San Francisco, CA
(1933-1978)
Vancouver, WA
(1939-1985)
Azusa, CA (1949-1966)
Salt Lake City, UT
(1957-1967)
The first Lucky Lager brewery was established by the General Brewing
Corporation of San Francisco on 31 August, 1933. Their business
office was located at 369 Pine St. in downtown San Francisco. This
was also the office of Walter George Filer, one of the founders and
first Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Articles of
Incorporation list three individuals who were officers of
Consolidated Beverages, Inc., and they, plus the other three
original incorporators, remained as company Directors well into the
'50s.
The plant was being built in the Bayview neighborhood of So. San
Francisco, near Hunter's Point, at 2601 Newhall Street.
Lucky Lager Brewery, ca.1934
Construction was completed
in early March of '34, allowing brewing to commence. After three months of aging (or
lagering), the first draught (draft) beer was ready for consumption. The
bottling line was not ready by then, so the first "Lucky Lager" in bottles
did not hit the market until the 6th of July, 1934. Early in '34, when the
company was first established, General Brewing Corp. was controlled by
the majority shareholder, Coast Breweries, Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C. Yet
the Canadian owners did not install their own management team, and let
the local share holders run the company. As co-owner of the brand, Coast Breweries introduced "Lucky Lager" in
British Columbia in Dec. of 1934. The company's secretary/treasurer, Eugene S. Selvage, replaced Kerber as president
of the company, a position he would occupy for the next twenty five years.
Given time for aging, the May 10th label shown here would have been on a bottle sold in August - the second
month of packaged sales.
General Brewing Corp's first officers were: Paul C. von Gontard, pres.; Eugene S.
Selvage, sec-treas.; and Julius Kerber, brewmaster. Kerber
received his training in Munich, Germany, and for four years was head brewmaster
and production supervisor for the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. This was
followed in 1925 with the position of president and brewmaster of
the Northwest Brewing Co. of Edmonton, Alberta. Then in 1933
he was recruited by Coast Breweries' Robert Fiddes to equip and
supervise the new Lucky Lager brewery. Not only did he take charge
of the brewing, he also brought his own strain of yeast with him.
The company's president, Baron
Paul von Gontard, was the grandson of Adolphus Busch, and was no doubt
given the title of president to add prestige to to the company's
masthead, since he wasn't a stockholder (however he was a
stockholder in Coast Breweries, Ltd.). His Anheuser-Busch connection
was touted, and greatly helped promote the new enterprise. In fact
Budweiser published a letter in the major Bay Area newspapers stating
that while Paul von Gontard was related to the Busch family, there was
no connection between the General Brewing Corp. and Anheuser-Busch - as
had been rumored, nor was von Gontard a representative, or an employee
of A-B. What he was was a big game hunter, polo player, and bon vivant!
However, von Gontard only held the
title of president for a little more than a year. By late '35 he had
been replaced by their brewmaster, Kerber. Von Gontard relocated to
Albuquerque, NM in 1937. In May of that year he raised money to purchase
the struggling start-up, Southwestern Brewery Co., and with the help of
brewmaster, Max Leischner, opened the plant as the Rio Grande Brewing
Co. By May of '39, the company was bankrupt. Apparently the Baron was
more of a socialite than a businessman.
Kerber's tenure as president
and general manager was also brief. In January of 1936, after less than
a year in the leadership position, he unexpectedly died. But not before
he formulated an English or Canadian style "true ale" for Lucky
Lager.
In early 1939, the Canadian owners, Coast Breweries, Ltd.,
reorganized the Interstate Brewery Co., and the General Brewing Company
as a cooperative. They then licensed Interstate to brew and distribute
Lucky Lager in WA, OR,
ID, and Alaska, relieving the San Francisco branch of shipping Lucky
Lager north. Each brewery was to continue operating independently,
neither sharing advertising nor labeling.
On the 7th of Jan.,
1949, General Brewing Corporation's Board of Directors voted to change
the name of the company to the Lucky Lager Brewing Co.
After WWII,
Lucky Lager became the best selling beer in California, so the company
decided to build a plant in southern California near Los Angeles. They found a suitable
site in the small town of Azusa, and by May of '49 the
new plant commenced brewing.
Lucky Lager of Azusa
(1949-1966)
Rather than shipping increasing amounts of beer to the growing
population of Southern California, the company chose to build a plant
there. They found a 37 acre walnut orchard on the outskirts of Azusa, 25
mi. east of Los Angeles, that proved a suitable site. Construction was
completed in May of '49, and by August the first Lucky Lager brewed in
So. California was on sale.
The Azusa plant would serve the Southern Division, handling sales to Southern
California, Southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas.
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All contents including images are copyright by BreweryGems.comBy the late '40s, Lucky Lager was leading the state in sales. They had
surpassed the former top selling Acme Beer in part due to the poor
reputation earned by
Acme due to "skunky" beer
sent to the troops during the war in the Pacific.
Lucky Lager's Azusa plant
ca.1960
Lucky Lager of Salt Lake City, UT
(1957-1967)
Lucky Lager Brewery, Salt Lake City ca.1957
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