Ale and Farewell: the German Style of Brewery Architecture
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Ale and Farewell: the German style of brewery architecture Lynn Pearson This article attempts to compare national The visual image of the 'beer factory' had styles of brewery architecture during the become increasingly important, with the late nineteenth century, a time of world- brewery's image being used on bottle wide activity in the brewery construction labels and in advertisements. Barrett's industry. In Britain, the number of large- Vauxhall Brewery (1885) was an extreme scale brewery sites of architectural example of this trend, with a 119 feet high interest peaked at around 600 at the turn brewhouse tower topped by a huge, illu- of the century, with about 100 of these minated revolving stout bottle. It has being major sites. Their architectural been suggested that the design of yard- development has been described else- based industrial complexes harks back to where, but in summary these breweries the plan form of medieval monastic sites, generally had emphatic vertical features but brewers in general do not appear to including a chimney and a multi-storey have been anything other than functional brewing tower, often with an elaborate in their approach to brewery design.2 ironwork crown, an ornamental exterior Ornament was useful as advertising, making much use of trademarks, and architectural elements allowed the brew- minimal interior ornament apart from ery to be perceived as a respectable part inside the offices.1 Normally the tower, of the townscape, and the yard per- the lower fermentation block and the formed an essential function in relation to ancillary buildings, including stables and the distribution of the brewery's products. cooperage, were arranged around a Rather than trying to liken their work- yard. Some of the rather earlier Burton places to castles or cathedrals, brewers buildings were massive flat-roofed may have reserved their architectural structures with row upon row of round- fancies for their homes; an instance is the headed windows. Smaller buildings in lavish pictorial tiling, including a depiction this plain style did form part of later brew- of the Stag Brewery in Pimlico, which eries, but were not seen as the public formed part of the 1885 decoration of the face of the brewery, whose architectural Watney family home in Berkshire.3 style varied, taking its cue from the eclecticism on view in the urban sur- The story was different abroad, where roundings. the dominant form of beer production by Brewery History Number 123 Summer 2006 35 the turn of the century was bottom-fer- where one of its architectural expressions mented lager, commercially produced was the construction of a series of pictur- from around 1842 at Pilsen in Bohemia, esque castles. The contemporary search now the western end of the Czech for a truly German architectural style Republic. The nineteenth century surge resulted in a combination of renaissance in railway construction allowed Pilsener- and gothic elements known as the style lagers, which were also brewed in Rundbogenstil, which was able to cope Germany, in neighbouring Bavaria, to be with the new building types required by transported around Europe. Mass emi- industrialisation. Appel suggests that this gration ensured that beers in Pilsener, specifically German heritage conditioned Bohemian or Bavarian style - and the the style of American brewery architec- breweries to produce them - were soon ture. It expressed the often German found in North America and eventually background of the brewers, 'who took throughout the world; a few lager brew- pride in making their buildings attractive eries were even built in Britain. The lager additions to urban environments', while brewing process differed from traditional their breweries 'symbolised the German British beer production, its most notice- impact on American culture, ethnically, able consequence in architectural terms socially, and technologically'.6 The name being the extra space required for long- Rundbogenstil was rarely used in term cool storage or 'lagering' during America, buildings in this style being fermentation; caves and underground referred to by a variety of terms including cellars were initially used for this pur- Byzantine, Lombardic, Romanesque pose, eventually being replaced by and, eventually, American round-arched above-ground icehouses and then large, style. mechanically refrigerated structures.4 Visually, the German-style American German-style lager quickly became pop- brewery displayed a multiplicity of round- ular in North America, after its introduc- headed windows or louvred openings, tion by German immigrants reaching ornate detailing on gothic towers and America during the 1840s. Many of them chimneys, stumpy battlements on poly- settled in the midwest, and following the chromatic brick buildings four to five Civil War of 1861-5, professional engi- storeys high, and often a picturesque neers and architects, often trained in roofline. A Gambrinus figure was occa- Germany, began to specialise in brewery sionally added to mark a significant ele- design; Chicago (Illinois), a noted brew- ment, often a gateway.7 By the 1880s ing city, was the base of many brewery these lager breweries were being con- architects.5 The background from which structed on a vast scale, with Cincinnati these architects emerged was one of a (Ohio) the leading brewing centre until growing nationalist movement in it was displaced by St Louis (Missouri) in Germany, and in particular Bavaria, the early 1900s [Fig. 1]. Inside were dec- 36 The Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 1. The Schorr-Kolkschneider brewery (now demolished), one of the 50 or so breweries in production in late nineteenth century St Louis. orative elements similar to those found breweries were established there in the inside many German brewhouses, 1840s, and by 1896 there were 19 large notably tiling and stained glass, often firms including Germania, Magnus-Beck, bearing brewing-related imagery. An Gerhard-Lang and the German-American example from Detroit (Michigan) is the Brewing Company. Most of these large 1912 brewhouse built for Stroh's Lion breweries were still managed by their Brewery by the German firm of Topf & German-American founders or their Sons from Erfurt; this had hand-painted descendants. The huge scale of some of tiling from the local Pewabic Pottery, a the turn-of-the-century breweries is illus- nationally-known arts and crafts pottery trated by Portner's Brewery in Alexandria established in 1903.8 There might also be (Virginia), established during the Civil a 'German room', a brewery tap with a War and extending over four blocks in German theme, as at the F.W. Cook area by 1895, and the Lemp Brewery in Brewery in Evansville (Indiana), built in St Louis (Missouri) [Fig. 2]. Adam Lemp 1893 and designed by the Chicago- established his lager brewery in St Louis trained architect August Maritzen, who in 1841-2, his son William J. Lemp mov- worked on a total of about eighty brewery ing to a new site and expanding the plant projects during the late nineteenth century. until by the 1870s it was the city's largest. The firm was the first to introduce coast- An example of the German influence on to-coast distribution of its beers, and the early American brewing can be found in brewery eventually covered five blocks. the city of Buffalo (New York State), Topping all of these was the mammoth where many of the leading businessmen Anheuser-Busch Brewery complex in St were of German origin. Several small Louis, which covered 45 city blocks by Brewery History Number 123 Summer 2006 37 Figure 2. The Lemp Brewery, St Louis; its vertical features included at least 10 chimneys as well as the pair of malthouse stacks. the 1890s; most of the buildings were advanced aspects of the facilities'.9 designed by the firm established by the Perhaps this is only to be expected from German-born and German-educated a building type which hovers on the cusp architect Edmund Jungenfeld (died 1884) of agriculture and industry; in any case, [Fig. 3]. conflicts between historicist facades and functional interiors tend not to disturb Although breweries could rival other industrialists.10 Even in the 1770s the American industrial buildings in terms of potter Josiah Wedgwood was consider- sheer size, Bradley's study of American ing adding battlements to the design of industrial architecture points out that the front elevation of his new Etruria breweries were generally far more orna- Works at Stoke-on-Trent.11 Although mental than other factories, their elabo- battlements - possibly a reminder of rate detailing serving to emphasise the Bavarian castles - were a more common good taste and importance of the owner feature of the German-American round- while playing down the 'technically arched style brewery than the British 38 The Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 3. A 1911 postcard showing the barley cleaning house and elevators at the Anheuser- Busch Brewery, St Louis. ornamental brewery, there were many by much larger concerns. The brothers architectural similarities between late William and Ralph Foster came to nineteenth century American and British Melbourne from New York in 1887, bring- breweries; however, the British version ing with them one Mr Sieber, a German- was normally smaller, displayed more American brewer who had studied in stylistic variation and had a much less Germany. They built a lager brewery in ornamental interior. Melbourne, using equipment imported from America, and their product was on Immigrants from the British Isles played a sale by 1889.12 It proved popular, and by large part in Australia's brewing history, the 1930s almost all Australian-brewed but the climate made it difficult to make beer was lager. British-style top fermented ales, and it was not until lager was introduced that In 1870s Australia, the state of Victoria the numerous small-town breweries - was noted for its beer drinking, and sever- often with something of the British orna- al large-scale breweries were constructed mental brewery appearance - began to especially in Melbourne, whose first disappear and production was taken over mayor was a brewer.