsiders in a usually closed its original East McMicken Avenue futile attempt at survival. In fact the plant in 1958 for reasons of redundancy. standard of strong family leadership at In contrast, its largest local rival, Burger, Hudepohl would remain in place for the continued to operate two facilities, one entirety of its 101-year existence as an in the city and another in Akron, in far independent brewery. northeastern Ohio, which it had pur- chased in 1956 as a means to supply Between John Hesselbrock and Bill Pohl, increased demand in-state and seek they had a pretty doggone effective additional markets in Michigan, management team. … John was more of Pennsylvania and New York. One major a leadership type of person. He had a reason for the success of Hudepohl was stronger personality than Bill Pohl did, I integrated leadership, cultivated since think. He was in charge of some-a lot, the earliest days of the firm and based really-of the major plant projects and things upon a careful policy of allowing only like that. Bill Pohl, I would say, handled two family members at a time to operate more the day-to-day stuff, whereas John at the level of upper management, ensur- [oversaw] a lot of capital improvements ing a diversity of business viewpoints and that kind of stuff. So John was more and preventing the company from the foresight person in that area, and Bill becoming a family employment agency. Pohl did, like I said, the day-to-day Yet it was family members who clearly operations, marketing, he made those final held sway over the most significant decisions. And they pretty much worked

26 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 14. The Hudepohl Sixth Street facility as it appeared in 1960, at the height of the company's influence as a Cincinnati beer brewer. (Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company archives)

hand-in-hand, and I think they actually Changing fortunes: hard times and complemented each other. John's revival greatest strength was his power of leadership and his foresight at the time, The postwar success exhibited by and Bill Pohl was one of those guys who Hudepohl through the 1950s and into pretty much got along with everybody the 1960s represented the high-water and had a way of working more with people mark of the firm. Insulated since long than John did. John was a little more before Prohibition as a bastion of local autonomous and standoffish to people; beer production and consumption, Bill Pohl was a little more readily available Cincinnati began to exhibit the same to people. So they were both very different changes that impacted many other tra- personalities, and luckily they really did ditional beer cities of the epoch. A shift in complement each other.20 demographics took place as older con- sumers were replaced by a newer, more

Brewery History Number 141 27 mobile, less loyal clientele. A growing during the turbulent late 1960s and their awareness of television and other mass aftermath, breaking long-established media advertising altered the perception bonds of tradition. In an era where of what constituted ‘familiar’ brands at the change had become the operative word, point of purchase. Subsequent greater Hudepohl exhibited the same relative market penetration took place not only inertia in both business practices and by experienced, cash-rich national brew- market awareness which plagued many ers, but also growing regionals - most of the remaining small brewers, reluctant notably the Detroit-based Stroh Brewing to discard previously successful meas- Company - seeking new outlets to offset ures in a ‘tried and true’ approach that sales losses to the nationals in their own both forsook a direct response to the markets. Additionally, a general turn by assertive maneuvers of larger competi- younger consumers away from what tors and failed to see that a new era in was widely seen as ‘dad's beer’ occurred beer production and sales was at hand.

Figure 15. Shipping new pasteurizers for the Burger and Hudepohl breweries via barge down the Ohio River, September 1965. (author's collection)

28 Journal of the Brewery History Society The result was a period of stagnancy that The vulnerability of the brewery also placed the firm at a severe competitive manifested itself in its outdated product disadvantage in several critical areas. line. Before the end of the 1960s produc- tion of Chevy Ale had been discontinued Despite the completion of the new auto- due to poor sales, and its seasonal mated brewhouse in 1961 and other beer also had become a memory in spite plant improvements around the same of a longstanding tradition. Into the early time, increasingly tight finances prevent- 1970s, at a time when national brewers ed wholesale upgrading of the facility, marketed at least a flagship American- such that by the end of the 1970s, and in style lager beer, a European-style super- light of additional rapid advances in premium lager, and a priceline economy brewing and packaging technology, sev- brew, Hudepohl was dangerously reliant eral areas of the brewery had become upon essentially a single beer, 14-K, decidedly inefficient in comparison with complemented solely by a miniscule its primary rivals. amount of draft-only production of Hofbräu, an all-malt, German-style lager Anheuser-Busch could put up a tank, for available in selected outlets.22 Labor dif- example, clean it in place, have virtually one ficulties, always a concern but felt partic- employee on the outside of the tank do the ularly strongly during the period, also whole job. Hudepohl, with the older style exacerbated differences between the tanks, had to put a man into the tank to company and its larger rivals, including clean the thing, had to have a man stand an almost two-week walkout in March outside to watch the guy inside and make 1967 and another of similar duration in sure he's okay. And then the union demanded April 1970 which resulted in wage and another guy to watch the guy that's watching benefit concessions that further taxed the the guy in the tank, just in case he has to go ability of the firm to absorb the increasing in the tank and rescue the guy that's in the cost of doing business. The future of the tank. So I've got three guys trying to clean company also suffered at the hands of one crummy tank, and Anheuser-Busch is management that, while skilled in tradi- pushing a button to do it. The industry tional decision-making, had little feel for changed. They could run 2,000 cans a the realities of modern marketing. During minute, and I could run 600. They had maybe the 1950s promotional messages such three guys on the line, and I've got six or as ‘Hudepohl's Golden Difference,’ with eight. They had the dollars. They could afford its hint of upscale exclusivity, and ‘When to keep going and going and going, and we a Beer Would Taste Good,’ psychologi- just didn't have the dollars to do the cally calculated to enhance thirst appeal, advertising, do the upgrades of the plant, and struck a receptive chord with real and ... it just got to be a financially impossible potential consumers. But in later years, situation. We just couldn't compete with those when ever-fancier advertising campaigns guys.21 from national brewers resonated with

Brewery History Number 141 29 their audience, Hudepohl settled for caused by both the general trends of homespun catch-phrases (from 1967-69 the period against small brewers and a ‘Hudepohl Tastes the Way Other Beers misguided decision to change its brewing Would Like to Taste,’ ‘Join the Enjoyers,’ water from a municipal source to artesian and ‘The Most Enjoyable Taste in Beer wells beneath the brewery. Following a Today’) and outdated promotional mes- pattern established by other producers, sages that, at best, paled in comparison seeking to solidify their own standing with other brewery advertisements and, via the acquisition of defunct brands of at worst, made the brewery the butt of rivals, Hudepohl obtained most Burger jokes in its own home market. Likely the assets - the physical plant excepted - for most damaging in the latter case was the $650,000, including the trademarks and ‘Happy Hudy Time’ campaign of the formulas for Burger Beer and another mid-1970s; set to the theme music of the brew, Tap. While most breweries found ‘Howdy Doody’ children's television show such a measure no better than a stopgap of the 1950s, reaction to the commercials that only postponed eventual failure, for left brewery executives with the realiza- Hudepohl the move proved fortuitous, tion that in that the company was able to add barrelage with a minimum of changeover, when you're walking around talking to people, capitalize on remaining loyalty to a long- and they're laughing about "Howdy Doody," time hometown product, and over time it's time to do something. I mean, it doesn't take market share away from another take a rocket scientist to figure out that we've local brewer that had been gaining at got a problem here.23 Hudepohl's expense. In 1967 the Wiedemann Brewing Company, the Taken together, the various failures of largest producer in the region, was Hudepohl to adjust and respond adequate- acquired by the G Heileman Brewing ly to a more competitive environment led Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin and to a pronounced decline in sales, from quickly incorporated into its stable of over a half-million barrels per year in the breweries that focused on volume pro- early 1960s to just 340,282 barrels in duction and sales, specifically involving 1979, the end of its most tumultuous selling its beer at lower prices but, by decade.24 virtue of higher output, maintaining solid profits. As a result of the practice, Ironically, the seeds of recovery for Wiedemann Beer consistently came in Hudepohl initially came at the expense under Hudepohl 14-K pricing by ten to of its strongest local rival. In March 1973 fifteen cents at retail, taking sales away the ceased from Hudepohl in a number of key operations, in order to concentrate on accounts. After an initial period during more lucrative Pepsi Cola franchises and which Burger Beer - altered only slightly ending a lengthy slide in business by Hudepohl in its formulation, by using a

30 Journal of the Brewery History Society Hudepohl yeast strain and less hops to Hudepohl also was able to realize a create a somewhat sweeter beer - was measure of sales growth and a viable treated as a companion premium-quality new market entry by virtue of the success beer to 14-K, around 1978 Hudepohl of a large national brewer. By the early executives announced a price increase 1970s several small brewers had experi- for the Hudepohl brands but slyly left mented with reduced-calorie beer, Burger out of the equation. The measure, through an enzymatic process that left a unnoticed by Heileman executives ini- less-filling brew with much of its expected tially, allowed Burger Beer in turn to flavor. Of those attempting to cash in on undermine Wiedemann sales when a growing trend toward fitness and Heileman followed the Hudepohl price healthier products, only the Chicago- hike, thus helping Burger to become a based Peter Hand Brewing Company valuable and well-performing priceline (aka Meister Bräu, Inc) found any meas- entry in the Hudepohl brand portfolio for ure of success, marketing an obscure yet the duration of its existence.25 growing beer under the trade name

Figure 16. Filling and sealing quarter-barrel kegs in the old Hudepohl racking room, circa late 1970s. (Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company archives)

Brewery History Number 141 31 Meister Bräu Lite, as part of a series of Entering the 1980s it became clear that Lite low-calorie products including can- significant change was on the horizon at dies, snacks, and other foods designed Hudepohl. At the end of the 1970s fewer for coast-to-coast distribution.26 With than fifty brewing companies remained in Meister Bräu on the verge of failure in the the United States; the American beer early 1970s, the Miller Brewing Company market was dominated by the top five purchased the Lite Beer label along with brewers (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, other Meister Bräu trademarks; backed Schlitz, and Coors) which accounted for during the mid-1970s with substantial over eighty percent of all beer sales. The financial resources from its owner, ciga- few remaining small brewers, scattered rette giant Philip Morris, Miller cleverly largely across isolated rural areas of positioned the product to have appeal to the country but occasionally - as with men as well as women, primarily by using Hudepohl and its lone remaining a series of prominent former athletes to Cincinnati rival, Schoenling - located in advertise the brew under the slogan highly competitive urban settings, ‘Tastes Great, Less Filling’.27 The move gradually came to the realization that single-handedly propelled Miller to standing pat and fighting large brewers become the second-largest brewer in for market share solely with American- America within just a few years and cre- style lager beers and light beers in their ated a new segment within the profile offered a pathway to eventual marketplace, one which the national closure. Competition with exponentially brewers came to dominate over time with larger rivals was no longer an option; more than a 90% share. Inevitably the the key to survival lay in going around success of Lite inspired other brewers to the giants of the industry, making and create their own version of a light beer; selling beers that were economically for its part Hudepohl released Hudy unfeasible to brew on a large scale or Delight in early 1978 to capitalize on the otherwise represented a new incursion development and further diversify its into the marketplace. The concept was product line to relieve pressure on 14-K, embraced and put forward at Hudepohl which had entered into a slight but steady by general manager Bob Pohl under the sales decline despite an attempt to turn it guise of niche marketing, or seeking a into a strong regional brand in an eight- series of specific segments that, taken state area. Within three years Hudy together, offered a brewery sufficient Delight came to account for 25% of all volume to offset losses by the flagship brewery output and by 1982 it constitut- brand and even gain overall market ed 40% of light beer sales in Cincinnati, share by creating new opportunities. trailing only Lite (at 55%), although Hudepohl marketing director Phil Burdick Honestly, niche marketing was, in my opinion, noted that strong draft beer sales brought the only way that a small brewer could the figures close to even.28 survive, to differentiate yourself from the big

32 Journal of the Brewery History Society brewers. You know that it's not going to be great volume in any one location. But if you add it all up, it's probably your best chance for survival. So you really get into doing some things that are different that the big guys can't do. You do have a much smaller plant. You do have a less efficient plant. But you're doing things the way they were done in the 1800s in a lot of cases. Big brewers are way beyond that. It's a plant, not a brewery anymore. So the small brewer had to look at a way that it could survive, and niche marketing was the only way that I saw that a small brewery had any chance. We came out with several niche market brands and concepts, and they did work.29

Although Pohl arrived gradually at the concept of his own accord, the idea gained steam within the company when Figure 17. Bob Pohl progressed from director a group of Harvard graduate students of marketing services to general manager, performed an in-depth analysis of the then vice president, and ultimately president brewery and its business practices in and chief executive officer at Hudepohl from 1979, ultimately concluding that the mid-1970s to 1986. (Hudepohl Keg Kurier newsletter) Hudepohl had to go in a different direc- tion and separate itself from its larger competition if it were to survive and prosper. Initial changes were limited to packaging, when the longstanding explore the market for a flavorful all-malt design on Hudepohl 14-K cans and bot- superpremium lager beer and at the tles was dropped in favor of a revived same time revive the name of the most ‘bucks and barrel’ logo first used by the legendary Cincinnati brewer. The move firm a century earlier. The back-to-the- was not without precedent, given the past look, combined with increasing introduction of upscale specialty micro- sales of Hudy Delight, helped the brew- brewed beers in California and Colorado ery to a 1980 production gain of almost a few years earlier and the develop- 27,000 barrels - at 5.8% almost double ment of a comparable product, Henry the national average30 - over that regis- Weinhard's Private Reserve, along the tered in the previous year. Much more West Coast by the Portland-based Blitz- significant was the decision by Pohl to Weinhard Brewing Company in the late

Brewery History Number 141 33 1970s. Yet the decision to introduce there, because he didn't believe in the Christian Moerlein Cincinnati Select Beer concept. The three of us agreed that this was in September 1981 proved an attractive something we ought to do. It just had to novelty to a Midwestern audience accus- prove itself, or we had to figure out how to tomed to essentially three options at the prove it to Tom. … He kept asking [me], as point of purchase by the early 1980s: marketing director, "Why do you guys want to beer, light beer, and imports. The appeal resurrect this old dead brand?" He was of something different led to a rush of straight Hudepohl and Hudy Delight and sales that rendered an extensive adver- Burger, and we're not going to do this whole tising campaign - under the banner ‘Quite other concept, whereas - God rest his soul Simply, A Better Beer’ - unnecessary for when he passed away - Moerlein was a "go the short term: a planned six-week sup- immediately" under me. But, you know, when ply in bottles of the new brew was sold you're looking at something, who's to say within a few days, leaving it available only who's right and who's wrong until it's been at draft accounts until late October and proven afterward? As we've all said, hindsight obliging Hudepohl to ask consumers is 20/20. It did work, and it was good for us. instead to wait patiently for supply to We just couldn't keep up what we needed to catch up with demand.31 Spurred by the keep up in the way of support for the brands positive response, overall Hudepohl and everything else. Since we were one of sales for 1981, despite the introduction of the originals to try to do this kind of concept, the new beer late in the year, grew by we didn't know what the heck we were over 5,000 barrels compared with 1980, doing.32 and by some 12,000 barrels - to 384,660 - for 1982, in what turned out to be the Armed with the knowledge that there highest annual production level for the was a clientele for higher-quality special- brewery for the remainder of its exis- ty beers from a small brewer, Hudepohl tence. The immediate success of promptly moved into the next phase of Christian Moerlein was gratifying to new product development. Foreshadowing Pohl and other members of company a trend toward seasonal brews, yet with management and served to validate the an eye on the Germanic traditions of effort, in light of internal disagreement the industry, the company introduced its over the proposition during the late 1970s limited-edition Ludwig Hudepohl Special under then-president Tom Zins. Bock Beer in March 1982 and followed that with the similarly short-run Ludwig The whole Moerlein concept and those kind Hudepohl Special Oktoberfest Beer in of things were already kind of in our heads. September. Each was limited to two The advertising director and the marketing 600-barrel batches - approximately director and I had already been talking about 16,000 cases at retail - and, like the ini- doing this kind of thing. We could talk on our tial run of Christian Moerlein, sold out own. We just couldn't talk with Tom Zins well before expected.33 Like Henry

34 Journal of the Brewery History Society Weinhard's had been for its maker, the - who according to a company press fact that each was sold under the Ludwig release were receiving inquiries from Hudepohl name was significant for the beer wholesalers ‘from Seattle to New brewery, a throwback to the origins of the England’ - federal laws against the company but also a move designed to placement of alcohol content on beer test the viability of the Hudepohl containers prevented the brewery from moniker above and beyond its long- selling the product initially outside of standing presence in the American-style Ohio. After successful test-marketing the lager beer market segment. brew received a full rollout in August 1983 and an expansion into additional The Hudepohl name, which was a blue-collar markets statewide two months later.35 beer, was not necessarily a real help for the higher-quality beers. In fact the higher-quality beers were marketed under the Ludwig Rapid decline and fall Hudepohl name, as opposed to just Hudepohl. That was intentional, to try to The widespread public acceptance of distinguish Ludwig Hudepohl from Hudepohl. the Hudepohl specialty beers gave new It was kind of interesting to us that we could life to the company at a time when most actually sell a product at a superpremium remaining small brewers were strug- price with the Hudepohl name on it. That's gling to find a formula for survival. what I wanted to find out. And it worked. We Emboldened by the success, company did that.34 management reiterated its commitment to the production of top-quality beers, Continuing the quest to find new market stating assuredly that niches unexplored by other breweries, Hudepohl turned its glance toward We at the Hudepohl Brewing Company feel Australia and its custom of marketing confident we are headed in the right direction. reduced-alcohol beers, for automobile We'll brew and market our beers properly or drivers and others seeking the flavor of we'll quit brewing altogether.36 beer but without the possibility of intoxi- cation. The result was Pace Pilsner Beer, The sentiment was laudable, but it did not which at 1.7 to 1.9% had about half the speak to a host of competitive issues that alcohol of Hudepohl and Hudy Delight stood well beyond the control of beers and also fewer calories - 85 - than Hudepohl, and which ultimately deter- either. Marketed as ‘America's First mined the fate of the business. Reduced Alcohol Beer,’ Pace required special label approval from the Ohio For all that had gone right with the Department of Liquor Control given the Hudepohl superpremium brews, the unique nature of the beverage, although company faced the same basic problem to the consternation of Hudepohl officials as other breweries of its size: given their

Brewery History Number 141 35 sales volume it was still the mainstream barrels - for 1984. As was the case with beers, Hudepohl and Hudy Delight, that Hudepohl Gold, sales of Pace Pilsner, stood to make or break the brewery. after an initial positive reaction to the new Taking a pro-active stance, Hudepohl brand, began to slide, a victim of con- discontinued 14-K as its standard lager sumer indifference on one level but also beer in May 1983 in favor of a reformulat- the strategic entry by Anheuser-Busch ed entry, Hudepohl Gold, described in and other brewers into the low-alcohol company literature as an ‘upgrade’ to the segment, according to Bob Pohl depriv- earlier recipe with a greater smoothness ing Hudepohl of its exclusivity and the and less prominent grain flavor. New, potential for a significant addition to its streamlined packaging called greater annual production. attention to the product name, and promi- nent gold, red, and black colors were Personally I think Pace, as a low-alcohol designed to appeal to a younger audi- beer, had a huge potential market if ence, a tacit acknowledgment that the Anheuser-Busch had stayed out of it. But I brewery and its image were growing think they came in and tried to mass-market a long in the tooth in the public eye; as product that we didn't think was a mass- Hudepohl public relations director Lee market product. We were getting calls from Oberlag stated candidly, Iowa, from the West Coast, from all over the country asking us about Pace, [from] Hudepohl has come to be perceived by distributors wanting it. We knew we had a younger people as a local, old-fashioned market. We knew it wasn't a huge market, but beer. They see it as the beer of past for us it would have been huge. For generations. And we think our ads have not Anheuser-Busch it was a drop in the bucket. I overcome that tendency.37 think they killed the whole category. … When you're a little brewer and you've only got so Although $200,000 was committed to much barrelage you can make, a little bit new promotions through August primarily helps a whole lot. For a big brewer a little bit to introduce the new label and brew,38 means nothing. It was not a mass-market and Hudy Delight and Christian Moerlein product. It never was intended to be.39 continued to perform relatively well with- in the company portfolio, Hudepohl Gold Reflecting the changing times, Hudepohl had little chance to change the fortunes became the last brewery in the country of the company with Anheuser-Busch to abandon the use of full 31 gallon bar- and Miller strengthening their control rels in December 1984. Given the large over the American lager category with volume of draft beer production at each passing year. Total brewery sales Hudepohl - over 25% of total sales, as fell slightly, by 5,000 barrels, from 1982 to opposed to 15 or so at most other brew- 1983, but then much more substantial- eries - during the same year the compa- ly, by almost 50,000 barrels - to 329,235 ny went out on a sizable limb to

36 Journal of the Brewery History Society upgrade its keg packaging capabilities, investing $7,000,000 to build a fully auto- mated new facility on site. Hudepohl executives sought industrial revenue bonds from the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Port Authority to finance the measure in part, under the clearly stated premise that the fate of the brewery like- ly turned upon the vote. The measure passed under assurances from Hudepohl that the expansion plan could add up to 30 jobs and that the more efficient oper- ation would narrow a substantial gap in barrels produced per employee (2,828 at Hudepohl in 1982) compared with princi- ple rivals such as Anheuser-Busch (4,718) and Stroh (5,022).40

Yet no amount of improvement in effi- ciency could overcome the widening gulf in promotional budgets between Hudepohl and its regional and national competitors, and the profound impact that it had. After Greater Cincinnati was designated a target market around the Figure 18. Hudepohl employee Dick Ziegler early 1980s, Anheuser-Busch outspent seals the last full barrel of beer produced in Hudepohl in local advertising by a 35:1 the United States, December 1984. ratio, ensuring that Hudepohl's fight for (Hudepohl Keg Kurier newsletter) survival would be waged from a defen- sive position.41 The Miller Brewing Company also exerted tremendous lating ad campaigns that appealed to pressure upon Hudepohl and other local civic pride as a last stand in the battle to brewers nationwide in its attempt to catch maintain the home market. To court col- and pass Anheuser-Busch for industry lege-age and young adult drinkers, the supremacy. Caught in the middle of a brewery worked closely with rock radio battle between titans, and lacking suffi- station WEBN, with Bob Pohl appearing cient financial resources to enter the occasionally on Sunday-evening call-in fray, Hudepohl and other small brewers shows during the early 1980s to discuss turned inward, maximizing promotional beer and brewing matters, several years exposure on a limited budget and formu- after working behind the scenes with its

Brewery History Number 141 37 advertising department to create a pro- well, I don't care whether you drank Hudy motional 45 rpm phonograph record that Delight, Hudepohl, or Moerlein, please drink was placed in jukeboxes inside a variety one of ours, you know. Budgetarily it was of area bars. More substantive was an what we had to do in trying to promote the agreement with the station from 1984 to concept of being a good little brewery and 1986 to serve as the primary sponsor of producing a high-quality product. That's what the WEBN Labor Day Fireworks, an we were trying to do.43 annual end-of-summer event along the Ohio River that took place before an esti- The image of quality received a boost in mated crowd of 500,000 and a still-larger November 1983 when Christian Moerlein television audience.42 The local focus was recognized by West German author- was consistent with the company's most ities as the only American beer to date recent advertising campaign, ‘The Better which had passed the legendary Beers of Hudepohl,’ introduced in May Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity 1983, featuring images of noted law dating back to 1516 that stipulated Cincinnati landmarks such as Krohn that all beers qualifying for sale in the Conservatory and Riverfront Stadium country had to be made from just four and highlighting a new tag phrase that essential ingredients: malt, hops, water, embraced the size of the company: and yeast.44 Good public relations also ‘America's Great Small Brewery.’ The were fostered through the availability to series of commercials revolved around civic organizations of the Bavarian- all of the Hudepohl core brands, in an themed Hudepohl tasting room and a effort to reinforce the connection between significantly increased schedule of brew- the brewery and its community and an ery tours, despite the fact that the facility image of superior quality associated with was not set up to conduct them on a large a small, hands-on producer in an era of scale. Unlike national brewers, whose large factory manufacturing. tours frequently took place along glass- enclosed corridors separated from the [It was] trying to upgrade the image of the production and packaging areas, company as a quality producer, and of the Hudepohl took visitors down into the individual brands. It was more of an image- midst of the operation, such that many type thing, just trying to [say] we are aspects of the process were seen from Hudepohl, "America's Great Small Brewery." the same vantage point as that of Again, people were so in tune to the national employees doing their jobs. According to brands because of the huge media blitz that brewery official Dick Nichols, before you had to really try and do something mid-1982 ‘if sixty people came through different. It was getting harder and harder to here in a three-month period, it would be promote individual brands because you just a lot;’ during the sixth-month period of didn't have the budget to do it. And if you June to the middle of December 1982, could say "The Better Beers of Hudepohl," some 2,700 toured the facility.45 Yet in

38 Journal of the Brewery History Society spite of hometown-friendly advertising attempted to diversify, by expanding its and favorable publicity for its beers, distribution center to include the products Hudepohl sales continued to slide into of its nearby rival Schoenling - which had the middle of the decade, hastened by sold its local distribution operation to the entry into Greater Cincinnati of Coors Hudepohl at the beginning of the year - and Coors Light beers, from yet another plus the well-known German beer large rival with far deeper pockets for Warsteiner and California Cooler, a mix advertising than was possible for a of citrus-flavored beverage and white small brewer, and an increasing number wine which rode the wave of popularity of cut-rate brews designed to compete that wine coolers enjoyed at the time. head-to-head with Burger and come in below pricing for Hudepohl Gold. As it turned out, the moves to bolster the distribution side of Hudepohl, like the Despite the dark clouds on the horizon, changes made on the brewing side of the Hudepohl entered 1985 in a celebratory operation, only served to buy the compa- mood, marking its 100th anniversary with ny some extra time before it was forced a yearlong series of events and activities. to bow to the inevitable. At the beginning The highlight of the commemoration was of 1985, Pohl sounded an optimistic note the release of a special dark beer, on the future of the business, stating to Hudepohl Jubilee 100, formulated by the press that ‘we have an excellent brewmaster Gerry Erftenbeck according chance of survival. If sales remain con- to specifications provided by company stant, if we can just maintain the course management. To make the brew even we are on, we're going to be fine,’ although more exclusive, production was limited he cautiously noted at the same time that to just 2,000 cases - half of which were ‘a lot of our future is in the hands of the presented to company employees and people of Cincinnati’.46 But by the end of the other half sold via the brewery gift the year, as Pohl recalled in retrospect, shop and selected retail outlets - and placed into old-fashioned hinged and it was just so obvious that we were being out- lidded wooden boxes. In spite of the spent dramatically in advertising. Our sales considerable difficulty in procuring it, were sliding, not dramatically, but it was getting consumer reaction to the new beer was to the point that the profits were no longer there. highly favorable, leading the firm to add [It had to do] with the chances of reviving this the brew to its regular product stable in thing, and what did we have to do to do that?47 1986, under the name of Christian Moerlein Doppel Dark as a line extension Faced with 1985 sales that had fallen to of the superpremium entry. The focus on around 280,000 barrels, and with esti- upscale brews and other unique bever- mates for an additional drop to nearly ages had received renewed attention at 250,000 barrels for 1986, Pohl - elected the beginning of 1986 when Hudepohl in June 1985 as president and chief

Brewery History Number 141 39 executive officer of the company, suc- best to manufacture and distribute the ceeding his father, Louis - approached products of each side of the business. the Hudepohl board of directors and, But given the declining demand for the with no realistic possibility that the for- company's beers, in reality there was no tunes of the brewery would change, rec- need to maintain two plants in the same ommended that the operation be either city by the late 1980s. For company man- sold or shut down and liquidated as soon agement it was easy to decide which of as possible. After receiving instructions the two facilities to keep open, given that from the board to proceed, Pohl entered Schoenling was a newer and more mod- into negotiations with the Stroh Brewing ern brewery at a time when efficiency Company as well as Schoenling to sell was a primary concern. the business outright, and after discus- sions were concluded, in November 1986 The reason why [Hudepohl] had their issues Pohl and Schoenling president Ken was that they had a very modern facility in Lichtendahl met the press to announce some aspects, incredibly modern, and in the merger of the two remaining other aspects it was a dinosaur. It dated back Cincinnati breweries, under the new to the turn of the century down there and name of the Hudepohl-Schoenling [was a] wonderful facility, but not in today's Brewing Company. Billed as a union for world. Only part of it was right, and you have strategic reasons, in fact the transaction to have it all right. [The Schoenling plant] was was an outright purchase by Schoenling a vintage 1940s and 1950s and 1960s [facili- of Hudepohl assets, as evinced by the ty], [with] very few original buildings back fact that Schoenling personnel main- from the 1930s. From what was inside of the tained control over top management brick walls, Hudepohl still had wood floors in positions and primary decision-making. some areas. But our structure at Central Under the new organization, all of the Parkway was steel and concrete floors and primary Hudepohl brands remained in sewers where they were supposed to be, and production, combined into a firm which it was a food plant. So the objective was that, wedded the best of Hudepohl's capabili- if this would work out, we could continue to ties - relatively strong local brand support, make those same products and keep them on broad name recognition, and its century- the shelf and be more efficient at it. It was old tradition - with the advantages that just a financial situation for Hudepohl that you Schoenling had accumulated over the can't run that facility and make a buck. … We years, most notably extensive out-of-town needed a plan, and we put that plan together, sales and multistate market acceptance for and basically sold off the real estate and a lot its flagship brew, Little Kings .47 of the equipment and purchased a lot of The end came quickly for the venerable equipment at [Schoenling], and within a year Hudepohl plant. Initially Hudepohl- the entire [Hudepohl] facility was shut down. Schoenling operated both breweries, to We needed to preserve as many jobs as we fulfill existing orders and determine how could, because obviously we were much

40 Journal of the Brewery History Society more busy when we [combined] both our batches of American-style lager beer at a manufacturing and theirs, I mean their brew- time when that was the only brew in regu- ing and bottling. We brought a lot of their lar production. With the evolution of the brewing team up and [the Schoenling facility] Hudepohl specialty beers, however, and got busier, and unfortunately [the Hudepohl] the limited production runs which they plant had to close, but there wasn't an option. required, a smaller kettle would have It was closing anyway.48 been more cost-effective and could have given the company much greater flexibili- In the end the inability of Hudepohl, like ty to adapt to changing market needs in a that of so many small brewers nationwide short period of time.49 Yet when all was in the post-Prohibition era, to remain said and done, possibly the simplest open as an independent brewery can be explanation for the failure of Hudepohl traced to several fundamental factors. was that its time had come, that the model Most profound were the competitive that had made it a successful business forces arrayed against it, primarily from operation for almost a century had the national chain brewers who main- become outdated, bypassed through cir- tained greater scales of efficiency, lower cumstances well beyond its control. Thus costs of doing business, and accordingly the company joined hundreds of other greatly higher revenue streams, which breweries over the half-century since they were able to channel effectively repeal, in both large urban centers and into comprehensive advertising and small rural environs, which were unable to promotional campaigns that simply over- adapt to new realities of marketing and whelmed their more limited local and manufacture and the classic consumer regional rivals. Frequent changes in mindset that - product quality occasional- company management also exerted ly aside - bigger and better were synony- considerable influence over the decades; mous. in the case of Hudepohl, the potential for strong and stable leadership over time was cut off suddenly when Bill Pohl died Postscript in 1973 at age 58 and Tom Zins in 1980 at only 43, forcing the brewery to adapt After its closure in the summer of 1987, to change at the highest levels in an the Hudepohl facility suffered much the unforeseen manner. Ironically, decisions same fate that befell other abandoned made in an earlier era, designed to make brewery complexes over time. While the the brewery bigger and more like its larg- former office building, distribution ware- er competitors, served to undermine its house, and new keg facility found other ability to change and evolve in subse- tenants, most of the remaining buildings - quent years. Foremost in that light was too large and subdivided to be of use to the brew kettle at Hudepohl: at over 600 other businesses - stood vacant for years barrels it was designed to handle large after the brewing operation ended. Most

Brewery History Number 141 41 Figure 19. The northeast side of the Hudepohl brewery complex, as it appeared after a fire inside the abandoned facility in September 1995. (author's collection)

of the equipment and tankage was sold decay, the entire central portion of the as surplus or as scrap metal, with gaping facility was torn down, including the orig- holes in large window panels and brick inal Lackman brewery building at the walls showing where their removal had core, physically separating the east and taken place. In one case the effort result- west side of the complex. The most ed in permanent damage: in September notable remaining entity is the 165 foot 1995 sparks from a cutting torch found tall smokestake, with the Hudepohl name their way into cork lining inside the walls still prominently visible; in January 2005 of one building, smoldering for hours until the chimney garnered national publicity a fire broke out that destroyed a large when it was placed for sale on eBay for section of the central part of the com- $1,500,000, but ultimately it went unsold. plex.50 Another blaze three years later Plans were drawn up for adaptive reuse took with it parts of an older warehouse of the six buildings that still stood after and storage area; in the aftermath of the their sale at a sheriff's auction in 2002, fires and in light of ongoing general including office space and loft apartments

42 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 20. Remnants of the Hudepohl brewhouse, as it appeared in October 2006, after partial demolition and almost twenty years of decay. (author's collection)

with a stunning view of downtown The Hudepohl beers have enjoyed a Cincinnati.51 But after two of the buildings somewhat better fate than the buildings were condemned by the city, nothing in which they once were made, although came of the effort, such that general neg- it has been a rocky ride. During the lect, vandalism, and looting - including Hudepohl-Schoenling era Christian theft of valuable copper wiring inside the Moerlein remained a constant presence, walls - rendered the remains of the and Hudy Delight continued to sell well Hudepohl plant into a shell, a safety haz- in comparison with many other light ard and an eyesore visited primarily by beers, a trend later described by Ken transients and urban explorers seeking Lichtendahl as one that ‘defied a lot of the adventure. At the time of this writing there old norms of the big guys eating your appears to be little feasible alternative to lunch’.52 But a dwindling consumer base demolishing what remains and redevel- for the hometown brews led to a steady oping the site from scratch. decline for the other brands, most notably Hudepohl Gold, whose downfall was

Brewery History Number 141 43 hastened by an ill-advised decision to ed Hudepohl Bock Beer as a one-off reintroduce Hudepohl 14-K Beer - com- brew for the annual Cincinnati Bockfest plete with a nostalgia-themed advertising celebration, utilizing an original formula to campaign - in time for the Cincinnati gauge reaction with an eye toward future bicentennial celebrations of 1988. The production plans. Hardman, a former attempt to reconnect with tradition fell director of North American sales for largely on deaf ears, and ultimately 14-K German import Warsteiner Beer, previ- sales cannibalized those of Hudepohl ously had purchased the Christian Gold as comparable entries in the same Moerlein label in 2004 and eventually market segment.53 The Hudepohl name the other Hudepohl-Schoenling brands, received a new impetus in November before establishing the Christian 1995 with the introduction of Hudy Bold Moerlein Brewing Company to house Golden Lager Beer, designed to replace them. Capitalizing upon a trend across both Hudepohl Gold and 14-K. the nation that saw a number of previous- Lichtendahl made clear that the ‘bold’ ly popular local beers nostalgically moniker represented a conscious break revived as ‘retro beers,’ in September with the past, targeting younger drinkers 2009 Hardman reintroduced Hudepohl with an aggressively-hopped brew, more 14-K as part of a wider initiative to bring modern graphics on the packaging, and a classic Cincinnati beers back to promi- new company attitude. But Hudepohl- nence in the home market, including the Schoenling had no more control over return of Burger Beer to store shelves the the competitive forces in its midst than previous May and the strategic reposi- did its predecessors; with an advertising tioning of Hudy Delight in November budget of approximately $1,000,000 for 2008. The growth wave - including a the entire year - roughly the cost of one 200% sales rise for the Hudepohl brand 60 second Bud Bowl television commer- and 34% for the entire Moerlein specialty cial from Anheuser-Busch during the beer line in just one year - continued in Super Bowl - there was no ability to give September 2010, when the Hudepohl the beer a high-profile launch into a product line received its first new entry in crowded American-style lager segment. 13 years with the release of Hudepohl After two years of moderate to poor Amber Lager, an all-malt beer reminiscent sales, Hudy Bold was withdrawn, leaving of the early post-Prohibition Hudepohl the company without a premium lager Pure Lager brand and with packaging beer for the first time in the post- that revived the late 1940s label design Prohibition era. used by the brewery.54 In a curious way the brand came full circle 125 years after After a decade in which Hudy Delight the founding of its original brewery, served as the only tangible reminder of returning to its roots at a time when con- the Hudepohl name in the beer market, in sumers exhibited a greater willingness February 2007 Greg Hardman resurrect- to embrace the familiar icons of the past

44 Journal of the Brewery History Society and reinvigorate the traditions which Over the Barrel: The Brewing History and made Hudepohl the most famous name Beer Culture of Cincinnati, Volume Two, in modern Cincinnati brewing history. Prohibition-2001. St. Joseph, MO: Sudhaus Press; Miller, C.H. (1998) Breweries of . Cleveland: Schnitzelbank Press; References Blum, P.H. (1999) Brewed in Detroit: Breweries and Beers Since 1830. Detroit: 1. cited in ‘Looking Ahead to Next 100,’ The Wayne State U; James Maxwell, H. and Keg Kurier: News From the Hudepohl Sullivan, Jr., B. (1999) Hometown Beer: A Brewing Company. 5.3 (1984): p.8. During History of Kansas City's Breweries. Kansas the 1970s the firm published its newsletter City: Omega Innovative Marketing; Guetig, under the name of Hudepohl Pure Grains, P.R. and Selle, C.D. (1995) Louisville devoted primarily to the production and Breweries: A History of the Brewing Industry distribution of the Hudepohl and Hudy Delight in Louisville, Kentucky, New Albany and brands and miscellaneous facets of brewery Jeffersonville, Indiana. Louisville: Mark operations. In 1980 The Keg Kurier was Skaggs Press; Herbst, H., Roussin, D. and created via the merger of Hudepohl Pure Kious, K. (2009) St. Louis Brews: 200 Years Grains with another, similar company of Brewing in St. Louis, 1809-2009. St. Louis: publication - Burger Brewings - in order to Reedy Press; Monette, C.J. (1978) Joseph cover under one banner all aspects of the Bosch and the Bosch Brewing Company. business and its beers for employees, Calumet, MI: Greenlee Printing; Johnson, C. distributors, and other friends of the (2004) Fitger's: The Brewery and Its People. operation. Duluth: Fitger's Publishing; Moore Gettelman, 2. Beyond the scope of the present work, a N. (1995) Gettelman, A History of the A. wide range of quality books on the American Gettelman Brewing Company: One Hundred brewing industry has been published primarily and Seven Years of a Family Brewery in over the last decade and a half, on individual Milwaukee. Milwaukee: Procrustes Press; breweries, prominent brewing cities, and and Harris, M.F. (2000) The Paws of states with a substantial number of brewery Refreshment: The Story of Hamm's Beer operations. The following works are Advertising. St. Paul: Pogo Press. particularly recommended for comprehensive 3. cited in Anon. (1894) History of Cincinnati coverage of the subject matter: Hoverson, D. and Hamilton County, Ohio. Cincinnati: S.B. (2007) Land of Amber Waters: The History of Nelson, p.329 and (1896) ‘The Twenty-Six Brewing in Minnesota. Minneapolis: U Breweries of Cincinnati, Newport, and Minnesota Press; Skilnik, B. (2006) Beer: A Covington,’ Cincinnati Post. 16 Nov. pp.6-7. History of Brewing in Chicago. Fort Lee, NJ: See also Anon. (1985) Hudepohl Brewing Barricade Books; Holian, T.J. (2000) Over the Company, Brewing in Cincinnati 1885-1985: Barrel: The Brewing History and Beer Culture 100 Years Hudepohl Brewing Company. of Cincinnati, Volume One, 1800-Prohibition. Cincinnati: Hudepohl Brewing Company, p.3, St. Joseph, MO: Sudhaus Press and (2001) a booklet produced and distributed by the

Brewery History Number 141 45 firm during its centennial year. 1933 to run as its second plant, which it 4. In an odd finale to the existence of the operated along with its original Cumminsville John Hauck Brewing Company, the 46,500 brewery until the business was sold to gallons of malt beverage dumped into Herschel Condon in 1949. The Red Top Cincinnati's sewers began to foam wildly Brewing Company purchased a nearby rival, immediately upon entering the new the Clyffside Brewing Company, in December environment, forcing a manhole cover to blow 1945 for the production of top-fermented out of its location in the ground, 250 feet brews Red Top Ale and 20 Grand Cream Ale away, followed by a flowing stream of bubbly, and utilized it alongside the original Hauck unpalatable liquids. See Hauck, T.A. (1986) Dayton Street Brewery, which for the next ‘Hauck Brewery and Family Businesses,’ as decade manufactured bottom-fermented Red cited in Petty, P. Under a Lucky Star: The Top and Barbarossa beers; the Dayton Street Story of Frederick A. Hauck. Cincinnati: location was closed in late 1955 due to Cincinnati Oral History Foundation, p.149. declining sales and the Clyffside facility 5. Anon (1985) p.6. approximately two years later. In Northern 6. ‘Scenes of Activity in Hudepohl Brewery,’ Kentucky the Bavarian Brewing Company of Cincinnati Times-Star 28 Mar. 1933, p.11. As Covington bought its crosstown rival, the the only Cincinnati brewer still in production Heidelberg Brewing Company, in March 1949 of near beer, the Bruckmann Company was and operated its plant as a the only brewery in the city fully operational second brewery until 1955, when operations with the return of legal beer on 7 April 1933, were consolidated at the original Bavarian giving it a brief but prosperous leg up on complex; the company merged with other area producers when demand for International Breweries Inc. in February 1959 relegalized beer was at its zenith. In an and the Bavarian brewery operated as part of additional effort to ensure a rapid return to that chain until its closure in May 1966. See beer production, Hudepohl reinstalled a 490- Van Wieren, D.P. (1995) American Breweries barrel wooden cask, manufactured in 1900 by II. West Point, PA: Eastern Coast Breweriana the local cooperage firm Hauser, Brenner, & Association, pp.121 and 266-272. Fath, described as the largest in the city at 15 8. see Cincinnati Enquirer 5 May 1946: 27. feet high and 13 feet wide and, in a decided 9. For an example of the Hudepohl wartime show of ceremony, paraded through the advertisements, along with those of other streets of Cincinnati on its way to Hudepohl local breweries, see Smith, H. and Boertlein, atop an oversized cart pulled by twelve J. (1996) ‘Cincinnati Breweries Go To War,’ horses. The Breweriana Collector. 92, p.4. For more 7. While Hudepohl was an early Greater information on beer provided by Hudepohl Cincinnati brewer to have more than one and other local brewers for consumption by facility, it was neither the first nor the only one the armed forces during World War II, see to do so. The Bruckmann Company acquired also Anon (1985) p.13. the former Ohio Union/Cincinnati Home 10. ‘Brewery Installs Huge Beer Bottle Brewing Company plant shortly after repeal in Washer,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 11 Aug. 1947: 4C.

46 Journal of the Brewery History Society 11. ‘Hudepohl Plans $1 Million Dollar station usage and currently held in the Brewery In Kenyon-Barr,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. archives of the Cincinnati Historical Society. 29 Oct. 1959 p.1; ‘K-B Moves Ahead,’ Based on information in the aforementioned Cincinnati Enquirer. 31 Oct. 1959 p.4A; ‘Hudepohl Advertising Themes’ fact sheet and ‘Hudepohl Begins Expansion Program in the use of the tag phrase ‘just say 14-K’ at Queensgate,’ Cincinnati Post and Times-Star. the end of the spot, it is likely that the 29 Jun. 1964 p.1; and ‘On Way to Local commercial was created and utilized Brewery,’ Cincinnati Post and Times-Star. 23 sometime during 1954. Sep. 1965 p.35. For more extensive 18. Among major league baseball teams information on the automated Hudepohl which maintained sponsorship agreements brewhouse, see Bender III, R. (1961) with local and regional breweries from the ‘Hudepohl's New “Simulflow” Brewhouse,’ 1940s onward were the Boston Braves and Brewers Digest. 36.9 Sep. pp.52-56. Red Sox (Narragansett Brewing Co., 12. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 Cranston, RI); the St. Louis Browns Jul. 2008. (Falstaff/Hyde Park Brewery, St. Louis, MO); 13. cited in Anon (1985) p.12. the Brooklyn Dodgers (F. & M. Schaefer 14. see Cincinnati Enquirer 6 Aug. 1954 Brewing Co., Brooklyn, NY); the Philadelphia (n.p.). Athletics and Phillies (P. Ballantine and Sons 15. Sales figures for Hudepohl during and Brewing Co., Newark, NJ and Adam Scheidt after the introduction of the 14-K brand are Brewing Company, Norristown, PA taken from Fein, A.E (1956) man. dir., respectively); the Cleveland Indians (Carling Brewing Industry Survey Covering the United Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH); the Detroit States, Canada and Mexico, 15th Annual Tigers (Goebel Brewing Co., Detroit, MI); the Edition-1956. New York: Research Company Chicago Cubs and White Sox (Peter Fox of America, a confidential subscriber-based Brewing Company, Chicago IL and Theodore publication of the era. Hamm Brewing Co., St. Paul, MN 16. Information on the Stockton-West- respectively); and the Washington Senators Burkhart promotional campaigns for (National Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD). In an Hudepohl 14-K beer is taken from ‘Hudepohl ironic twist, the Jacob Ruppert Brewing Advertising Themes,’ a year-by-year overview Company, whose owner also had control of sheet of main themes, secondary themes, the New York Yankees during their initial glory and musical jingles utilized for the brand from years of the 1920s and 1930s, was struggling 1952 to 1969, as prepared by either the to maintain market share by the 1940s and advertising agency or the brewery and long no longer advertised with the team; a more held in the Hudepohl Brewing Company prosperous brewer, Ballantine, took over archives, a copy of which is in the possession Yankee sponsorship during their second era of the author. of almost yearly championships from the 17. The text of the radio commercial cited is 1940s into the 1960s. Ruppert settled taken from an undated phonograph record instead for an agreement with the more containing the advertisement, made for radio affordable New York Giants. See Corzine,

Brewery History Number 141 47 N.M (2004) ‘American Game, American production of the following successful lager Mirror: Baseball, Beer, the Media and beers: 1) American-style (Anheuser-Busch: American Culture 1933-1954.’ Thesis, Budweiser; Schlitz: Schlitz; Pabst: Pabst Blue University of Missouri, pp.76, 88-89. Ribbon); 2) continental European-style 19. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 (Anheuser-Busch: Michelob; Schlitz: Encore; Jul. 2008. In fact the cessation of the Pabst: Andeker); and 3) a priceline budget television sponsorship between the entry (Anheuser-Busch: Busch Bavarian; Cincinnati Reds and Hudepohl did not mean Schlitz: Old Milwaukee; Pabst: Red White & the end of cooperation between them in other Blue). Schlitz also made significant inroads areas. For the remainder of the life of the into the malt liquor segment, originally brewery, Hudepohl Beer was sold by vendors pioneered by smaller brewers such as Gluek at Riverfront Stadium, the home field of the (Stite Malt Liquor) of Minneapolis, MN and club; and in honor of the team's back-to-back M.K. Goetz (Country Club Malt Liquor) of St. World Series championships of 1975 and Joseph, MO. Starting in 1964, armed with a 1976 Hudepohl released a commemorative substantial budget for product development can in honor of each, filled with 14-K Beer. and eventually a highly successful advertising Colorful and attractive in design, both cans campaign revolving around the so-called became collector's items and the first of the Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull, the firm garnered two won Can of the Year honors from the substantial revenue and market share with its Beer Can Collectors of America in the Schlitz Malt Liquor until the sale of the summer of 1976. See also Erardi, J. (1976) company to Stroh in 1982. ‘Baseball History Being Cast In Aluminum,’ 23. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 24 Cincinnati Enquirer. 14 Apr. D1; and (1976) Mar. 2009. ‘“Hude” Starts Ace Ham On Series,’ Cincinnati 24. Current and subsequent information on Enquirer. 18 Oct. 1976 C7. Hudepohl also Hudepohl production for 1979 and other undertook a similar effort for the Cincinnati years during the period 1976-1984 is taken Bengals professional football team during from records maintained in the corporate 1982 and 1983, releasing a commemorative archives of the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing can under the name of ‘Hu-Dey,’ a play on Company in the early 2000s and made the nickname of Hudepohl Beer and the available to the author at the time. popular Bengals fan expression ‘Who Dey 25. Bob Pohl, e-mail to the author, 2 Jun. Think Gonna Beat Them Bengals?’ See Kay, 2008; interview with the author, 9 Jul. 2008. J. (1983) ‘“Who Dey” Owns 'Dem Rights'?,’ The Tap brand was utilized by Hudepohl as Cincinnati Enquirer. 12 Jan. B1. another budget beer during the remainder of 20. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 the 1970s, and was discontinued in the early Jul. 2008. 1980s given the lasting success of Burger in 21. ibid. the same market segment. For several years 22. Specifically, during the late 1960s and after acquiring the Burger label, Hudepohl early 1970s each of the "Big Three" national treated it much as it did the flagship brew brewers maintained draft and packaged from the company, Hudepohl 14-K, with the

48 Journal of the Brewery History Society Friedman advertising agency charged weren't the only people that were using it. But exclusively with handling the Burger account with all the expansion and everything else, a for the brewery (as opposed to Hudepohl lot of money had been laid thin. And that was advertising, which at the time was formulated the beginning of the end. That took the by another agency, Sive) including television brewery with it.’ and radio campaigns such as ‘Get the Burger 27. The extent to which Miller, backed by Urge’ (1976). Substantial financial resources Philip Morris, supported the Lite brand were devoted over time to point-of-sale financially can be seen in its advertising materials for Burger, such that the brand expenditures in the initial years after maintained its own identity for much of the acquisition of the label, rising tenfold in one remainder of its years in production at year from $400,000 (1973) to $4,000,000 Hudepohl. (1974), then to $10,000,000 in 1975 and 26. Roger Sieben, interview with the author, $12,000,000 in 1976. (cited in Anderson, W. 27 Oct. 2008. According to Sieben, an (1987) ‘I See the Light, I See the Lite,’ From assistant master brewer at Meister Bräu at Beer to Eternity. Lexington, MA: Stephen the time, Lite Beer had made inroads under Greene Press. p.96.) Meister Bräu management, with 15 to 20% of 28. ‘A New Direction for Hudepohl,’ Brewers overall brewery production by the early Digest. 57.3, Mar. 1982, pp.11 and 17. Likely 1970s, and was poised for substantial the most successful advertising campaign in success for the company until unforeseen the company's history was designed in large problems within the food division and part to support the Hudy Delight brand. From company mismanagement doomed the effort, 1979 to 1982 Hudepohl and Hudy Delight to the ultimate benefit of Miller: ‘[Meister were promoted by well-known Laugh-In Bräu] had established this chain of comedic actor Arte Johnson, who starred in a production, and they were actually getting popular series of commercials centered into the production of Lite Beer, from coast to around a traditional German character who coast. The lead-up, the thing was, it was the extolled the virtues of the local brands in best year of all. The brewery was producing comparison to their better-known competition. more, the Chicago brewery producing more, The advertisements won first prize for the whole system going good. And then the Hudepohl in the 1979 U.S. Television cyclamate bomb hit. Sodium cyclamate. It's a Commercials Festival and admiration for the stabilizer for saccharine, artificial sweetener brewery for staying within its budget yet used in candies, low-calorie snacks, low- managing to deliver ‘star appeal’ with its calorie foods. And they had this whole thing message. According to Hudepohl president that grew up: Lite Foods, Lite Snacks, Lite Tom Zins at the time, ‘I think it will be even Candies, being produced on the west coast more image-enhancing for us as a regional by Kanda Corporation. That whole division brewery because people would assume we got wiped out overnight. I think it was wouldn't have the wherewithal to do that.’ See carcinogen. … It was an overnight deal. The Styles, W. (1979) ‘New Hudy Ad Man Verry FDA came out and banned cyclamates. We Interesting,’ Cincinnati Post. 15 Mar. p.18.

Brewery History Number 141 49 29. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 24 little while with Hofbräu, and God forbid, Mar. 2009. should it work, which was highly 30. Brazes, J. (1981) ‘Hudepohl Enters questionable, but should it go over, we could Premium Market,’ Cincinnati Post. 1 May, 8A. bring it back into Cincinnati, and move the 31. Hudepohl took the unusual step of Moerlein out. And we're being successful on apologizing for the initial shortage of Christian two different levels. But Hofbräu never really Moerlein via a press release, dated 30 went anywhere, because we didn't advertise September 1981, noting that demand it. We didn't support it.’ (author interview, 9 exceeded supply fourfold and that ‘our Jul. 2008) current shortage is a real problem. We cannot 33. ‘New Brew,’ Cincinnati Post. 6 Jan. 1982: and will not rush a product of this nature. Our 8A. brewing process is a traditional one utilizing 34. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 24 longer fermentation and aging.’ On 2 October Mar. 2009. Hudepohl placed an advertisement in the two 35. Shelton, J. (1983) ‘Hudepohl Hopes locals newspapers, the Cincinnati Enquirer Less Will Sell More,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 24 and Cincinnati Post, similarly outlining the Aug. B2; ‘Hudepohl Expands Pace Market,’ situation and both asking for patience from Cincinnati Enquirer. 14 Oct. 1983 C9; Sator, and thanking the public for its overwhelming D. (1983) ‘Hudy To Test 2% Beer Here,’ acceptance of the new beer. Dayton Journal Herald. 23 Aug. [Business 32. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 24 Section] p.1. According to Bob Pohl, the Mar. 2009. At the same time that Christian moniker for Pace Pilsner Beer came about in Moerlein was released to the public, longtime a rather mundane way, based on standard draft-only Hofbräu Beer was made available business practices and parlance among in bottles for the first time. Initial plans were Hudepohl executives and sales staff: ‘We for Christian Moerlein to be sold exclusively considered several names, but when you got in the Greater Cincinnati area, with Hofbräu in the brewing industry and your salesmen destined for other markets outside the city. were out in the bars all day long, obviously However, unlike Moerlein, which benefited they're consuming your product in the bars. over time from a major and sustained We always talked about how, being a promotional campaign, Hofbräu received little salesman, you had to pace yourself. You advertising help from the brewery, don't want to get crocked or anything. You consequently failing to catch on before being wanted to make sure that you were okay. So discontinued with little fanfare in favor of you'd pace yourself during a day. And being a expanded Christian Moerlein distribution. reduced-alcohol [beer], it's easy to pace According to Pohl, ‘It was a good brew. The yourself. So that's where the name actually thinking behind it was, we want to take our came from.’ (author interview, 24 Mar. 2009) time with Moerlein. We want to do this right. 36. Pohl, B. (1982) ‘Right From the Tap,’ We want to bring it out slowly, carefully. But The Keg Kurier: News From the Hudepohl the distributors were screaming at us. What Brewing Company. 3.1, p.8. do we do? Well, we can appease them for a 37. cited in Souder, W. (1984) ‘Special

50 Journal of the Brewery History Society Effects,’ Inc. Magazine. [online edition - Oct.], constraints and the closure of the brewery. an article which discussed in-depth The collaboration was highlighted in 1985 locally-oriented marketing activity by and 1986 by the release of a special Hudepohl during the period and its attempt to commemorative beer can for the event, fea- court younger drinkers. turing the radio station logo and filled with 38. Information on the introduction of Hudepohl Gold beer. (author interview, 24 Hudepohl Gold is taken from a company Mar. 2009; see also ‘Special “Hudy” Brew To press release, ‘Packaging, Taste Both Help Toast Fireworks,’ Cincinnati Post. 27 Refined For Hudepohl's Flagship Brand,’ Jun. 1985: 6C; and ‘Special Effects,’ Inc. dated 28 April 1983. Magazine. [online edition] [Oct. 1984].) 39. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 43. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 24 Jul. 2008. Mar 2009. 40. Wall, T. (1983) ‘Hudepohl Says Bonds 44. Andriacco, D. (1983) ‘Even Deutschland Vital,’ Cincinnati Post. 8 Dec. 9A; Wall, T. Says Our Beer Pure Pleasure,’ Cincinnati (1983) ‘Hudepohl Future May Hinge On Bond Post. 23 Nov. 1983: 1A. The finding was OK,’ Cincinnati Post. 9 Dec. 5B; Fields, G. based on a sample of 24 cans-one case-of (1984) ‘Hudepohl Starts Expansion That Will Christian Moerlein that Hudepohl sent to the Cost $7 Million,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 5 Jan. Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in B7. Berlin (VLB) for testing purposes. According 41. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 to correspondence from the institute, dated Jul. 2008. 28 October 1983 and held in the archives of 42. The phonograph record, created by the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company, radio station WEBN for Hudepohl in 1977, the analysis showed ‘that the beer contains contained two distinct versions of the song no preservatives, no adjuncts (corn or rice), ‘Carefree Day,’ the A-side featuring a no technical proteolytic enzymes and no pop-themed tune entitled ‘Rock n' Roll With ascorbic acid. Original extract, degree of Hudepohl,’ with the B-side carrying a country fermentation, attenuation limit, colour and pH version under the name ‘Bless My Soul It's of the beer are normal, the content of nitro- Hudepohl.’ The project was undertaken gen is somewhat high. In this beer sample no clandestinely by Bob Pohl and others in the substances were detected which are Hudepohl marketing department, essentially inconsistent with [the] German circumventing the company's advertising “Reinheitsgebot”.’ A followup letter from the agency which opposed it. The WEBN same institution, dated 13 January 1984, fireworks sponsorship, at $70,000 for the confirmed the results and acknowledged that initial year of what was planned to be at least Christian Moerlein ‘is the first U.S. beer which a five-year agreement, grew out of contacts has successfully passed examinations con- between Pohl and an acquaintance at the cerning [the] “German Purity Law”.’ In April station - ’just being around the right guy at 1984 Hudepohl contributed $400.00 to the the right time’ - and ultimately ran for three Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce years until ended due to budgetary toward the cost of customs clearance and

Brewery History Number 141 51 transportation for the beer in West Germany, Enquirer. 21 Oct. 1986: B7, p.11; Newberry, acknowledging additional costs that were J. (1986) ‘Cincinnati Brewers Announce covered by the Chamber and its extensive Merger Plans,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 4 Nov. public relations work in the process. (corre- C5. spondence of 10 April 10 1984, in the 50. Ken Lichtendahl, interview with the Hudepohl-Schoenling archives) author, 27 Jul. 2009. Lichtendahl would 45. Erardi, J. (1983) ‘Tour Has Tradition On continue as president of the Hudepohl- Tap,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 30 Mar. C1. The Schoenling Brewing Company until 1998, expansion of tours at Hudepohl effective the when the firm was purchased by the summer of 1982 was done primarily for public Cleveland-based Crooked River Brewing relations reasons, according to Pohl, who Company. The former Schoenling brewery contrasted those of Hudepohl with the nature along Central Parkway was sold in December of big brewery visits as a unique opportunity 1996 to the , brewer of to show off the advantages of smaller-scale the Samuel Adams line of beers and ales, beer production: ‘The tours kind of gave peo- which continues to operate the plant as of ple more of a hands-on feeling about the this writing. Bob Pohl took a position on the company, and that is something that I think distribution side of the Hudepohl-Schoenling everybody down there agreed was a good operation, but after a short time left the firm thing. It was important to us from that and eventually moved into a career in com- standpoint. We weren't really set up for tours, mercial real estate. which probably meant we gave the best tours 51. Validity for the viewpoint that a smaller you could get. You didn't sit in a tram and Hudepohl brew kettle might have been a drive by the bottle shop, at twenty feet in the major benefit to Hudepohl in its specialty beer air. You got on the floor, which I think gave days is provided by Bob Pohl, from his people just a little better feeling about the vantage point as a company officer, in com- company. I think the tours did fine for us. I paring the Hudepohl operation with the think they were a good marketing tool.’ Schoenling facility nearby: ‘They had some (author interview, 9 Jul. 2008) For more advantages over us, and we had some information on the Hudepohl tap room and its advantages over them. They had a 200-barrel use, see ‘BD Visits the Hudepohl Brewing Co. brew kettle and were running 200-barrel in Cincinnati, Ohio,’ Brewers Digest. 46.7 (Jul. batches throughout the brewery. When it 1971) p.49. came to bock beer, Oktoberfest beer, and 46. cited in Byczkowski, J.J. (1985) ‘100 maybe some [others] … with a 600-barrel Years of Hudy Beers,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 17 brew kettle, that's a lot of beer for a small Jan. C8, p.10. market, which is what we were looking at. 47. Bob Pohl, interview with the author, 9 And that became a major disadvantage to us, Jul. 2008. to the brewery. The plant was not designed to 48. ibid.. do [small-scale batches of beer].’ (author 49. Newberry, J. (1986) ‘Schoenling, interview, 9 Jul. 2008) Ken Lichtendahl Hudepohl Brewing Merger,’ Cincinnati corroborated this observation from the

52 Journal of the Brewery History Society Schoenling point of view: ‘Exactly right. Yeah. to tell the guy that he needs to put in more That was one of the areas where they Miller or more Bud.” He said, “Whatever you reworked everything back in the 1950s, I do, pick one.” Schoenling brought back 14-K believe, and came up with the “Big is Better” while they had Hudy Gold, and it killed them. program, and we reworked it and came up Ken was right.’ (author interview, 9 Jul. 2008) with the "Versatile is Better," and [with] our Ken Lichtendahl later concurred with the 200 [barrel kettle], we did ten brews a day. sentiment: ‘Yeah, that's exactly what Most people could put out around six, but happened. Probably we just split our existing ours was totally automated. It had all micro- customers, and [they said], “Oh, I like this processors and automated valves, and we one,” [and] “Oh, I like that one.” You basically were sequentially just working brews from the had both of them, and now you've got one grain scale off all the way through lautering drinking one and one drinking the other. So it and brewing. Like I say, it got to the ten was kind of a fifty percent-fifty percent. We brews a day, which even at 200 barrels gave just sliced our pie.’ (author interview, 27 Jul. you substantial output. But yet you didn't 2009) have to brew a big 600-er and say, "What am 56. Newberry, J. (2007) ‘Hudy Bock Beer I going to do with that stuff, all that?"’ (author Comes Back,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. [online interview, 27 Jul. 2009) edition] 28 Feb.; Holthaus, D. (2009) 52. ‘Fire Damages Old Brewery,’ Cincinnati ‘Hudepohl Relaunches Hudy 14-K Beer,’ Enquirer. 11 Sep. 1995: A1; ‘Spark Caused Cincinnati Enquirer. [online edition] 9 Sep.; Fire,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. 15 Sep. 1995: C2. Holthaus, D. (2010) ‘Coming Soon: New 53. Hofmeister, D. (2004) ‘What Will Be Hudy, Little Kings Beers,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. Done About Old Brewery?,’ Cincinnati [online edition] 27 Aug.; Holthaus, D. (2010) Enquirer. 13 Mar. B2. ‘Beer Baron Expands Empire With Cincy 54. Ken Lichtendahl, interview with the Brands,’ Cincinnati Enquirer. [online edition] author, 27 Jul. 2009. 27 Aug. Under Greg Hardman the former 55. The downside of the decision by Hudepohl brands have been contract brewed Hudepohl-Schoenling to reintroduce 14-K at existing facilities in La Crosse, WI and Beer was explained by Bob Pohl based upon Wilkes-Barre, PA. However, long-term plans internal discussions dating back to the call for production to return to Cincinnati, in Hudepohl days: ‘Our city sales manager, Ken the Moerlein Lager House, a large beer Rippinger, when we came out with Hudy Gold hall/microbrewery/restaurant combination and did away with 14-K, we talked about along the Ohio River with a projected opening coming back with 14-K. He was the guy that date of 2011, and also in part of the former said, “Look. What you're doing is trying to put Husman snack food factory in Over-the-Rhine another beer on that store shelf. So now - a portion of which had housed part of the you're going to split your sales between pre-Prohibition Kauffman Brewing Company - Hudepohl Gold and 14-K. You are not going after renovation of the facility can be to have enough of either brand to hold them completed also in 2011. on those shelves. Those scanners are going

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