Pearl Brewing Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pearl Brewing Company | |
|---|---|
| Image:PearlLabelLogo.JPG | |
| Location | Beer: Ft. Worth, Texas Brewery: San Antonio, Texas |
| Owner | Beer: Pabst Brewing Company Brewery: Silver Ventures, Inc. |
| Year opened | 1883 |
| Active Beers | |
| Pearl | Pale Lager |
| Pearl Light | Light Pale Lager |
| Country Club | Malt Liquor |
The Pearl Brewing Company also known as the Pearl Brewery (Pearl) was an American brewery, established in 1883 in San Antonio, Texas. In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed the Pabst name. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing, on a contract basis, and closing all of its breweries. Pearl beer is still in production at Miller's Ft. Worth, Texas facility, but the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio was closed in 2001. Since then, the former brewery was purchased by Silver Ventures, Inc., which has made the property the crown jewel in revitalization efforts of northern downtown San Antonio.
[edit] History
[edit] 1800s
[edit] A brewery by any name
The site owned and operated by the Pearl Brewing Company was originally known as both the J. B. Behloradsky Brewery (1881–1883) and the City Brewery. Privately held and poorly ran for two years, the City Brewery was purchased by an investment group in 1883. The investment group was comprised of local businessmen and several moguls already involved in brewing at San Antonio's other major brewery, the Lone Star Brewing Company. Together they formed the San Antonio Brewing Company (1883-1888), and began to raise capital to fully restart and improve operations at the brewery. In 1886, after three long years, the company had secured the necessary capital and began full-time operations at the brewery again. The name San Antonio Brewing Association was used as a parent to the brewing company, since it also managed some of the founding member's other business interests. Functionally, the business structure worked, but it caused confusion with city officials, customers, and business partners; therefore, in the end, the investment group dissolved the San Antonio Brewing Company and used the San Antonio Brewing Association (1888–1918) name for all operations and business transactions. Thus, in a short seven years, the same brewery had three different names. In addition, the name City Brewery was used frequently used as well. The first logos used for the San Antonio Brewing Company/Association even featured the name City Brewery in the logo. City Brewery was carried over from the Behloradsky days and was used up till the beginning of Prohibition in 1918.
[edit] Finding a Pearl
During these name changes, the brewery found the product that would become their signature brew. Pearl Beer was formulated and first brewed in Bremen, Germany, by the Kaiser–Beck Brewery, which produces Beck's beer. Pearl beer's name came from Kaiser–Beck Brewery's brewmaster, who thought the foamy bubbles in a freshly poured glass of the brew resembled sparkling pearls. In Germany, the brew was called "Perle", which is the German word for pearl. When brought to the United States, the spelling was changed to the English version: pearl. In 1886, the first bottles and wooded kegs of American Pearl beer rolled off the line and into local tap rooms.
[edit] 1900s
[edit] Building a Texas icon
In 1902, Otto Koehler, the most recognized person in Pearl history, took the helm of the brewery, leaving his position as manager at the Lone Star Brewing Company to become president and manager of the San Antonio Brewing Association. Under Otto's leadership, the brewery set in motion strategic plans to grow in physical size as well as beer output. The San Antonio Brewing Association went from a micro-brewery that produced enough output for local residents and businesses to a strong competitor to the much larger Lone Star Brewing Company. Otto was so ingrained into the brewing business that as he switched jobs and took over the reigns of the San Antonio Brewing Association, he ensured he could monitor plant operations almost constantly. Otto was one of the first residents to build in the newly opened Laurel Heights section of San Antonio. The hill on which Otto built his home provided a clear view of the city skyline and, of course, included an unobstructed view of the San Antonio Brewing Association's City Brewery. Legend has it that by sitting on his porch, Otto could determine whether his employees were hard at work by the smoke color rising up from the brewery’s stacks.
[edit] The murder of Otto
- Section under construction.
[edit] Pre-Prohibition
After Otto's death, Otto's wife, Emma, succeeded him as the chief executive. Under Emma Koehler's direction, many of her husband’s strategic plans were either started or fulfilled. Namely, she modernized the original brew house, and by 1916 beer production capacity had significantly increased from 6,000 barrels per year in the early 1900s to over 110,000 barrels per year. With the tremendous production increase, the San Antonio Brewing Association was able to out pace the Lone Star Brewing Company to become the largest Texas brewery and the beer America most widely associated with Texas and the West.
During the early 1900s, Pearl blitzed the market with advertisement campaigns that featured their new-found "star." Unlike today, where companies use media celebrities, San Antonio Brewing Association latched on to one of the more colorful and popular law enforcement personalities of the wild, wild West. In Langtry, Texas, Judge Roy Bean declared himself the "Law West of the Pecos" and ran his court in the town's tiny U.S. Post Office and bar called the Jersey Lilly Saloon. Judge Roy Bean was as famous in the late 1800s and early 1900s as many of the motion picture stars are today. Judge Bean's favorite (and rumored only) beer in his saloon was Pearl. Seeing this as an opportunity, San Antonio Brewing Association for decades used the connection to Judge Bean and the Jersey Lilly as advertisement focal points. Later, in the 1950s, the brewery's old horse stables were converted into a hospitality room and given a Roy Bean feel to them in honor of Judge Roy Bean and his saloon. Later, in the 1970s, the stables were renovated again with the main hall renamed the Lily Langtry Room and the whole building named the Jersey Lilly. In addition, and exactly replica of Bean's saloon was build and placed on the brewery ground for use in Pearl's "Wild West Shows" and as a gift shop.
[edit] Prohibition
Before Prohibition, Texas was a hot spot for beer production. With a strong German and European influence, small and regional breweries littered the state. San Antonio enjoyed the distinction of having two of Texas’ largest breweries: Lone Star Brewery and the San Antonio Brewing Association. Prohibition, though, changed the face of brewing and forced almost every brewery out of business. When the Volstead Act and Prohibition went into effect on January 16, 1920, Lone Star Brewing Company ended sales, shut the brewery doors, and dissolved the company.
Emma Koehler vowed not to let the brewery go under. In late 1919, the San Antonio Brewing Association changed its name to Alamo Industries (1919–1921) and began operations to comply with Prohibition laws. Times were tough for the brewery and its employees, but the facility stayed open by continuing to produce a Near Beer called "La Perla", bottling soft drinks, dry cleaning, operating a small advertising sign division, running a small auto repair shop, and entering the commercial ice and creamery businesses. Being so diverse brought in cash for the company, but it also meant Alamo Foods wasn't particularly good in any one area. As a result, Alamo Foods Industries reorganized their product lines. The company changed their name to the Alamo Foods Company (1921-1933) and shifted their products toward the food specialty. The sections for auto repair, dry cleaning, and advertising were closed or sold off to third parties.
Although no solid proof exists, rumors abound that Alamo Foods used the old brewery equipment for more than "La Perla", and that, in fact, the brewery still bottled a tiny amount of the real Pearl and Texas Pride for close friends and sale on the black market. One thing is certain though, when the Blaine Act ended Prohibition at midnight on February 17, 1933, within 15 minutes, 100 trucks and 25 railroad boxcars loaded with beer rolled out of the brewery grounds.
[edit] Post-Prohibition
With the end of Prohibition, so too came the end of the Alamo Foods Company. The company went back to their prior name: San Antonio Brewing Association (1933–1952). Most believed beer production would quickly return to the levels before the 1920 ban. However, Pearl's hard times weren't over yet. In 1933, the nation was still deep in the grips of the Great Depression. Although most of the public would have loved to enjoy a Pearl, the financial situation of most made buying beer an unaffordable luxury. Through her skillful management, Emma Koehler kept the brewery afloat through the depression, selling beer to those who could afford it and continuing many of the business ventures that had carried the brewery through Prohibition.
As the Great Depression ended in the United States, world affairs worsened and spun the globe toward World War II. After almost 26 years at the helm of the San Antonio Brewing Association, Emma Koehler decided it was time to relinquish the official title. With her “retirement,” so closed an amazing chapter in the brewery's history. While it may not seem much these days, Emma’s successful management role at Pearl was a breakthrough for its day. At a time when women’s suffrage was still in it’s infancy and women didn’t yet have the right to vote, Emma Koehler led Texas’ largest brewery and one of the larger breweries in the nation.
Emma didn’t fade quietly into the history books, however. For years after her retirement she remained an important part of brewery operations. While she didn't have voting powers with the San Antonio Brewing Association, she typically had the final word on all large deals or changes. Emma’s successor depended on her heavily after the transition and during the brewery's changes to meet the effort of World War II.
[edit] The return of Otto Koehler
Otto and Emma Koehler's lives were filled with helping others and improving the community through various organizations and corporations. Otto and Emma never had children in their long marriage, but their extended family was huge. A large portion of their substantial wealth was spent on helping their families immigrate to the United States from their homeland in Germany. The Koehlers paid for family members' passage to New York and travel expenses to their city of choice, which was usually San Antonio or close proximity. Once relocated, the Koehlers helped set them up with housing and a job at the brewery or one of the other Koehler-owned companies.
One family the Koehlers helped was Otto's twin brother, Karl Koehler. Karl and his wife moved to Pennsylvania, where they had two boys. The oldest of the two boys was named after Otto. Born on July 24, 1893, as a youngster Otto A. and his younger brother were taken to Europe by their parents for what was supposed to be a short trip. On the trip however, Karl became seriously ill and decided to stay in Germany. In 1908, when Otto A. was just 15, his father finally scummed to his illnesses and passed away. Otto A. returned to America and became a ward of his uncle Otto and aunt Emma. Otto A. developed a special bond with Otto and Emma and was treated as if he was their own son. In 1921, Otto A. left his various other jobs and came to the brewery to assist Emma in daily operations.
When Emma decided it was time to step aside of her post, the board members and Emma picked Otto A. to be her successor. Emma served as Otto's advisor during the transition and his first years as head of the brewery, a position she held until her death in 1943. Although the Koehlers didn't own the brewery, after the first Otto, his wife Emma, and now Otto A., the family was very much considered the owners not only by the community, but the brewery board members and workers alike. Otto A. was a strong leader and businessman who had learned much from his aunt and uncle. It was this strength that he would have to draw on as turbulent times lay ahead for the brewery and beer brewing industry as a whole.
[edit] Power struggle
Through the 1940s, operations at Pearl continued at a steady pace. Pearl was well established as the largest brewer in Texas, even though Lone Star beers had adopted the slogan proclaiming Lone Star the national beer of Texas. Pearl, as a company, did its part in the war effort, reducing can production to save on metals and producing generic beer for the troops abroad. At the end of the war, Pearl reestablished its aggressive growth drive and shifted marketing to focus on the emerging power buyer, the post-war housewife.
Production and market-wise, the 1950s was similar to the late 40s. In the early 50s the San Antonio Brewing Association felt they needed to increase the association of their number one product, Pearl lager beer, with the company itself. In marketing research, the association found that most consumers believed the San Antonio Brewing Association encompassed more than a single brewery; in fact, the public thought San Antonio Brewing Association referred to all brewing in San Antonio in general. Therefore, in 1952 the San Antonio Brewing Association changed its name to the Pearl Brewing Company (1952–present).
Pearl was successful, not only in Texas but on a national level as well. Larger companies saw this success and made many attempts to buyout Pearl and their beers. Almost all offers were never even considered. In what would turn out later to be ironic, one company came very, very close to buying out the Pearl Brewing Company in the 50s: Pabst Brewing Company. B.B. McGimsey, who was Pearl’s plant manager, became influential in the company. McGimsey was a charismatic leader who most of the employees liked and respected. McGimsey’s influence also reached other board members, and when the offer came from Pabst, it wasn’t as easily dismissed. Details of the offer have long been lost, but one can surmise it was a good deal given the consideration given to it by Pearl. McGimsey believed that Pearl’s stance as an independent Texas brewer would never allow them to truly compete on a national level with brewers from St. Louis and Milwaukee. Ultimately the sale to Pabst was defeated by Otto A. and the other shareholders, but only by the slimmest of margins.<ref>SA Current: Strange brew</ref> Pearl maintained its independence, for now.
[edit] Goetz Brewing Company: Pearl expands
Although narrowly defeated in the vote to be acquired by Pabst, McGimsey and fellow members of Pearl’s board still pushed for change in the company. The predominating theme throughout was growth. The acquisition of Pearl by a larger company was no longer considered, but then how could the company really grow and hope to compete with industry leaders such as Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Pabst? Pearl considered expanding the San Antonio brewery to increase production, but after researching the idea Pearl realized expanding the brewery could only gain them a nominal production increase and ultimately wouldn't be worth the overall investment.
Otto A. and the board began studying other companies to try and see what innovations or organizational structures were working, and if those changes could be applied to Pearl. Pearl’s board noticed that the larger brewers such as Anheuser-Busch were not attempting to push more and more products out of a single brewery; instead they had several breweries spread out to distribute their products. Pearl seized on the idea of a second brewery and began to explore the options. Location was a huge factor in the considerations. San Antonio’s location allowed Pearl to reach both the east coast and west coast equally well. However, San Antonio’s southern position wasn't ideal for reaching places like Maine or Washington state.
One idea was to build a second brewery somewhere in the northern Mid-West. Initial studies of this idea proved too costly to be feasible. The price tag of land, permits, zoning, construction, equipment, manpower, and initial operations proved to be too large for Pearl to afford. Pearl could have raised the cash need for the project, but doing so would have extended the company a little too thin, and one misstep or hiccup in sales could force Pearl into bankruptcy.
Rather than building a second brewery and potentially putting the company at risk, Pearl decided to purchase an existing brewery to increase production and the distribution network. Overall, buying out another brewery meant a larger initial investment, but the new brewery would be able to output Pearl beer almost immediately and therefore help recoup costs quicker. From a shortlist of potentials, the M. K. Goetz Brewing Company in St. Joseph, Missouri, seemed the perfect fit for Pearl’s plans. Goetz’s historic brewery would allow increased production levels and the ability to utilize the well established distribution network to help Pearl reach untapped markets. In addition, Pearl gained access to the Goetz line of beers, everything from pilsners to malt liquors.
In 1961 the Pearl Brewing Company officially purchased the M. K. Goetz Brewing Company. Overall the merger of the two companies was a success. Beers from both companies began to see production at the two facilities. Goetz brewed all of the Pearl beers for easier distribution in the north, and Pearl produced Goetz’s Country Club malt liquor. Country Club proved very successful for Pearl , and in fact is the only Goetz beer still in production by Pabst today under the Pearl Brewing Company name. The merger wasn’t without its hiccups, but overall the transition occurred smoothly. Pearl took over as the corporate headquarters and some duplicate jobs were eliminated. Overall the production side of Goetz remained intact, with Pearl treating Goetz employees just as they did the employees in San Antonio, like family.
[edit] Pearl's sweet tooth
- Section under construction.
[edit] Royal Crown Cola
- Section under construction.
[edit] Southdown: end of an era
- Section under construction.
[edit] Paul Kalmanovitz & merger mania
- Section under construction.
[edit] Pabst: domination of a brand
- Section under construction.
[edit] 2000s
The new millennium didn't bring a change in luck for Pearl or Pabst as a whole. Changes instituted in the 1990s saved money, but didn't solve the company's larger problems. To stay alive, Pabst needed a change, a huge one. As our calendars and clocks turned to celebrate 2000, Pabst's new strategic plan was well underway. In order to save even more money, they had devised a bold idea to save the company, closing all of their breweries and ending their own beer production. The Pearl Brewery's days as a full blown brewery were numbered.
After 118 years of brewing along the San Antonio River, the doors to the Pearl Brewery closed. The community felt betrayed by Pabst, resulting in countless less-than-pleasant articles in the local papers and on the Internet. The public only saw that Pabst had closed a historic part of San Antonio and forced over 150 workers into unemployment. In truth though, the resulting situation wasn't completely Pabst's own doing. Consumers had moved on, following the media and promotional blitz of Anheuser-Busch and Miller. A domino effect had occurred that most just couldn't see that had forced Pabst to make the decisions they did. Pearl's sales had been slipping for decades, resulting in less capital to maintain Pearl's quality, which resulted in even more people turning against the brew. With a lack of cash, no foreseeable increase in sales, and faced with sub-par equipment in an aging facility, Pabst made the only business decision they possibly could and shut the brewery doors.
In January 2001 the doors to the brewery were closed. The paths of the Pearl Brewing Company split, one path following the beers themselves as they left San Antonio along with Pabst, and the other staying with the abandoned facilities.
[edit] Pearl today
[edit] The beers
Today, the Pabst Brewing Company is a virtual brewery. Pabst no longer owns or operates any of their former breweries. Every brewery Pabst either built or bought has been shut down, the Pearl Brewery being one of them. Instead, Pabst contracts out the brewing of all of their beers to other brewers. By far, Pabst's largest agreement is with Miller Brewing Company, which produces Pabst's major brands as well as Pearl and Lone Star. Although Pabst’s more popular beers such as Colt 45, Stroh’s, and Pabst Blue Ribbon are produced at just about every Miller facility, Pearl is only brewed at the Ft. Worth, Texas location.
Pearl, Pearl Light, and Country Club are still available to this day, but only in small volumes and in select markets such as Texas and Oklahoma. Today's distribution is a far cry from the 47-state coverage Pearl's beers once enjoyed. In addition, the variety Pearl's beers were available in has also decreased. Although previously produced and sold in every form, such as bottles, cans, and kegs, the current iteration of Pearl is only available in 12-packs of 12-oz. cans. Likewise Country Club has been reduced to only 40-oz. bottles. Many who have tasted Pearl before and after the Pabst merger claim the formula has changed, customers say today’s Pearl tastes like a weaker version of Budweiser. Officially though, Pabst claims the formula used for today's Pearl is the same that was originally bought by the San Antonio Brewing Association back in 1886.
It's hard to say what will be come of the last three of the Pearl Brewing Company's once proud beer portfolio. Pabst seems to have no intentions of working to bring Pearl, Pearl Light, or Country Club back into the mainstream like they have done with Lone Star beer. One interesting tidbit to note though is how Pabst has treated some of the other beers in a similar position as Pearl. The Narragansett brand was acquired when General Brewing(Pabst) purchased the Falstaff Brewing Company in 1975. Until recently, Narragansett, like Pearl, was a minor player in Pabst's beer portfolio. In 2005 Narragansett was sold off to a group of investors who reestablished the Narragansett Brewing Company. Countless beer fans would love to see all of Pearl's beers, or at least Pearl and Pearl Light, brought back to the brewery in San Antonio that carries its name.
[edit] The brewery
When operations ceased at the Pearl Brewery in 2001, many thought it would be the end for the brewery's buildings. The brewery's proximity to downtown San Antonio and the easy access to several highways led many to believe it would be a prime target to be razed and replaced. However, the two attributes, along with another surprise development, actually saved the brewery facilities and helped to ensure its architecture would survive. San Antonio has a plan underway to expand the River Walk, which has brought and will bring money to the River Walk expansion areas. As luck would have it, the Pearl Brewery is mere feet from a section of the river expansion, thus making it an attractive location and will be sure to qualify for any incentives the city will implement to assist business development.
Toward the end of 2002, Silver Ventures (San Antonio-based investment firm) purchased the 23-acre brewery site. Fortunately, the company has big plans for many of the current structures on the brewery property, with the hopes to attract businesses as well as River Walk tourists. The dream of Silver Ventures is that once completed, the former brewery will be a village within eyesight of downtown San Antonio. In a local article,<ref>Pearl Brewery: Precious restoration. MySA.com. Great article on the Pearl Stable. Accessed July 10, 2006.</ref> Bill Shown, the development's managing director, described an area that would house an event hall, schools, retail, office and residential space. The idea is to create an area where people can live, shop, and work, yet a close-knit-enough community where residents know the shop owners. Most of the older buildings are scheduled for remodeling and restoration, but the 1970s-style metal warehouses and production facilities are sure to meet with the wrecker’s ball soon.
The brewery's garage, which was built in 1939, houses the Aveda Institute, a global company focusing on environmentally friendly personal products. In the same building as Aveda, there's an excellent cafe named "Texas Farm to Table", which only uses Texas-grown ingredients. The renovation updated the building to meet the current business needs, but still maintains the brewery feel to the exterior by reusing beer storage tanks as landscaping water tanks and a few of the garage's old red pumps. The garage was the first facility opened in Silver Ventures' new Pearl Brewery and gave the public a glimpse of what was to come.
The Center for Foods of the Americas, an upscale culinary institute developed in consultation with the Culinary Institute of America, utilizes one of the brewery's large sheds. The old garage doors of the shed have been removed and replaced by large windows to show off the lines of counters, sinks, and spotless shiny pots hanging from the ceiling. The school offers a 30-week Culinary Arts Certificate Program, geared to take students from the very basics of cooking to the finish where students prepare their own graduation celebration.
The former Pearl Corral/Jersey Lilly has been completely remodeled and renamed. Now called the Pearl Stable, the new facility opened in May 2006 and serves as the showpiece of Phase 1 of the overall project. Without creating an independent Wikipedia page for the Pearl Stable, describing the level of attention to detail on the outside and especially the inside is near impossible. Simply stated, the Pearl Stable is amazing. The building retained its oval shape, and architects rebuilt the glazed skylight cupola and a recreation of the stable's false-front pediment, which were originally on the stable. Above the main entrance, the pediment displays the stable’s construction date, 1894. The Pearl Stable is geared to compete with other event halls by offering a full commercial kitchen, easy loading access for caterers, and a state-of-the-art theatrical lighting and sound system. In addition, Pearl Stable will eventually house a museum section featuring the brewery's history through pictures, artifacts, and memorabilia.
May 2006 also saw the return of another piece of history to the Pearl Brewery. As the new Pearl Stable opened its doors, Engine #2 of the Texas Transportation Company returned from a complete restoration. Originally built 1909 as lot #758 by the St. Louis, Missouri-based St. Louis Car Company, Engine #2 saw service with two Texas-based companies prior to coming to Pearl. The engine saw most of its career in use at the Pearl Brewery after the Texas Transportation Company purchased the engine in 1948. Today the engine's paint scheme is exactly the one used on the locomotive from the time it arrived at the brewery up through the early 1970s. Restored at the country's premier locomotive and passenger car restoration service, the Trans-Texas Rail Shop, Engine #2 is immaculate and one of the few examples of electric locomotives on display.
[edit] "xXx" marks the spot
The triple X logo has long been associated with Pearl. In fact, it was used at the brewery even before Pearl beer became synonymous with the company. When the San Antonio Brewing Association bought the City Brewery and opened it for business in the 1880s, they used the triple Xs in the brewery’s logo. Three large Xs were enclosed in a circle, with the words “City Brewery” on both sides or around the outside of the circle. This was the brewery’s first logo under the San Antonio Brewing Association and thus appeared on all of their advertising and the majority of their bottled and kegged beers.
With the start of Prohibition, the triple Xs disappeared as the company was forced to transform itself and try to survive. The brewery produced a wide variety of bottled drinks during the beer-less time, including Near beer and Root Beer. Other companies had picked up on the use of Xs on their near or root beers, but Pearl (at that time Alamo Industries/Foods) never used the Xs on any of their products. The Xs were gone from the brewery during Prohibition, but not forgotten.
When the ban on beer ended in 1933, the brewery quickly began the production of beer once again. The bottles of Pearl and Texas Pride rolled off the supply chains and onto retail shelves and saloon bars once again. Along with their return, the triple Xs returned as well. The Xs were absent from advertising and the company logo for 15 years after Prohibition, but they held a prominent status on every single bottle. In the late 1940s the brewery launched an advertising campaign stating the brewery's beers were the “Three xXx of Texas.” The triple Xs took a renewed and increased role at the brewery, but their growth in prominence didn’t end there.
In 1952 when the San Antonio Brewing Association changed its name to the Pearl Brewing Company, the triple Xs joined the Pearl name as a dominate image on the product and the company as a whole. The triple Xs were back on the company logo and were used all over almost all of Pearl's advertisements. The Xs held this significant role up to the very end of production at the brewery in 2001, when the brewery closed its doors the company logo was abandoned. In addition, as production of Pearl beer and Pearl Light spun up at Miller Brewing Company’s Fort Worth facility the product logos were designed. The updated label doesn't utilize the triple Xs, thus a significant part of company identity has been virtually eliminated.
This history of Pearl and the triple Xs is all fine and dandy, but you’re probably asking where did Pearl get the triple Xs at in the first place? Also, you're probably asking why the Xs meant so much to the company for them to use it for so long? The three Xs are actually a quality rating system. The system was initially used in Europe during the 16th Century. As European royalty traveled their lands and visited neighboring counties, a royal courier was sent ahead of the official party. The courier’s job was to sample beer at inns along the way. If the beer was only average, the courier would mark the inn’s sign or door with a single X. If the inn’s beer was deemed good, the sign or door would receive two Xs. A mark on an inn of three Xs meant that the beer inside was excellent, and a must-stop for the royal court as they passed through.
The triple Xs were adopted by the San Antonio Brewing Association to portray two things: the high quality of their beers, and the pride that workers put into every ounce of their products. As far as we can tell today, the triple X designation was never bestowed on the brewery by any member or associate of European royalty. The royal rating system is almost forgotten these days, yet it lived on for over a century in different forms at the brewery. The triple Xs may be gone from company and Pearl beer logos, but it hasn't completely vanished. In the 1960s Pearl absorbed the Goetz Brewing Company and make Country Club Malt Liquor one of Pearl’s key products. When Country Club received its only product makeover a few years after the buyout, Country Club gained the addition of the triple Xs in its logo. The Xs were situated in the top-center of the logo’s crown. Country Club is still produced today, and it still carries the “xXx” mark of Pearl even after all these years.
In 2006 the triple Xs made a huge comeback. When the old horse stables were converted from the Jersey Lilly into the Pearl Stable by Silver Ventures the “xXx” was a massive part of the building’s motif. The triple Xs were incorporated into areas such as the chandeliers, the millwork above all the doors, massive bronze plagues above the stage and around the mezzanine, in the custom carpet, and ever the rafter bracing. There are so many Xs that it defies logic. At almost every event the audience is dared to count all the sets of triple Xs. To date no one has put forth a serious effort, and it’s doubted that even Silver Ventures knows exactly how many Xs are in the Pearl Stable.
[edit] Pearl City, Texas
- Section under construction. Yes, a tiny town was named after the beer.
[edit] Pearl & the railroads
- Section under construction. For now see the articles on Texas Transportation Company and the Texas Transportation Museum
[edit] The Buck Winn mural
Pearl had always preferred to use Texas artists whenever possible. Long after other brewers had moved to using only photographs in their advertising campaigns, Pearl continued to use ads that featured sketches, drawings, or paintings of the concept or product. The more famous of Pearl's artistic advertisements were of Judge Roy Bean's Jersey Lilly and a collage called "The Last Fight of Manolete." Both works saw wide distribution as large printed pictures framed and intended to hang in pubs and bars. The subjects and sizes changed constantly in Pearl's ads, but one thing remained the same, Pearl made it a point to use local artists.
With Pearl's art advertisements reaching their entire distribution area and being seen by countless consumers, it’s ironic that Pearl's most important commissioned work was seen by so few. In the early 1950s the then San Antonio Brewing Association decided to renovate the old brewery stables and transform them into an entertainment hall and hospitality room. Sticking with their theme of marketing at the time, the interior was designed around the legend of Judge Roy Bean and the Old West. The newly renovated stables were named the Pearl Corral, and the entertainment room featured a stage designed after Roy Bean's saloon and was dubbed the Corral Room (pictures of which can be seen below in the Historical Images section). Pearl intended the finishing touch to the Corral Room to be a mural that wrapped the entire diameter of the room’s second tier. Once again Pearl looked locally for the artist, and in 1950 they commissioned James Buchanan “Buck” Winn to create the massive oil painting.
Buck Winn was already a well known artist in Texas, but his mural for Pearl would put his name and the brewery in the record books. The room's second tier was only a little over six feet tall, but since it was an oval shape Pearl wanted the mural to run continuously around the entire perimeter of the room. When completed and installed, the painting was six feet tall and 280 feet long, wrapping all the way around the Corral Room and creating a 360-degree mural depicting the West. Buck Winn's masterpiece was titled “The History of Ranching,” and took its rightful place in the record books as the largest mural in the world. Unfortunately though, the work was so massive reproductions were impossible and photos of the Corral Room could only show portions of the painting. So, unless people visited the Pearl Corral for an event or on a brewery tour, the public never saw much of Buck Winn's mural.
For over two decades Buck Winn's work was the centerpiece in the Pearl's Corral Room. While the painting was there, it was oblivious of the changes occurring around it. By the 1970s the company running the brewery was very different from the one that had built the Corral Room back in the 1950s. The San Antonio Brewing Association had changed its name to the Pearl Brewing Company in 1952. By the 1970s the Pearl Brewing Company name had remained, but Southdown Corporation out of Houston, Texas, was now in charge of Pearl. Southdown's ideas for the brewery were drastically different from when Pearl was an independent company, and these new ideas spilled over to the Corral. After 20 years of use, the Corral as a whole was less than pristine. Southdown decided to remodel the Corral to bring it up to the current building codes and give it new look. Unfortunately, America's fascination with the old West was long over, so Southdown decided to renovate the Corral Room into the Lillie Langtry Room and renamed the Pearl Corral to the Jersey Lilly.
When the renovations occurred, Buck Winn's mural was taken down and disappeared from the public eye for almost 30 years. The mural was untagged and unprotected, hidden away in a storage shed on the brewery grounds. There it sat, out of sight and forgotten by almost everyone. In fact, if not for the efforts of one individual, the mural might have been lost forever. Dr. Dorey Schmidt was able to not only track down the mural, but acquire it so that Buck Winn's work could be put back on public display. The following is Dr. Schmidt's account of her recovery of the Buck Winn mural. Please note though, Dr. Schmidt's account is copyrighted, but it is used here with her approval under the condition that the article be printed in its entirety and remain unedited.
”Indiana” Schmidt and the Lost Mural
© 2001 Dorey Schmidt, Ph.D.</b>One day in the early 1990s, Dorey Schmidt visited Four Winns Ranch during a Wimberley Civic Club Home Tour. Fascinated with the cultural treasure represented by James Buchanan "Buck" Winn’s studio, and dismayed by the inappropriate obscurity of his work, Schmidt hit upon the idea of creating a “TexKit,” a sort of mobile, hands-on educational exhibit pioneered by the Institute of Texan Cultures. <p>Schmidt drew up plans for a “WinnKit,” presented them for the approval of the Wimberley Institute of Cultures board, and then applied for a grant from the Texas Committee for the Humanities. Using funds from that grant, Schmidt wrote the script, assembled photographs, reproductions, and artifacts into a cedar presentation trunk hand-crafted by her husband, Robert Schmidt, a wood artisan. Using the WinnKit, she told the story of Buck Winn’s artistic and architectural genius to local civic organizations and hundreds of Wimberley schoolchildren. For many, seeing the WinnKit in action was their first introduction to his work. Other docents continued those presentations for a number of years. <p>It was during the process of researching for the WinnKit that Schmidt stumbled on the first clues to the “Lost Mural.” Pinned to the huge working wall of Winn’s studio were several sections of a cartoon (preliminary sketch) for a very large mural with a Western theme, containing cowboys and cattle and other depictions of early ranching days. Sorting through 35mm slides, Schmidt found a picture of what was obviously part of the finished mural, installed in a room with a rail fence and wooden tables and chairs. Questioning old friends and family members, she learned that the mural had been a commission for the hospitality room of a brewery in San Antonio in the early 1950s. <p>Over the years, as banks and public buildings were remodeled or razed, a number of Buck Winn’s major works were lost or destroyed—installations like the wonderful murals in the Medical Arts Building in Dallas, and the magnificent gold-leaf bas-relief of the “History of Flight” at Amon Carter Airport in Fort Worth, and other works of art whose only remaining record is a photograph or sketch. As an art historian, Schmidt wanted to find out what had happened to the mural at the brewery. Did it still exist? Or was it another piece of Buck Winn’s art that was lost forever? <p>Again consulting local acquaintances, she learned that the brewery was the Pearl Brewery, a venerable Texas brand of beer whose San Antonio plant had been sold to Olympia, a brewing company headquartered in the Northwest. The hospitality room, which was housed in the huge oval structure that had once been the horse barn, was only being used for company and private functions, and was no longer open to the public. Even more ominous was the news that the Corral Room had been remodeled in the early 1970s, and was now adorned in gilt and red velvet as the Lillie Langtry Room! <p>But, donning her “Indiana Jones” explorer’s hat, Schmidt was determined to find out which list the mural was on—the list of the lost—or the list of the rediscovered. She called the brewery, seeking information. No one knew. After all, the remodel had taken place more than twenty years past, and many of the new executives were from out-of-state and knew little of the brewery’s past history. <p>One day as Schmidt pleaded on the phone for some kind of information, any clue as to what had happened to the mural, Mr. Jack Kratz, the vice-president of marketing, finally said, "I’m sorry that I don't know anything about the Buck Winn mural, but I just remembered . . . there was a man who once worked here as manager of the hospitality room. He's retired now, but he might know something." Aha! Schmidt was encouraged. From her faculty office at UT-Pan American in the Rio Grande Valley, she called the number she’d been given. Mr. Chuck Remling answered the phone. “Mr. Remling, this is Dr. Dorey Schmidt. I understand that you once worked for Pearl Brewery, and that’s where I obtained your number. I’d like to ask you some questions, if I may?" "Well, I guess I can do that," was the answer. "They told me you were the manager of the Corral Room, is that right?" "Yes, I worked there fourteen years." "And you were there when it was remodeled?" "Yes." "Great!" Schmidt quickly got to the point. "Mr. Remling, do you remember what happened to the Buck Winn mural that was on the wall?" There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone line. "Who wants to know?" BINGO! Getting warmer! Schmidt identified herself again and told him why she was asking these questions. Then the whole story came out: <p>"I always liked that mural, and when they were remodeling and took it down, they were just going to throw it in the dumpster. But I thought that it might have some historic value—or at the very least, there were a couple of panels that I thought I could cut out and frame for my house (his listener shuddered), so I took the rolls of canvas and put them on top of some cabinets in a storage room. I kind of forgot about them, and later, when I retired, I don’t know what happened to them. I guess they could still be there." <p>Within minutes, Schmidt was back on the phone with the brewery V-P, describing the location of the storage shed. Within the hour, he called back. “We’ve got your pictures. What do you want us to do with them?” Weak with relief that the mural still existed, Schmidt explained that she was prepared to enter into negotiations with the brewery to arrange a possible donation of this valuable art work so that it could be brought home to Wimberley, where it was created. The V-P’s next comment stunned her. “When do you want to come get it?” Her answer to that was swift. “Tomorrow!” No need to give him time to change his mind! <p>Schmidt frantically phoned the rest of the Winn committee and told them to get a rental truck. She called Southwest Texas State University Library to arrange for climate-controlled storage of the huge (280 feet long) mural. Contacting a local museum for guidelines, she prepared a draft of a gift agreement which would legalize the acquisition. And the next day she drove up from the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio, while Julie Harrison, Dodie Spencer and Robert Schmidt drove down from Wimberley to meet her at the Pearl Brewery. <p>They rendezvoused at the brewery, where the rolls of canvas were stacked neatly on the asphalt floor of a shed. A couple of workers stood by to load the rolls. Mr. Kratz signaled them to unroll a portion to be sure it was the right painting, and as they did, one of the workers grabbed a straw broom to remove some of the twenty years of dust. The combined screams of the women persuaded him that was not the thing to do! The rolls were loaded into the rental truck, and the triumphant entourage drove away. Buck Winn’s lost mural, “The History of Ranching,” had been found. <p>But the story doesn’t end there. The mural was examined, and was in remarkable condition for having been stored for over twenty years in an unheated, uncooled shed under the broiling Texas sun. But Buck Winn often used house paint on his murals, and in this case that turned out to have been a wise choice. WIC made plans for restoration, but it was going to be very expensive for the more than 2000 square feet of canvas. Just one fifteen-foot section would cost $7500 to be repaired and restored by a conservator. <p>About that time, Dr. Schmidt was invited to give a lecture at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington. During her PhD. internship there, Schmidt had become acquainted with Helen Sloan, the widow of famous “Ashcan School” artist John Sloan. Now Helen was living in a retirement home, and Schmidt went to visit. There she told the story of the lost mural, thinking that it would entertain her elderly friend. <p>At the end of the account, Helen Sloan asked, "Is your organization a non-profit group?" When Schmidt responded, "Yes," Helen continued, "You know, the John and Helen Sloan Art Foundation provides seed money for groups who are working on arts projects. I would like to send your group something to help." <p>Schmidt thanked her for her generosity and returned home, telling the WIC Board that the organization might even get $500 from that one story-telling session. Within a few weeks, however, when a letter from the Sloan Foundation arrived in the WIC mailbox, the check enclosed was for $5000! Local contributions made up the rest, and the work on the mural restoration began. <p>So the generosity of an East Coast art foundation actually provided the funds for restoring this first section of the Buck Winn “History of Ranching” mural. This section is on display at the Wimberley Visitor Center, pending the completion of Wimberley’s Community Center, which is set for April 1, 2006. <p>Although the original Winn Committee had hoped that the entire mural could be returned to Wimberley and reassembled, interest from private collectors and the need for additional restoration funds led to the sale of some sections when another WIC committee, headed by Pete Anderson and Al Sander, took charge of the mural. Through their efforts, another section was restored and is displayed in the main entry hall of Wimberley High School. <p>Through gift and purchase, the Southwest Writers Collection of the Alkek Library at Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State University) now owns some eighty feet of the mural which will be restored and installed on permanent display in the main lobby of that building. <p>So, through the persistence of “Indiana” Schmidt, and her search for the lost mural, Buck Winn’s “The History of Ranching” survives, and a major work by this noted artist can be enjoyed for generations to come.</blockquote> Unfortunately, the painting isn't viewable in its entirety. The sheer size of the mural made reassembling the work an impossible task. Thanks to the amazing efforts of Dr. Schmidt, the Wimberley Institute of Cultures and Texas State University–San Marcos plan on putting 8 of the original 11 panels on public display. Best of all, Wimberley and Texas State are only 15 miles apart, making it an easy trip to visit the majority of the mural. Just in case you can’t make the trip, Texas State's portion of the mural, called “The Chuckwagon,” can be seen in the Miscellaneous Images section. Additionally, both organizations have created restoration project Web pages, allowing easy access to new information as it becomes available.
[edit] Images
[edit] Brewery: recent
Pearl Brewery from Highway 281 Main brewery entrance on Broadway Ave. Brewery entrance on Grayson St. Closer view of brew house Another view of the brew house Backside of the Brewery Administration Building Center for Foods of the Americas Aveda Institute Aveda Institute &
Texas Farm to TablePearl Stable (Silver Ventures Collection) Pearl Stable's Main Hall Pearl Stable's stage Pearl Stable's stage Pearl Stable's "xXx" logo above the stage Pearl Stable's Foyer Pearl Stable chandler Texas Transportation Co.'s Engine #1 Texas Transportation Co.'s Engine #2 Recycling Center Detailed view of new brewery sign New brewery sign on Grayson New brewery sign on Broadway Pearl's Jersey Lilly replica at its new home [edit] Brewery: historic
Original brewery circa 1880s (Staats Collection) Brewery entrance circa 1950s Aerial view of the brewery in 1950s Brew house in the 1950s Administration building in the 1950s Closeup of the 1950s administration building Brewery sign on Broadway in the 50s Stable circa 1920s Stable after first modifications Pearl Corral (Stables) interior circa 1950s Pearl Corral (Stables) interior circa 1950s Jersey Lilly Interior
circa 1970sBrewery circa 2003 Old brewery sign on Broadway Ave. Undated photo taken from Grayson St. Grayson St. entrance with old sign (April 2006) Old Grayson St. sign (June 2006) Undated photo taken from Avenue A [edit] Miscellaneous
Cases of Pearl as of </br>Aug 2006 1880s Behloradsky label
(Staats Collection)Pre-Prohibition tray
(Staats Collection)Pre-Prohibition Muenchener label
(Staats Collection)Pre-Prohibition
Texas Pride label
(Staats Collection)Pre-Prohibition
Pearl beer label
(Staats Collection)Late 1910s La Perla sign
(Staats Collection)Prohibition orange soda
(Staats Collection)1930s Pearl label 1930s Bock beer label 1930s Texas Pride label 1930s Tolteca label
(Staats Collection)1949 Pearl
(Pearl's first canned beer)1960s Pearl 1960s Pearl Dark Draft 1980s Pearl Cream Ale 1980s Texas Pride label Advertising logo used from 1936 to 1952 Pearl cookbook from 1960s or 1970s Logo & tag line listing (Staats Collection) [edit] Important people
Otto A. Koelher
(Staats Collection)[edit] Pearl beer reviews
Reviews from BeerAdvocate.com:
Reviews from RateBeer.com:
[edit] Notes
<references />
[edit] References
- SA Current: Strange brew - Great local article on the brewery's history.
- SA Current: The season is the reason - Background and review on Texas Farm to Table.
- SA Current: Clickity-clack - Information on the future of the Texas Transportation Co.
- SA Current: No Dick's need apply - In-depth article on plans to make the section of river near the brewery a city park and tourist mecca.
- Texas & Beer - Beer in the heart of Texas.
- Handbook of Texas Online: Pearl Brewery - History of Pearl Brewing Company
- Handbook of Texas Online: Texas Transportation Co. - Small history of the two companies to use the name.
- Handbook of Texas Online: Texas Brewing Industry - Provides information their main Pearl page lacks.
- SA Business Journal - Silver Ventures discovers a pearl in former brewery site.
- Don's Rail Photos: Texas Transportation Company - Complete history of the brewery's electric rail line.
- MySA.com: Pearl keeps its promise - Review of Phase 1 of the project and some future plans.
- Falstaff History - Great details on their merger with Paul Kalmanovitz/Pearl/Pabst.
- Tavern Trove: Pearl - Listing of Pearl Brewing Company's names.
- Tavern Trove: Goetz - Listing of Goetz Brewing Company's names.
- Texas Breweries: Pearl Brewing Company - A different view on the history of Pearl.
- ACCD's Koehler House History - Provides a wealth of background information on the Koehlers.
- Judson-Atkinson Candies' History - Company timeline that show's Pearl's purchase in 1965.
[edit] External links
- Pabst Brewing Company - Current owner of the Pearl beer brands.
- Aveda Institute San Antonio - Contains photo and video tour of their facility, Pearl's former garage.
- Center for Foods of the Americas - Site features photos and info on their new facility, one of Pearl's old warehouses.
- Pearl Stable - Site with several historic photos.
- Wimberley Institute of Cultures - WIC's page on the Buck Winn mural.
- Texas State University's Special Collections at the Alkek Library - Texas State's page on their sections of the Buck Winn mural.
- Pearl Memorabilia - Site featuring one man's gigantic Pearl memorabilia collection.
- Texas Transportation Co. Photo Album - Pictures of the brewery's engine used to bring in railcars.
- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
