Photograph courtesy of Reedy Press
When it comes to St. Louis’ beer-making history, one could borrow the former Hyde Park Brewery’s slogan: “Seldom Equaled, Never Excelled.” Case in point: The Saint Louis Brewers Heritage Festival (stlbrewfest.com), June 5 and 6, will overflow with 60 local brews.
But today’s brewmasters are just the latest in a long line of St. Louis craftsmen. To pay homage to the city’s rich beer-making history, local authors Don Roussin, Kevin Kious, and Henry Herbst are releasing a book, St. Louis Brews: 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis, 1809–2009, coming this fall from Reedy Press (reedypress.com). SLM asked the beer-loving bookmakers to fashion a quiz on the city’s stout brewing history. Consider it St. Louis’ own drinking game.
Questions
1. Which brewing family at one time operated the most breweries in St. Louis?
2. Who owned the first documented brewery in St. Louis?
3. Which brewery sponsored the first beer delivered by airplane?
4. Which beer baron ended up a recluse?
5. Which brewery started out as a hole in the ground, with a shanty above it?
6. Which breweries once operated where Union Station now stands?
7. Which brewers fought in the Union army during the Civil War?
8. In which year were the largest number of breweries operating?
9. What did the Belgium national building at the 1904 World’s Fair become afterwards?
10. Which brewer’s wife stole clothes from neighbors and hid them in the brewery?
11. Where did the basis for the brewing formula for Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager originate?
12. Which brewery produced the malt beverage "Trebo"?
13. Which brewery is named after an animal?
14. Which brewery was originally located near the Gateway Arch?
15. The German Tyrolean Alps exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair was owned and operated by whom?
16. In which brewery did William Lemp Sr. make his first beer?
17. Falstaff, as it was brewed before Prohibition, is said to have tasted like what modern beer?
18. Which beer’s slogan was “It’s The Tops!”?
19. Which brewery is located in a one-time printing plant?
20. What was the name of the Hyde Park Brewery dog that committed suicide rather than face Prohibition?
Scoring
0 to 4: You probably prefer soda to beer.
5 to 10: You likely had a beer in hand while taking the quiz.
11 to 18: You might brew your own in the basement.
19 to 20: Wow, you should consider writing your own book!
Answers
1. The Griesediecks. 2. John Coons, in 1809. 3. The Lemp Brewery, in 1912. 4. Ellis Wainwright. 5. Anheuser-Busch. 6. Uhrig, Excelsior, and Franklin. 7. Adolphus Busch, Adam Lemp, Charles Stifel, Anton Jaeger, and Otto Lademan. 8. 1860, with 40 operating breweries. 9. Adolphus Busch Glass Works. 10. John Gaul, brewer at the Atlantic Brewery. 11. Louis Koch Brewery. 12. Louis Obert Brewery (“Trebo” is “Obert” spelled backwards). 13. Buffalo Brewing Company. 14. Adam Lemp’s Western Brewery. 15. A group of St. Louis brewers. 16. The Wilhelm Stumpf Brewery. 17. Heineken. 18. Alpen Brau, from the Columbia Brewing Co. 19. Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. 20. Spot, the faithful pet of Joe Biersinger.
