Angeles Brewing & Malting Co. (1901-1913)
and its successor:
Angeles Brewing Co. (1913-1915)

Not long after the projected May '02 date, Oettinger had "Angeles Beer" on the market. They sold keg beer locally and shipped it to nearby 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.

As can be seen in the photo (above), the brewery was rather modest. It had only a 75-barrel kettle which, given the two brews per day, they figured an annual capacity of only 3,000 barrels. Which was appropriate since they had little cellar storage space. Unlike most breweries that had more than one brew kettle, they concentrated on a single product, "Angeles Beer" - a light, pilsner-style lager. Although they did produce a seasonal "Angeles Bock Beer" for release in the Spring - that may not have happened until they had enlarged the plant in 1913.

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, Adolph Oettinger¹ took another position with an Eastern brewery. Perhaps he saw the handwriting-on-the-wall. He was replaced by, Jacob Leufkens², a brewmaster who had been with the Claussen Brewing Assn. since March of 1901. Another brewmaster who joined the team in early 1907 was Ernest Morris Rosauer, a recent graduate of the Whal-Heinus Institute in Chicago. Rosauer stayed with the company until late 1911, when he left for Wallace, Idaho's Sunset Brewing Co.

The Angeles Brewery had been shipping their bottled beer to Seattle and around the Puget Sound, but transportation costs were too high for their low margin product. So, in late 1907, they contracted with an outside bottler and also purchased the 94 ft. steamship, Albion. This small freighter allowed the brewery to economically transport full kegs of beer to their Seattle bottler, and to return empty kegs for refilling. It also served as a transport of raw materials for brewing, plus the ability to take on extra cargo and passengers for added revenue.

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.

For additional revenue, the brewery agreed to produce a beer for their Seattle bottler, J.G. Fox & Co.  For the previous four years, Bohemian Beer had been produced for Fox by Seattle Brewing & Malting. Now Angeles B&M would provide this contract brew, and Fox would do their bottling and distribution for the Seattle market. The label at the top of the page is the result of this arrangement which lasted until 1915.

The brewery had heavy 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).
 

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: 

"Port Angeles -- The Angeles Brewing & Malting Company, operating a brewery in this city and the steamer Albion between this point and Seattle has been placed in the hands of the receiver by the superior court. J. F. Janacke³ was named as receiver. The action was taken upon the application of F. A. Jensen who has been acting as president and manager of the company."

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. 

Steamship Albion, Aug. 1910

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 someday 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 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.