Breweries of Cleveland (Locally Brewed) [Hardcover]

Carl H. Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

Written by local author Carl H. Miller, BREWERIES OF CLEVELAND is a comprehensive and nostalgic journey through Cleveland's beery past, beginning with a discussion of the city's very earliest breweries and tracing the local industry through to the current "rebirth" lead by area microbreweries.

"Cleveland has always been a beer town," says Miller. "Before prohibition, virtually every neighborhood in the city had its own brewery -- especially on the West Side, where the Germans lived." Indeed, at the close of the nineteenth century, Cleveland boasted nearly twenty breweries, all serving a primarily local market.

After the repeal of National Prohibition (1920-1933), nine local breweries reopened, but fierce competition from the nation's large brewers soon threatened the survival of regional beer-makers everywhere. According to Miller, "The small, local brewer was an endangered species by the end of the 1950s. Clevelanders still had a fondness for their local beers, but strong competition from the big brewers made it difficult for the 'little guys' to keep their heads above water."

However, during the 1980s, brewpubs and microbreweries began springing up around the country, giving rise to a sort of rebirth of brewing on a regional basis. "In a sense, the brewing industry has come full circle," says Miller. "Cleveland's nineteenth century brewers were all very geared toward serving a strictly local market. The new microbrewers have that same kind of commitment to preserving their local character."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carl H. Miller has been researching and writing about the history of the brewing industry for more than a decade. He first became interested in the subject when he learned that his great great grandfather had worked for the Kuebeler-Stang Brewing & Malting Company in Sandusky, which later became part of the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Company.

After earning a degree in Marketing from Cleveland State University, Carl worked for several years with a Cleveland advertising agency. Early in 1997, he left the advertising business to pursue a career as a freelance writer. His specialty is researching and writing business history.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction: March 31, 1933 was a special day in Cleveland. Some 3,000 people gathered on Public Square and surrounding downtown streets to celebrate the imminent return of beer after thirteen years of National Prohibition. There were parades and fireworks, speeches and cheers. An undeniable sense of renewed hope permeated the Depression-era crowd. They knew, after all, that the re-legalization of beer signified a changing of the times. They knew that beer would mean more than just the return of the corner tavern. It would mean employment, reduced crime, and revitalization of entire neighborhoods that once bustled with brewery activity. Indeed, the brewing industry has always played an important role in the health and well-being of the city. And Clevelanders reciprocated with a special fondness for their hometown beers. It was a time when drinking a "foreign" beer -- that is, a beer brewed outside Cleveland -- was held in nearly the same regard as rooting for a rival ball team. Even today, bygone names like Leisy's, P.O.C., Erin Brew and Gold Bond are recalled with unusual sentiment by those who remember the heyday of these and many other Cleveland beers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Schnitzelbank Press; 1 edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966208404
• ISBN-13: 978-0966208405
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,282,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BREWERIES OF CLEVELAND Gets A Top Rating!, June 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breweries of Cleveland (Locally Brewed) (Hardcover)

I am jealous. This book is no less than a microcosm of the American brewing industry. I wish I had written it. Meticulously researched by business historian Carl Miller, brewing is to Cleveland what cream cheese is to Philadelphia. Linking the evolution of brewing with the settlement's first tavern and innkeeper Lorenzo Carter, by the 1820s Miller notes the "back room concoctions of tavernkeepers" were being supplemented by outside sources. By the 1830s The Reverend Elijah F. Willey, a Baptist clergyman no less, vied with Dr. S.J. Weldon for the first permanent brewery.

Producing English style ales, Miller has unearthed an 1850s advertisement showing that Samuel Ives brewed Cream Ale some forty years before George Sleeman in Guelph brewed Cream Ale. Having rewritten a chapter in brewing folklore in one casual swoop, Miller debunks the newness of the continuous brewing process recently developed by Pierre Rajotte by noting that after three years of experimentation, Cleveland's Carling Brewery "announced in 1962 that it had perfected its Continuous Brewing Method." Slated to be installed in Carling's new Fort Worth, Texas brewery, the idea failed due to a faulty piece of stainless steel pipe, which caused observers to condemn the Continuous Brewing Process and led in part to the closure of the brewery just months after its opening.

For the Canadian reader, the Carling connection is fascinating, and Miller provides the most complete account of E.P. Taylor's foray into the American market I have read.

Weaving the growth of Cleveland's brewing industry into social history, Miller links brewing with the building of the Ohio Canal, the arrival of the Germans and lager, that most melancholy subject temperence, unionism, brewery architecture and the creation of the beer barons. Miller's treatment of the industry from the Civil War to World War I is generously spiced with wonderful photographs and anecdotal history along with the facts, giving the book general appeal.

My favorite illustration is an 1899 Crystal Rock ad showing five mature, robust ladies accompanied by the following caption: "Crystal Rock Beer regulates women's ills. A glass or two used faithfully each day insures prompt and painless periods."

With the repeal of Prohibition, Miller traces Clevelander's love of local suds in the face of national competition by reviewing the histories of the Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co., Forest City Brewery, Sunrise Brewing Co., Leisy's Brewery, the Pilsener Brewing Co. and its famous P.O.C. label, and Erin Brew from the Standard Brewing Co., to the closure of C. Schmidt & Sons in 1984, an act which brought 150 years of local brewing to an end.

Sponsored by the Crooked River Brewing Company of Cleveland, good taste prevails and the author gives as much space to competitor Great Lakes Brewing Company, which revived Cleveland's brewing tradition in 1988, as he does to his sponsor.

Buy this book, then grab a six pack of your favorite lager (this is primarily about German/American brewers) and enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting read with a wealth of photographs., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breweries of Cleveland (Locally Brewed) (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my father and it's proven to be one of his all-time favorite gifts. The wealth of photographs and the attention to detail has made this the preeminant book on brewery history. A must-have for brew buffs.

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining! Educational! Powerful! A MUST READ!!!!!!, October 7, 1999

By 

An Avid Beer History Lover (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breweries of Cleveland (Locally Brewed) (Hardcover)

I devoured this book in one night! I still like to browse through it and look at all of the historical pictures. A MUST READ for anyone interested in the history of brewing in Cleveland, Ohio or brewing in general. Everyone needs this masterpiece for their coffee table.