On the 2nd of March, 1899, the Olympia Brewing Co. filed articles of incorporation with the Montana secretary of state. Silven Hughes, John N. Knoch and John C. Hogl, all of Butte, were the incorporators, with a capital of $10,000. However, it appears that the Centennial Brewing Co. was a partner in organizing this new brewery. On the 9th of February, the month prior to Olympia's establishment, the Butte Weekly Miner reported:
Mueller was president of the Centennial Brewing Co., and Best was vice-president. Louis Best was from the Best family of Milwaukee - owners of Pabst Brewing. Mueller and Best also established the Billings Brewing Co. at about the same time. Upon completion of the Olympia
brewery, Silven Hughes became manager, with J. N. Knoch and J. C. Hogl
also named as officers of the company. The location of the plant was
given as the W. side of Harrison Ave. nr. Silver Bow Creek. The brewery was named after the the Cruiser, USS Olympia, made famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War in 1898. The company issued a beer glass using the cruiser's image as their logo.
Their was no connection to Leopold Schmidt,
founder of both the Centennial Brewery of Butte, and the Olympia
Brewing Co. of Tumwater, Wash.
The president of the re-organized company was Centennial's secretary/treasurer, Louis P. Best. However, it was Gustave Nickel, appointed vice-president and manager, who actually supervised the plant. Alfred Seadorf was named secretary/ treasurer of Olympia. By now a street had been completed
next to the plant and it was named Olympia Avenue. Their new address was
now Harrison Ave. at NW corner of Olympia Ave. Louis Best's stint as Olympia's president was cut short when, on 29 Jan. 1902, he unexpectedly died after a mere 10 day illness. He was only 48. Henry Mueller, Centennial's president, then assumed the position of president & treasurer of Olympia, with Julius A. Stirn, secretary. Nickel was still v-p and manager, but the brewing was under the watchful eye of Gustav Hodel¹ - a native of Baden, Germany. Gus had transferred from the Billings Brewing Company, which was also owned by Mueller. The young brewer had worked at the Silver Bow and Centennial breweries before earning his masterbrewer's credentials in early 1900. By 1904, Gus would return to Centennial to assume the position of plant superintendent. During Gus' tenure he introduced a beer he called "Tannhauser" - a name familiar to the German population for whom it was being marketed. Tannhauser was the world famous opera written in 1845 by German composer, Richard Wagner. Hodel and Nickel supervised an expansion project in 1902, which doubled the plant's output to 50 barrels per day. The following year saw another a change in management.
The Sept. 19, 1903, issue of the Anaconda Standard reported:
The previous account made it sound that Collins' only business experience was as a wholesaler, however he did have brewing interests prior to taking over Olympia. A work published in 1903, titled One Hundred Years of Brewing, wrote of Henry Muntzer's Butte Brewing Company:
In the March 30, 1911, obituary for James Collins, the Anaconda Standard confirmed that prior to his Liquor business, he partnered with M. Donahue to obtain interest in Muntzer's Butte Brewing Co., which he pursued for a number of years. The article continued:
Assisting him in this endeavor was brewmaster, John Weidenfeller, who took the position vacated by Gustave Hodel (John's brother-in-law) upon Gus' return to Centennial. Weidenfeller was accompanied by his brother Joseph. The brothers had been brewers at the Centennial plant and came on-board when J. V. Collins took over. Another of the Weidenfeller brothers also came to work at Olympia. Their youngest brother, Adam, is listed in the 1909 Butte City Directory as the brewery's chief engineer. As Collins' obit stated, under his stewardship the business "brightened" - but didn't indicate to what degree! He tried with a new beer for their non-Germanic patrons called "Exquisite" - with the "Most Delicious Piquant Flavor." The miners must have said: "What's a piquant?" And it was certainly wishful thinking to claim that their beer "has never been equaled in the West, nor surpassed in the East." However, they must have been doing well enough to warrant further expansion. As the 1909 ad (below) points out - the brewery installed a state-of-the-art bottling works. |
December 1909 newspaper ad
In 1939, Pabst introduced an Andeker Beer. They couldn't call it Andechser since the brand was still in use by the monks. The brand was soon dropped but was re-introduced in June of 1972, as their premium beer. It was discontinued in 1984. Olympia's choice for the design of their "Exquisit Brew" followed the practice adopted by many brewers. In an effort to combat the dominance of Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brand, they designed labels that mimicked the Budweiser label. What made Olympia's label a more deliberate attempt to deceive was the choice of "Exquisit" as the brand name, since Anheuser-Busch had an "Exquisite" brand of beer. Just a coincidence?
In 1911, Centennial re-organized their company and merged with the Olympia Brewing Co. They then closed the Olympia plant. This action, resulting in the sudden demise of the Olympia Brewing Company, seems to coincide with the death of the company's president, and driving force, James V. Collins. Like the sudden death of the company's first president, Louis Best, nearly 10 years prior, Collins succumbed on 29 March, 1911, after only a three days' illness. He was 49 - one year older than Best!
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