Angeles Brewing & Malting Co. (1901-1913)
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Unfortunately, an accident did occur. On 8 April, 1902, Col. Coolican unexpectedly died in Chicago, where just a week prior he had met with St. Louis investors for the purpose of erecting manufacturing enterprises in Port Angeles. At the time of Collican's death the Angeles brewery building was nearing completion, with machinery in Seattle awaiting transport to Port Angeles. On 20 April, 1902, the Seattle Times reported:
The president of the new company was Charles H. Hirsch of Chicago, and the brewmaster was Adolph Oettinger, also of Chicago. Director and secretary of the company was Adolph Linick, headquartered in Chicago. |
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Not long after the projected May '02 date, Oettinger had
"Angeles Beer" on the market. They sold keg beer locally
and shipped it to near-by Port Townsend, which had its
own brewery, and across the
Straights of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, B.C. They also
bottled their own beer for their distribution, but used
a bottler/distributor in Seattle to better effect an
entry
into that important market.
The brewery had serious competition in the Seattle
market which prevented them from becoming a serious
contender. However, they did get some welcome exposure
with the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. At that
illustrious event they won a Gold Medal for their beer,
and issued an etched glass heralding that
accomplishment, shown below (right).
The tip tray (below-left) has the date of the Expo
and shows the A-Y-P official flag. A post card (below-right) from
the Expo depicts the same flags flying over one of
the Exhibit halls.
What notoriety they gained from their Gold
Medal apparently wasn't enough to improve their
fortunes. Perhaps it's because they weren't the only
brewery to win high honors. Both the
Claussen Brewing Assn.
and Seattle Brewing & Malting
also brought home a Gold Medal.
By 1907, the company had added capacity and was now
capable of producing 6,000 barrels/yr.
Unfortunately, in '07, their first brewmaster and plant manager, Oettinger
The
company had been shipping their product to Seattle
and around the Puget Sound, but transportation cost
were too high for their low margin product. To that
end, they purchased the 94 ft. steamship Albion -
in late 1907. The small freighter allowed the
brewery to more economically transport full kegs of
beer to
They
now used the Albion for regularly scheduled
deliveries of their beer, bottled at the brewery, and
draught beer in kegs, to cities on the upper Puget
Sound, such as Port Townsend,
Everett, Victoria, B.C., and Bellingham (see 1907 ad
- right). |
letterhead
dated Oct. 19, 1909
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However, in spite of their best efforts the company was still struggling to pay its debts. On April 21st, 1910, the Seattle Daily News reported:
Still more troubles plagued the company. On 30 May, 1910, the Albion collided in the fog with the power schooner Pilot, who limped to port in a sinking condition. Then three months later, on August 3rd, the Albion collided with the larger steamship Chippewa, sustaining major damage. Adding to the problem was the fact that the Albion was illegally carrying crates of dynamite along with passengers. Luckily there was no explosion or injuries, but the company was hit with a heavy fine. The brewery continued to operate with bankruptcy protection, and in August of 1911, receiver, Janacke stated that..."The brewery is doing well under the receivership and some day will be capable of paying every cent of its indebtedness. It was hampered by hard times, but under the receivership has made a material gain." About this time George Wilhelm, a brewer from the Shasta Brewery in Redding, CA, joined the team of brewers under Leufkens. When Leufkens became ill, Wilhelm assumed the duties of brewmaster. He would later own and operate the Angeles Ice & Soda Works. The "hard times" alluded to by Janecke would have to include the passage of the "local option". This was anti-saloon legislation that which allowed communities to vote to become "dry" effective Jan. 1, 1911. Unfortunately, the cities of Everett (pop. 25,000) and Bellingham (45,000) both voted dry, resulting in the loss of two important markets for the brewery, which had increased capacity to 12,000 barrels/yr. Due to the effects of numerous saloons shutting down, and stiff competition in Seattle, the company did not work its way out of bankruptcy, and on 30 April, 1913, controlling interest in the Angeles Brewing & Malting Co. was sold to a group of Seattle investors for $65,000. |
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Angeles Brewing Co. (1913-1915)
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The June 6, 1913 edition of the Seattle Daily Times reported:
When the plant opened in 1902, Port Angeles had a population of only 2,300. By 1913, the population had almost doubled and the city limits now encompassed the brewery. The location of the new Angeles Brewing Co. was now given as 3rd. and Tumwater Sts. A month after reorganization of the company the July 9 edition of the Seattle Daily Times reported that new investment capital, of approximately $50,000 had been raised for enlargement of the Port Angeles plant, with new machinery and material being shipped from Seattle. The article also stated: "The plant has been extended from 12,000 to 20,000 capacity per year and with the completion of new storage tanks at Port Angeles the capacity will shortly be doubled." A month later, an August 1913 ad proclaimed:
The "less alcohol" and "Family Trade" comments were a ploy used by virtually all of the brewers of the day to mollify the Temperance and Anti-Saloon activists, in an attempt to define beer as a beverage of moderation. Another ploy by brewers was to characterize their products as healthful tonics. This is evident in the April 1914 ad for "Angeles Bock Beer" (shown - right). While they tried to position themselves as brewers of a temperance beverage, the pressures of the Prohibition movement continued to grow, and further erode their income. In August, the company announced: "Big Reduction In Price of Famous Angeles Beer -- Beginning September 1, 1914, ANGELES BEER, that splendid beverage brewed from the finest Bohemian hops and the pure sparkling water of the Olympic, and containing less alcohol than other beers, will be sold at the following prices: Quart Cases - $2.25 & Pint Cases - $1.25."
In spite of their efforts to position the makers of
hard liquor as the rightful target of the Prohibitionists,
the citizens of Washington state, in Nov. 1914,
voted to abolish manufacture and sale of all
alcoholic beverages, effective 1 Jan., 1916. This
gave the brewers and distillers all of 1915 to sell
their stock and convert their plants to other
purposes. |
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FOOTNOTES: Adolph Oettinger left Port Angeles in 1907 to become brewmaster for the Bluefield Brewing Co. of Bluefield, WV. When that company closed in 1914, Oettinger took over as head brewmaster of the Duquesne Brewing Co. of Pittsburgh - a position he held until 1950. 
² Jakob Leufkens was from Straelen, Rheinpreussen (now Nordrhein-Westphalia), Germany, and attended the Lehmann Brewers' School at Worms. Upon graduating in Sept. 1895 (diploma - right), he took a position as brewer at the St. Pauli Brewery in Bremen. He died in about 1914 in Port Angeles. ³ John F. Janecke was a principal in the company, holding 260 shares of stock with a par value of $100. Fred A. Jensen, brewery superintendent, held 269 shares which, along with Janecke's, gave them controlling interest in the company. |
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