THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
ADS - From Newspapers
BEER BOTTLES, CASES & CARTONS
BEER BOTTLES
Early Bottles
Glass bottles were made as early as about 4,000 years ago. However, molds for hand blown glass were not made until around 100 BC. Hand blown beer bottles from molds were more prevalent in Europe starting in the mid 1600s, primarily for export, but local consumption was typically from casks or kegs. Problems in using bottles for beer were that they were somewhat expensive to use, they could break, some customers did not like the taste from bottles and, most importantly, beer in bottles continued to ferment, often causing the cork tops to pop due to C02 build-up. Wire helped hold the cork in place and glass or ceramic tops were later used. Different versions of a wire bracket to secure a stopper were also developed.
An example of a "Swinging Top" bottle for Bavarian is shown above. Still, such brackets weren't always a reliable method to contain beer bottle tops. What made bottles more popular to use for beer was the introduction of pasteurization in the 1870s. This stabilized the beer preventing it from continued fermentation, which made the beer in bottles less explosive and eliminated the cloudiness that would otherwise occur.
Pre-Prohibition Bottles - Beginning in the 1890s
In 1892 a revolutionary bottle top called a crown, and also know as the bottle cap, was developed. It eliminated the need for wire brackets. (See Crowns) and the design at the top of the bottle was changed in order to accommodate the crown. This is one way to help ascertain the date of a bottle. Brown bottles were most often used because they would keep out light and would help prevent any chemical changes in the beer that could cause what was known as "skunky" tasting beer. Clear bottles were less frequently used for beer, but would allow rich color of the beer to be more visible. The clear bottle appears to have been used for the Riedlin Select Beer. (Please see Labels.)
Machine Made Bottles - Early 1900s.
Bottles were mostly hand blown from molds until Mike Owens developed a bottle making machine in 1903, and it took about another decade before this was more widely adopted. Nearly all beer bottles made before Prohibition were the property of a brewer and were embossed with the name of the brewery, its city and state. To encourage the bottle to be returned to the brewery to be reused, a modest bottle return fee was offered. In the late 19th Century, labels were added to bottles due to regulatory requirements.
Pre-Prohibition Embossed Bottles
Bottles After Prohibition
After Prohibition, improvements were made in making bottles so the weight was somewhat less. And, instead of bottles that stated not less than 11.5 oz. before Prohibition, the common size after Prohibition became 12 oz. To avoid having the taste of the beer altered by light, they were almost always brown. Bavarian Master Brand Beer bottles and a Bavarian Draft Beer bottle from a 1938 ad is shown. A colored photo of the larger 1938 half gallon Draft Beer bottle is shown next, and it is followed by another half gallon bottle with a taller and narrower shape. Note that instead of saying Bavarian "Type" that appears on the earlier bottles, the newer bottles omitted "Type." The final bottle shown for this period is a clear "Jug Beer" with a ring or handle making it easier to carry. This could also be called a Growler. This term possibly emanates from the sound when the cork is released from the vessel, which can make a growling like noise.
1938 Bottles
1938 & Early 1940s Half Gallon Bottles
Bottles in the Late 1940s - Mid 1950s
When the main brand labels changed from Bavarian Mater Brand Beer after WWII to become Bavarian's Old Style Beer. It also seems the bottles at this time were slightly different and somewhat shorter than a few years earlier. Examples of the more traditional bottles beginning from the late1940s into the mid 1950s are shown. It appears the same bottles were used for Schott Ale as for Bavarian's Old Style Beer at this time, but the labels were obviously different and theale bottle may have had foil around it's top.
Mid-1940s Gallon Jug
Bottles: Late 1950s - Mid 1960s
Most bottles did not change appreciably during this period and the quart and standard 12 oz. bottles were relatively the same among the different brewers. However, what did change around 1960 was the introduction of the "Short Neck" and "No Deposit, No Return" bottle, aks the "Shorty" or "Stubby." This occurred as the metal involved in making cans became more expensive and it became more economical to distribute bottles in glass. These smaller bottles could also be bundled in "Eight Packs" as shown below and in some Ads: 1957-1965.
Additionally, even though 7oz. bottles have been around since the 19th century, they were uncommon in the mid 20th century until the 1960s. Then they became used as whisky chasers or cocktail sidecars and referred to as ponies, similar to the reference of a small keg of beer also referred to as a pony (keg). Another way of serving these smaller bottles was placing several in a bucket of ice. These pony beers became more popular, particularly for women, especially in the 1970s. The green pony bottle shown below, made by IBI, was the same color and size of Little Kings Cream Ale, which was produced in Cincinnati by Schoenling beginning in 1958 and became very successful. Also, please see Bavarian's New Look for more information on the process that was used to change their design in 1957 and visit Beer Labels for more information about the different brands and the changes in the labels over time.
BEER CARTONS (Carriers)
The six-pack is one of the most common ways to purchase beer. The first six-pack invented was not for beer, but for bottles of soda by Coca-Cola in 1923, during the early years of Prohibition. However, the first six-pack of beer wasn't used until a few years after Prohibition, in 1938. For Bavarian's Old Style Beer, a carton for long neck bottles from around 1950 is shown, with the handle part folded into the carton. Also shown are two Bavarian/s Select Beer cartons from International Breweries Inc. (IBI), one with stubby bottles, also referred to as glass cans, and another six-pack carton, which may have been the last style used by IBI. Besides cartons made for bottles, they were also made for cans. (See Cans - Cones & Flats
BEER CRATES & CASES
In order to distribute beer in bottles, wooden crates were used. Because of the weight from the wood and the beer, the crates usually contained no more than a dozen bottles. Once a "crown" cap was developed in 1892, as previously mentioned, the distribution of bottled beer in wood crates became more common. These crates normally contained 12 bottles with six bottles in two rows, or four bottles three rows, as shown by the accompanying photos below. Still, all beer crates before Prohibition were made of wood. A beer crate full bottles wasn't something you could tuck under one arm while picking up other items at a store. Crates used for both Bavarian and Riedlin Select beer before Prohibition are shown below.
The Bavarian Beer
3 x 4 Wood Crate
The Bavarian & Riedlin
2 x6 Wood Beer Crates
Experimental Galvanized Metal Sided
Wood Framed Crates
Even though wood cases were commonly used by all breweries before Prohibition, and by some shortly afterwards, there were efforts to improve beer cases. In 1917, in order to lighten the case, patent 1,214,082 was granted for a 12 bottle crate with galvanized sheet metal on the sides along with a bottom and dividers of wood. Shown is the design for this crate. This hybrid design was invented by Louis Schott while he was a principal of both the J.M. Schott & Sons Cooperage and the Cincinnati Galvanizing Co. This invention was obviously intended to be a product the firms with which he was associated could make. It's unclear if these cases were ever made, but the onset of Prohibition, just a couple years after this patent was granted, essentially eliminated the need for the principal use of this design as beer crates.
Note: In 1914, three years before this patent was granted, the youngest brother of Lou Schott, Wm. C. Schott (Will), became the son-in-law of Wm. Riedlin, the owner of Bavarian Brewing Co. Whether this crate was ever made for Bavarian or other concerns is unknown. Incidentally, three decades after the patent was obtained, Lou Schott became an owner and officer of the Bavarian Brewing Co., along with Will and two of his other brothers. Lou became President of Bavarian Brewing Co. in 1945 until mid-1955, when he became Chairman of the Board until 1959.
Crates & Cases After Prohibition
After Prohibition, bottle weight was somewhat less. It seems that wood crates were still used for a while after Prohibition as indicated by the Bavarian Beer case on the right. The reason that this case is believed to be from the late 1930s is that the italic lettering for Bavarian was used in this same time period for their trucks, labels and coasters, and not before Prohibition. In addition, both the cardboard case below and the noted wood case had very similar lettering and design. This indicates that the wood case probably replaced by the cardboard case in the early 1940s.
Cardboard Beer Cases Replaced Wood Crates in the 1940s
Instead of wood crates containing 12 or even 24 bottles, it was possible to make beer cases out of cardboard that contained 24 bottles, which weighed much less than the wood cases and cost less to make. The size of these cases quickly became standardized among most brewers in the 1940s. Examples of cases for Bavarian Beer and Bavarian's Old Style Beer are respectfully dated from c. 1943, 1946, 1954 and 1956. The brand name changed from Bavarian Beer to Bavarian's Old Style Beer was used from 1946 until 1957. A full sheet of cardboard used to create the last style of Bavarian's Old Style Beer create is displayed below.
BEER CASES - Starting in 1957
The new design using red and yellow started in 1957, which was much brighter and more eye catching than the colors on the previous cases. The slightly smaller case with "the Big Six" case was for quart bottles, and developed when Bavarian created their "New Look." A couple different angles are shown for the standard case of beer with 24 long neck 12 oz. bottles below. Evidently, there were other cases used by International Breweries Inc. (IBI) after they mergeed with Bavarian Brewing Co. in 1959, but these have not yet been obtained. Please let us know if you have images or the actual crates to donate.
