The Acme Brewery of San Francisco was erected after the earthquake of 1906, as a branch of Leopold Schmidt's Olympia Brewing Co. The aftermath of the quake left the city with few operating breweries, and as a result a $1,000,000 order was placed with Schmidt's Bellingham Bay Brewery (and probably a like order with Olympia) for beer to be shipped to the city. This was the impetus for Schmidt to make a larger presence in the SF market. Olymbia Beer Co. letterhead, c.1906 - image

The Olympia trade mark claim had been filed in June 1904, and he had already established the Olympia Beer Company, a SF agency that bottled and handled beer distribution for California, Nevada, and Arizona. Gus Harris was president of the agency.

There was also an Agency across the Bay in Oakland, operated first by the Tillman & Welander Co., and next by Herman C. Kattenhorn. Through the use of agents to bottle both Olympia and Acme, the firm could erect a new brewery in the place of the bottling plant - a logical means for meeting the growing demand.

Leopold's nephew, Fritz Reither, was foreman of the bottling operation until it was converted to offices for the new Acme brewery, being built on the adjacent property at 1401 Sansome. Bottling was then contracted out to Fauser's Bottling Works, until 1911 when a new bottling department was added. This was the same arrangement made the Bellingham Bay Brewery. Kegs of beer were shipped to the city and bottled by D. Meinke until 1910 when 3-B came under new management.
In 1906, Wm. Schuldt was secretary for Olympia's Oregon plant, the Salem Brewery Ass'n. It appears that Leopold brought him to California to oversee construction of the new plant which would cost about $100,000. The Acme Brewery was incorporated on 11 April 1907 with Leopold F. Schmidt, president; William Schuldt, secretary and manager; and Jacob P. Rettenmayer - treasurer.

Jacob Paul Rettenmayer was born 29 June 1881 in Germany and immigrated in 1901. After only six years in America, JP is a principal in the new brewery. Presumably he became a stockholder by accepting equity in the new company as payment for his position as Acme Brewing Co. stein by Mettlach, c.1907 - image production supervisor.

As a trained brewmaster, JP soon took charge of all plant operations. The 1909 the City Directory shows JP Rettenmayer as president & manager of the brewery, with Edmund E. Frederick, secretary.

On 29 Nov 1917, Leopold's only daughter, Philippine, and JP are married.

See biography: J. P. Rettenmayer.

Another early promotional piece is Acme's first stein, a Mettlach (right),
c. 1907, made in Germany by Villory & Bosh. It was presented to stockholders, dignitaries, and major accounts. These were also given out as premiums for larger purchases.

While the Acme Brewery was technically a branch of the Olympia Brewing Co., it did not produce Olympia Beer. Due to the difference in water quality the brew masters could never brew a lager that equaled that of the Tumwater Plant. Nor was Olympia Beer ever brewed in the Bellingham, Salem, or Port Townsend plants for the same reason.

Olympia Beer ad SF c.1905 - image
Olympia Beer ad Apr. 1905

Acme's brands were: Acme Beer, Acme Lager, Acme Bock, Old Bohemian, and Franciscaner Beer.

For the first seven years, the symbol for Acme Beer was the female figure of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. She can be seen on the 1911 letterhead (top), in an early ad on a label, and on an enamel sign (below). The sign was originally affixed to Heinhold's First & Last Chance Saloon, across the Bay in Oakland on what is now known as Jack London Square. The ad was published in July of 1911 and announced Acme's new bottling department.

This labeled bottle (center above) was filled by the new bottling department. Initially, Acme contracted the services of outside bottlers, having no bottling capabilities of their own. A SF City guide shows an ad for Acme listing its bottling works at 162 Guererro. That was the address for John Fauser's Phoenix Bottling Works. Fauser was Acme's sole agent, and they bottled "Acme" and "Franciscaner" beers until 15 May 1911, when Acme installed a bottling line.

Acme issued numerous advertising pieces in the '30s & '40s, however very few items have survived from the 13 year period prior to Prohibition. The famous "Acme stein-girl" beer label (below) was introduced in 1914. This familiar image was used prior to Prohibition, through Prohibition on Acme's low alcohol Light Beer, and remained as the symbol of Acme upon Repeal.

Sometime in 1914 the new label (above) depicting the famous "stein-girl" was introduced. The label was unusual in that it had none of the required legalize spelled out. Instead all of that required information was printed on a label affixed to the back of the bottle. I suppose they didn't want to compromise the artistic integrity of their new design. An example of one of theses labeled bottles (below) shows a neck label which had "ACME" with the signature "JP Rettenmayer" and "Brew Master" as well as "net contents 1 pt. 5 fluid oz."
Strangely the bottle has the ceramic swing stopper on a bottle made for the crimp on crown cap. Perhaps the folks in S.F. liked the ability to re-seal the bottle if they didn't finish their beer?

bottle, c.1914

neck label

rear label

When Washington and Oregon voted for statewide prohibition, brewers were given one year to sell their stocks and shut down operations by the 1 Jan 1916 deadline. National prohibition was to occur four years later, but many didn't think that would happen. Consequently, Olympia's beer production was shifted to the Acme plant in California. Olympia's Bellingham Bay Brewery was closed and its equipment shipped to San Francisco. Its Port Townsend Brewery was also closed, but the Tumwater and Salem plants operated for a short time by manufacturing fruit beverages and near-beer.

California Brewing Association

The Acme Brewing Company became an integral part of the California Brewing Association, which was incorporated on 17 January 1917. This was a co-operative venture to give the participants more power in buying and selling. The Ass'n. was to have no paid-in capital stock, and profits were to be distributed on the basis of business prior to the consolidation. The members expectations were that by buying and selling in bulk they could materially reduce expenses. The combine was formed from six companies: Acme, at Sansome & Greenwich; the National Brewing Co., at Fulton & Webster; the Broadway Brewing Co., at 19th & Treat; the Claus Wreden Brewing Co., at Lombard & Taylor; the Union Brewing & Malting Co., at 18th & Florida; and the Henry Weinhard Agency [of Portland, Ore.] located at 1255 Harrison, between 8th & 9th. Only two of the breweries continued as plants of the California Brewing Association: the Acme Brewery [Acme Plant], and the National Brewery [Fulton Plant]. All of the other plants ceased production and closed, but their parent companies continued to operate until they were all were forced out of business by Prohibition in 1920.

At this time the 1914 label (above) was also updated to reflect the new corporate structure, and to address social issues of the time. With the war in Europe, a strong anti-German sentiment was sweeping America. Consequently, Acme replaced the German, tri-color, shield with an ABC monogram, and replaced all German text with English. Above the new monogram was: "A Healthful Beverage for the Home" and the middle banner now proclaimed: "The joyful temperance of Acme is expressed on every occasion." and "Good Old Acme - pleasing to the taste - ideal for digestion - cheering to the spirit." These slogans were designed to appease the prohibitionists and attempt to distance beer from the liquor industry, but it didn't help.

Prior to Prohibition Acme did not appear to produce many promotional advertising pieces. Upon acquiring the National Brewery, Acme adopted that brewery's use of western themes (see tray at right). This is a full size "stock" tray, and I know of no other Acme beer trays. A San Francisco collector has duplicate Vienna Art plates with Acme on the front and advertising on the reverse, with one advertising "John Fauser, Acme agent and bottler, Guerrero St." and the other has "Acme Brewing Co. 1401 Sansome St., San Francisco." There are also identical images on trade cards from both Acme & National which depicts a Pony Express rider appearing to burst through the card's surface. National used this same graphic on an oval beer tray.

Acme Brewing Co. beer stein c.1910 - image

Marketing during this period attempted to distance Acme from prohibition forces, and specifically the Anti-Saloon League, by referring to their beer as a "A Healthful Beverage for the Home" (see mug at left). Another slogan was "Good Old Acme - pleasing to the taste - ideal for indigestion - cheering to the spirit." Other brewers attempted the same marketing strategy but failed in their efforts to characterize beer as a healthful beverage, as opposed to an intoxicating drink. On 16 Jan. 1920, the 18th Amendment became law, and beer was prohibited along with all of the other alcoholic beverages.

The stein at left is for sale on BreweryGems

Prohibition

On 8 January, 1920, just eight days prior to Prohibition was to take effect, the California Brewing Association reorganized as the Cereal Products Refining Corporation. Through all of Prohibition the National Plant was operating under that name. The 1922 SF City directory lists Jacob P. Rettenmayer as president of Cereal Products. They produced low alcohol beers, "Acme Light" and "Old Bohemian Brew," as well as Cerex malt syrup, Peerless Yeast, and Peerless Vinegar.

In September of 1921, the Acme plant, on Sansome Street, became the Acme Bottling Co., (dba) the California Bottling Association. This was a division of the Cereal Products Refining Corp., and capitalized at $100,000. It was organized by J.P. Rettenmayer, S.H. Herold, and C.F. Hanson. Here they began manufacturing Light Acme, "a delightful beverage - containing less than ½ of 1% alcohol." The new, near beer, label (© 1920) was a slight variation of their Acme Beer label that was altered when the California Brewing Assn. was formed in 1917, and the German text removed.

By 1924 they had patented their brewing process for "Acme Brew" (the registered name for their near-beer) which they were producing at the Fulton Street plant - the Cereal Products Refining Corporation.

In 1929, the Merchants Ice & Cold Storage Co., purchased 20% of the Acme Brewing Co. (still dba as Cereal Products Refining Corp,) and obtained control of the Sansome Street plant. In May of '33 - a month after Repeal - the Sansome plant was leased to a group who re-opened it as the Globe Brewing Company. Globe only operated it for five years, closing in 1938.

By 1933 the Fulton plant's proprietor was Samuel Clarke. After Repeal Acme Breweries built a new bottling plant adjacent to the old National site at Fulton & Webster. The new plant was described by architects and designers as "one of the worlds most beautiful industrial buildings." However, the Schmidt family was no longer involved with brewing in San Francisco. Nor was Leopold Schmidt's son-in-law, JP Rettenmayer. At the time of JP's death (24 Feb. 1937) he was the president & manager of the Salinas Brewing and Ice Company.

Repeal

First Acme beer ad for Repeal c.1933 - image
With Repeal eminent, the newly re-organized California Brewing Ass'n. chose to be proactive in promoting beer sales. They were the first brewery to start newspaper advertising of beer, even before Repeal became an actual fact. The ad shown at right is one of the ads that set the whole west coast talking about Acme, weeks before Prohibition was ended.

They ultimately became the most prolific and consistent brewery advertiser in newspapers. They then expanded their media blitz through numerous radio spots and innovative billboard advertising. These aggressive and on-going campaigns made Acme the most famous, and popular brand of beer in the West.

"Acme - Since 1860"

Post-prohibition advertising by Acme boasted of a long tradition of brewing, and advertising from the '40s claimed "Fine Beer Since 1860" (see coaster - below). The assumption made by many was that Acme had been around since then, but the ads didn't actually say that, just implied as much. This 1860 reference acknowledges the family tradition of brewing brought to the Company by its management. This heritage rests on three brewing families: Adams, Schuster, and Clarke. These families were part of the early brewing industry in San Francisco and continued into the '40s. Both the Adams and Schuster families were part of the pre-Prohibition California Brewing Association, and continued to retain interests in the organization. The Clarke family may too have had financial interests, since they were all part of the post Prohibition re-birth of Acme.

Adams

Letterhead for Broadway Brewery, San Francisco - image

Johanas Adami [Adams] and family emigrated from Germany in 1860 to San Francisco and formed a brewery partnership. Johanas' son, Jacob Adams, formally established the Broadway Brewery at 637 Broadway and Stockton St. in 1874.

The brewery burned down in 1885, but was rebuilt at a new location on the corner of Treat Ave. & 19th St. Jacob died in 1909 and his son George C. Adams became president of the brewery. In 1916 another son, William F. Adams, became one of the directors of the newly formed California Brewing Association.

During Prohibition William was working at Acme's Fulton plant, (dba) the Cereal Products Refining Corporation, with JP Rettenmayer and Karl Schuster. In the "30s & '40s William held the position of Secretary for Acme Breweries in both SF and LA. He and his brother Edward J. Adams were Acme shareholders and also ran Acme's Oakland distribution depot.

Schuster

Frederick Schuster emigrated from the Alsace upon hearing of the California gold rush and made his way to the placer mines in Plumas County.

In the early 1850s he started a family and failing to strike it rich, he established a small steam beer plant, one of the first in California. The Pacific Coast Directory for 1867 lists the La Porte Brewery, F. Schuster, proprietor. When the placer mines played out Frederick relocated to San Francisco, and in 1870 he purchased the American Railroad Brewery. When Frederick died, his son Frederick Paul Schuster took control of the Brewery, and in 1902 he merged it with the Union Brewing & Malting Company. He then became the vice president of the Union Brewery.

Frederick Paul's son, Karl F. Schuster, continued the family tradition in brewing. In 1908 he started as an apprentice, drawing his first pay check from the Union Brewery, which had abandoned the manufacture of steam beer and entered the lager beer field in 1903. While Karl was learning all aspects of the trade, the brewing industry in San Francisco was undergoing many changes - in part from the effects of the '06 earthquake, but also from the influx of brewers escaping early Prohibition in their home states.

In 1909 Union Brewing & Malting annexed the Wunder Brewing Co. by purchase, paving the way to a merger that would solidify its position. In 1916 the Union Brewery joined five other breweries in the formation of the California Brewing Ass'n., with Frederick P. Schuster subsequently named one of the Association's directors.

Frederick's son Karl, returning from WWI and facing the demise of his industry from Prohibition, took a position as assistant to Master Brewer Anton Dolenz at the Association's Fulton plant. During this period with the Cereal Products Refining Corporation he worked with William Adams and JP Rettenmayer, and later assumed the position of plant superintendent.

By Repeal in 1933 Karl had moved up high enough in the company that in 1934, with the death of Samuel Clarke, the Board of Directors elected Karl F. Schuster president and general manager.

Clarke

Samuel A. Clarke ran the firm's Peerless Yeast operation at the Association's Fulton plant during Prohibition, and in 1925 assumed the Acme presidency. Samuel died on March 15,1934, just 22 days shy of the first anniversary of Repeal. However, his son too continued the family tradition. Robert A. Clarke held the position of 2nd Vice-President, and that of Director of Research, for Acme Breweries, San Francisco.

I have yet to find their connection to the pre-Prohibition brewing industry.

Acme Lager beer label c.1933

National Beer label from Acme - image

From 1933 to 1936 the Fulton & Webster St. plant continued to operate as the Cereal Products Refining Corporation. They adopted the pre-prohibition label from 1914 for their flagship brand.

Beginning in 1936 the San Francisco labels showed the company name as Acme Breweries. However, Acme's corporate name was actually the California Brewing Association. Acme Englishtown Ale label from LA, c. 1939 - image

Acme Englishtown Ale label from LA, c. 1939 - image

In partnership with its Southern California agent, Bohemian Distributors, Acme built a plant in Los Angeles (Vernon) at 2080 East 49th St. This plant operated from 1935-1954 as the Acme Brewing Co. (see label right) until its purchase by a NY brewery.

The National label (above- right) is a 1933 version of the pre-Prohibition label from the National Brewing Company, which joined the California Brewing Association in 1916. Upon Repeal the Ass'n. re-introduced this familiar San Francisco brand to help recapture as much of the newly opened market as possible. The beer was selling three for a quarter. However, the Ass'n. soon dropped the National label in order to focus all their marketing efforts in the promotion of a single brand - Acme Beer.

The Cascade label (below) is a 1933 prototype from Acme's SF plant, which was (dba) the Cereal Products Refining Corporation from the onset of Prohibition in 1920, until 1936.

Cascade Beer was a brand of the Union Brewing & Malting Company which joined the California Brewing Association in 1916. The Union brewery used the graphics for this label on their pre-prohibition beer. Then during Prohibition the Cereal Products Refining Corp. produced a Cascade Near Beer using the same label.
Like the National brand (above) Cascade enjoyed limited release to appeal to the pre-Prohibition patrons who may have had some brand loyalty. However, the decision was made to go with the Acme brand exclusively, and Cascade, like National was dropped.

Warning to Collectors - Thousands of these Cascade labels have recently been found, which has seriously deflated their value.

National Beer poster - image

Acme's "Lady in Red" by Petty - image
In the mid '30s Acme came up with a brilliant marketing concept directed at an untapped market - women. It advertised its beer as "Dietetically Non-Fattening," and following the asterisks, the fine print says: "Relatively so, compared with other foods."

This caused the Federal Trade Commission, who was devoted to fair practices in advertising, to move against Acme Breweries. However, it took until 1951 for the Commission's decision that the words "Acme beer contains no fattening substances and will not increase consumer's weight" was still considered a "deceptive nutritional claim," so Acme dropped the advertising campaign, but by then they had doubled their capacity and captured nearly 50% of the California beer market.

Acme back-bar chalk by Petty - image
During this period Acme commissioned George Petty (who had just left Esquire magazine) to paint three lithesome gals for the 1940 campaign. These images were utilized in a number of different formats. They had a 33" wide, a 26" wide (below), framed image for wall hanging, a 12" wide, framed version on an easel for back-bar display, and a cutout window card that was 42" long and easel mounted for window displays.

The Petty cowgirl (below) was a very popular image - given Acme's fondness for western themes. The cowgirl image was also used on an aluminum serving tray and for this back-bar chalk figurine (right).

Acme also used the artist, Alberto Vargas for some of their promotional material after he left Esquire.

Alberto Vargas ad for Acme beer

The War Years

With the outbreak of WWII citizens and business were called upon to conserve materials needed for the war effort. Consequently there was a shortage of materials required for the brewing and packaging beer, and even caps were hard to come by. Acme aided conservation by promoting its quarter gallon, Victory size bottle which would use one cap instead of three - "Victory Size for the Economy-Wise." The Lever type "Kork-N-Seal" closure (right), was especially handy for resealing the quarter gallon "Victory" or "Ecomomy" size bottles.

Patriotism was also a popular promotion theme. Acme actively encouraged numerous means to aid the war effort. They advocated giving blood; planting Victory gardens; writing to the troops; recycling cooking grease to your butcher; and other economizing activities. At the close of each ad came the caption: "Acme...the beer with the high I.Q. (It Quenches). Buy Another Bond."

Acme Beer coaster c.1940 - image
Coaster from San Francisco, c. 1942

Beer coaster from Acme's Hawaiian agent - image
Coaster from Acme's Hawaiian distributor, c. 1945

Acme Beer ad from WWII - image

POST-WAR

At the end of the war, Acme resumed its heavy advertising and in 1945 commissioned Claude Buck (1890-1974) to paint an original picture that alluded to Acme's long tradition of brewing, and to its native California origins, attempting to promote allegiance to a local brand over the nationals.

The painting was titled "The Quest for Fortune" and was distributed heavily to taverns and grocers. The painting was printed on cardboard, framed without glass, and had a brass title name plate affixed to the frame. Since this piece appeared to be more a work of art than a beer ad, many survived. However, those that were displayed in taverns tend to be darkened from cigarette smoke since there was no glass to protect the surface.

Acme Beer ft cans - image Sales were slipping in the late '40s and the company updated its packaging, and continued with their heavy advertising, but they were having difficulty living down their reputation for making bad beer during the war. Their brewmaster, Anton Dolenz, tried to compensate for the shortage of rationed brewing ingrediants by using Manioca meal (also called Cassava), as a cost saving adjunct. Consumed at the proper temperature the beer must have tasted alright, but the troops in the Pacific often lacked the capability to properly chill the beer. This resulted in what they described as "skunky" brew, and when they returned home they avoided Acme.

In 1950 the company dropped their familiar black beer can (left) in favor of one that looked like a glass of beer. They renamed it "Acme Gold Label."

In 1951, the company introduced a new brand specifically targeting the male consumer - "Bull Dog Beer." The slogan was: "Brewed to a Man's Taste!" The new brand did surprisingly well and gave the company some needed revitalization. To follow up on their success they quickly added to their lien-up, a "Bull Dog Ale" ("A Pip of a Nip in Every Sip"), and "Bull Dog Extra Stout Malt liquor."

The following year they hired a quintessential "alpha male" to promote the brand - previous world heavyweight champion, Jack Dempsey. This was quite a departure for Acme since they had been successfully wooing the female demographic since 1933.

Jack Dempsey and Bull Dog Beer mascot - photo

Bull Dog Lager Beer ad - image

However, the national breweries were on the move, and regional breweries were losing market share. Many struggling breweries couldn't compete during the price wars of the mid-fifties and were bought out by the nationals or closed.

In January of 1954, both the LA & SF plants were sold to the Liebmann Breweries of NY, who was making Acme Gold Label Beet ft can - image an attempt to go national. Liebmann operated the LA plant for three years as the Reingold Brewing Co. Then in 1957 they then sold it to the Theo. Hamm Brewing Co. who had a 15 year run, closing the plant in 1972.

The SF plant was operated as the California Brewing Co. from '54 to '58, and it continued producing "Acme Gold Label" (at right) and the "Bull Dog" brands. In 1958, Liebmann gave up its national bid and closed the plant for good.

When Liebmann Breweries closed the California Brewing Co., Acme's LA agents and business partners, the Bohemian Distribution Company, purchased the rights to the "Acme" and "Bull Dog" brands, and from 1959 to 1968 Acme & Bull Dog was being produced for Bohemian by the Grace Brewing Company of Santa Rosa, CA.

Then eight years later, in 1975, the Acme brand with its 1933 graphics, was resurrected as a contract beer. It was produced, first by the General Brewing Co. in San Francisco, and then the following year Blitz-Weinhard of Portland took over the contract. By 1979 the brand was gone only to be resurrected again in 1987 with the establishment of the Xcelsior Brewery of Santa Rosa, CA. However, in a matter of only two years Xcelsior's Acme was no more.

Acme Beer & Ale, lighted counter sign - image
Back- bar "Halo light", c.1940, by Price Brothers

Acme Lager, mini beer bottle - image
Miniature Salt, c.1936

Acme Gold Label Beer foil sticker - image
Heavy gold foil window display, c.1953

Other Acme Breweries

While in no way related to the California Acme, the name has been used by three other brewing companies. Prior to prohibition there was an Acme Brewing Company in Macon, GA [1893-1916], and one in Bentleyville, PA [1907-1920]. Then after prohibition there was an Acme Brewing Co. in Joliet, IL [1933-1939].

Acme Brewery Today

Currently the Fulton St. plant, of the old Acme Breweries, houses the Center for African and African American Art and Culture. In what was originally the corporate office and tasting room of the former Brewery, is a secco mural triptych depicting the cultivation of hops and the production of beer. The mural was painted in 1935 by Jose Moya del Pino, whose work also appears at Coit Tower.

Acme Lives!

The North Coast Brewing Company of Fort Bragg, CA now owns the rights to the Acme brand, and has been doing it proud since 1996.

The North Coast brewery is certainly worth a visit; it was recently named "One of the worlds 10 Best Breweries in the World" by the Testing Institutes of Chicago.

Acme Collectibles For Sale

	Pre-prohibition stein - See: Mugs & Steins
	This display item, plus a "Kork-n-Seal" bottle cap, a can, a cap lifter, and a miniature beer bottle - See: Misc.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Bernice Barnes, an Adams family member who supplied the Broadway Brewery letterhead and family history.
Also to Carol Donnett-Hertle, a Schuster family member who supplied not only family history, but also great Acme history as well.
A special thanks to Dr. Thomas Jacobs, noted San Francisco brewery historian and collector, who provided the names and dates of pre-prohibition personnel at Acme, as well as the opportunity to photograph the early label and porcelain sign.

History of the Acme Brewing Company (1906-1954)