Broadway/Steins Breweries, 1852 - 1958
797 to 815 Broadway, Buffalo, New York
by John P. Eiss
Looking at a cross section of history can open a window into the past as a whole.
This article would be less accurate and less complete without the grateful assistance of Dave Mik, Greater Buffalo’s unofficial brewery historian.
Overview Buffalo was an ideal location for brewing beer in the mid 1800’s with cold temperatures and plentiful amounts of natural ice from Lake Erie. Several factors combined to secure Buffalo’s position as a large brewing and malting center. First among them was a growing population of beer loving German, Prussian, and Alsatian immigrants arriving by way of the Erie Canal. Equally important was Buffalo’s role as the major trans-shipping port between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. Buffalo became the country’s largest grain storage and shipping center, moving 25 million bushels in 1850 alone. Buffalo also had the world’s first automated grain elevator. Brewing continued to flourish with cheap and plentiful electricity for refrigeration and other operations from nearby Niagara Falls beginning around the turn of the century.
Matthias Rohr 1852-1856 In the 1850’s Batavia Street (renamed Broadway in 1880) was one of the busiest commercial thoroughfares in Buffalo. It ran from the center of the city eastbound 40 miles to the city of Batavia where the Holland Land Company (1) offices were located. Early records are not all in agreement but it appears Matthias Rohr was the first to brew beer at Batavia and Shumway Streets. Whether he owned or rented the brewery is unknown.
Fredrich "Fritz" Albecht 1856–1880
It’s not certain when Fredrich Albrecht arrived in Buffalo or when he started brewing beer. Many brewers arrived from Europe with a vast knowledge of brewing but little or no money. They would start brewing locally in what were called “Rent A Brewery” operations. When they saved enough capital they would build or buy their own brewery. In any event, in 1856 Fredrich Albrecht decided to take advantage of the growing market for beer in Buffalo and he built or purchased the brewery on Batavia Street at the corner of Shumway Street. Albert Albrecht listed his residence at the same location as the brewery. Not much is known about the brewery during the time it was owned and operated by Mr. Albrecht. It appears the brewery enjoyed a steady local following as it remained in business amid heavy competition and consisted of a substantial three-story brick building.
On November 30,1858 fire destroyed the brewery. According to the Buffalo Currier newspaper “The fire started in an adjoining stable and was carried by a high wind to the brewery proper. The building was a three-story brick structure and was totally destroyed. Loss, $10,000: insurance, $4,000”. In 1859 Fredrich Albrecht's Brewery was forclosed on and he lost control of it. He then moved his brewing operations to a “Rent A Brewery” at Jefferson near Genesee Street. In 1868 Fredrich Albrecht went to work as a brewer at the Miller Brewery in Colden, NY. A short time later he was killed by an unknown assailant after a night of card playing and drinking at the Brewery. To the best of our knowledge the case was never solved.
It appears the brewery operated as a “Rent A Brewery” until 1879. Several brewers were listed during this period including George F. Lang and Henry Gottman 1868-1870, John C. Holzer 1871-1873, George Reis 1877-1879 (2).
Julius Binz 1880–1887 In 1880 Julius Binz acquired the Albert Albecht brewery business and property located on Broadway between Shumway and Smith Streets. According to the Buffalo City Directory, he resided at the brewery until at least 1887.
Julius Binz was born in Germany in 1847. At the age of 20, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Buffalo, New York. Binz became a successful businessman in areas other than brewing and malting. He was considered a very wealthy man by standards of that day and age.
In 1884 Binz built his malt house on the brewery property. Julius Binz became better known as a malster than a brewer and was considered “to be one of the best authorities on raw materials” for malting.
In 1886 Binz had the entire brewery rebuilt with red brick and installed new machinery. The main building was four stories and was considered to be fireproof. The brewing kettle, mash turn, beer vaults, engineer room and keg washhouse were on the first floor. The second floor contained the malt mill and malted grain storage. The third and forth floor were used for beer storage coolers and grain storage. The brewery now employed 15 workers.
Broadway Brewing and Malting Company aka: Broadway Brewing Co. 1887–1920 Julius Binz organized a stock company called the Broadway Brewing and Malting Co. in 1887 with a capitalization of $200,000 (3). The brewery now had a capacity of 15,000 barrels of beer and sold 13,250 in 1887-1888.
Binz retained sole ownership of the malting business. His malt house had a reputation as one of the finest in the city. The annual output reached three hundred thousand bushels by the 1890’s.
In 1890 natural gas was discovered on the property and was subsequently used for heating and lighting at the brewery. The brewery now had its own stables with 20 teams of horses.
By 1897 the brewery was using refrigeration and ice making machines provided by the Case Refrigeration Machine Co. in Buffalo, NY with a total capacity of 100 tons. The brewery officers were Julius Binz, president, Peter Vogt, vice-president, and Joseph Schattner, secretary, with George Baldus and Charles W. Belzer (5) as the board of directors.
By 1903 the brewing capacity was 60,000 barrels of lager beer. Among the brands brewed were “Imperial Beer”, Porter”, Export Beer” and “Standard Lager Beer” In 1907 a two-story building was added at the west end of the property. The front of the building was an office with a bottling works in the rear. The brewery now occupied the entire length of block from 797 to 815 Broadway. For a few years, beginning in 1898, a small trolley line ran past the brewery on the Smith street side.
Broadway Brewing was one of the first brewers in the country to use micro filtering instead of pasteurization of their beer; only the empty beer bottles were sterilized. By 1913 the malting operation was discontinued and a bottling operation was added in the back of the office building.
Mohawk Products Company (4) a.k.a. Broad-Smith Co. Inc. 1920-1933 In 1920 the brewery closed with the advent of prohibition. The property was then purchased in 1920 by Francis X. Schwab and William J. Weigle, former President of the Iroquois Beverage Company. Schwab then merged the Broadway Brewery and the Cooperative Brewing Company into the Mohawk Products Company to make near-beer. It was rumored by nearby residents that the brewery also produced bootleg beer.
In 1922, Schwab was elected Mayor of Buffalo and resigned from his position with Mohawk Products. During his two terms as Mayor he was strongly opposed to prohibition. It is well known that Buffalo was one of the more wide open cities for alcohol consumption during his two mayoral terms.
One of the more famous bootlegging cases in the area involved Francis X. Schwab being accused of producing alcohol in violation of the Volstead Act. Schwab was prosecuted and convicted by Wm. J. Donovan, United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. Donovan would later be appointed head of the O.S.S. during World War II (predecessor of the C.I.A.). Schwab was fined in the case but never paid it.
In the mid twenties a portion of the brewery was donated to the city to improve access to Smith Street.
Broadway Blending Company 1928-1933
George F. Stein purchased the brewery property in 1928. He began operation as the Broadway Blending Company that same year. The Company produced concentrated and liquid malt products for bakeries. Stein was from Medina, NY and operated a brewery in Medina from 1904 until 1919.
Just prior to New Year Day, 1930, a federal raid on the Stein’s Hotel in Orchard Park, NY netted an unknown quantity of liquor. Many believed George F. Stein was involved, but in reality he had no connection to the Stein’s hotel.
Broadway Brewing Company 1933–1934
With the end of prohibition in 1933 Stein reopened the Broadway Brewing Company and began brewing beer in July. $750,000 was invested to update the plant and equipment. After prohibition ended, the Federal Government required all brewers to operate with a federal permit at a cost of $1000, and they placed a $5.00 tax on every barrel of beer produced. Before prohibition a permit was not required, and each barrel of beer was taxed at $1.00. George F. Stein’s Breweries Internal Revenue license was D-41 and the New York State tax permit number was NY-U-249.
George F. Stein Brewery, Inc. 1934-1958
In 1934 Stein changed the brewery name to the George F. Stein Brewery, Inc. The License and permit numbers remained the same. In 1936 the brewery had 32 union employees including eleven brewers, eight bottlers, seven drivers, four engineers and two maintenance workers. The workers were all members of the Brewery Workers Union, Local 4. The Brewmaster was I. F. Wismer. There was also an additional staff of office workers and salesmen. George F. Stein died in 1938 and was succeeded by his son Joseph Stein.
Some of their brands were “Canadian Brand Cream Ale, “Stein’s Light Ale”, “Stein’s Pilsner Beer”, “Canandaigua Extra Dry Beer” and “Canandaigua Light Ale”. The Canandaigua brand was taken over from the defunct Cataract Brewery in Rochester NY. The brewery also brewed “McCoy Beer” under contract for a short time. Stein’s had a large and loyal local following. Many steel workers of German and Polish decent that lived in the area would have a “boilermaker”, a shot of whisky with a Stein’s beer, after work. The Brewery employed a first and second shift during the 1950’s. Annual beer production reached a high of 122,000 barrels during this time. In 1956 a laborer at the brewery was making $2.15 an hour.
The George F. Stein brewing business was sold to the Leisy Brewing Company of Cleveland, Ohio in 1958. At that time all brewing operations were moved to Cleveland. The brewery employed 70 workers at the time of the closing.
The year after the brewery closed the buildings were demolished to make room for a gasoline filling station. The demolition was attempted with a steel ball swinging from a crane. The original brewery building was red brick 40” thick with a cork layer in the middle for insulation. The steel ball would swing into the walls and bounce off with little or no damage. Later a crane and bulldozer were brought on site and the building was slowly demolished (6). During demolition Joseph Stein remarked; “ In the brewing industry, as in the manufacture of automobiles, it has turned out that the big operator has advantages over the small business”.
NOTES:
(1) In the early 1800’s the Holland Land Company owned all the land in Western New York except for some Indian reservations.
(2) Some of the available information from this time period is conflicting.
(3) Three different sources state the capitalization as three different amounts, $100.00, $200.00 and $300.00.
(4) a.k.a. Broad-Smith Co. Inc. 1920-
(5) 1933Charles W. Belzer later purchased and operated the Frontier Brewing Co. in Tonawanda, NY from 1939 until 1948.
(6) From the author’s observations in 1959.
797 to 815 Broadway, Buffalo, New York
by John P. Eiss
Looking at a cross section of history can open a window into the past as a whole.
This article would be less accurate and less complete without the grateful assistance of Dave Mik, Greater Buffalo’s unofficial brewery historian.
Overview Buffalo was an ideal location for brewing beer in the mid 1800’s with cold temperatures and plentiful amounts of natural ice from Lake Erie. Several factors combined to secure Buffalo’s position as a large brewing and malting center. First among them was a growing population of beer loving German, Prussian, and Alsatian immigrants arriving by way of the Erie Canal. Equally important was Buffalo’s role as the major trans-shipping port between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. Buffalo became the country’s largest grain storage and shipping center, moving 25 million bushels in 1850 alone. Buffalo also had the world’s first automated grain elevator. Brewing continued to flourish with cheap and plentiful electricity for refrigeration and other operations from nearby Niagara Falls beginning around the turn of the century.
Matthias Rohr 1852-1856 In the 1850’s Batavia Street (renamed Broadway in 1880) was one of the busiest commercial thoroughfares in Buffalo. It ran from the center of the city eastbound 40 miles to the city of Batavia where the Holland Land Company (1) offices were located. Early records are not all in agreement but it appears Matthias Rohr was the first to brew beer at Batavia and Shumway Streets. Whether he owned or rented the brewery is unknown.
Fredrich "Fritz" Albecht 1856–1880
It’s not certain when Fredrich Albrecht arrived in Buffalo or when he started brewing beer. Many brewers arrived from Europe with a vast knowledge of brewing but little or no money. They would start brewing locally in what were called “Rent A Brewery” operations. When they saved enough capital they would build or buy their own brewery. In any event, in 1856 Fredrich Albrecht decided to take advantage of the growing market for beer in Buffalo and he built or purchased the brewery on Batavia Street at the corner of Shumway Street. Albert Albrecht listed his residence at the same location as the brewery. Not much is known about the brewery during the time it was owned and operated by Mr. Albrecht. It appears the brewery enjoyed a steady local following as it remained in business amid heavy competition and consisted of a substantial three-story brick building.
On November 30,1858 fire destroyed the brewery. According to the Buffalo Currier newspaper “The fire started in an adjoining stable and was carried by a high wind to the brewery proper. The building was a three-story brick structure and was totally destroyed. Loss, $10,000: insurance, $4,000”. In 1859 Fredrich Albrecht's Brewery was forclosed on and he lost control of it. He then moved his brewing operations to a “Rent A Brewery” at Jefferson near Genesee Street. In 1868 Fredrich Albrecht went to work as a brewer at the Miller Brewery in Colden, NY. A short time later he was killed by an unknown assailant after a night of card playing and drinking at the Brewery. To the best of our knowledge the case was never solved.
It appears the brewery operated as a “Rent A Brewery” until 1879. Several brewers were listed during this period including George F. Lang and Henry Gottman 1868-1870, John C. Holzer 1871-1873, George Reis 1877-1879 (2).
Julius Binz 1880–1887 In 1880 Julius Binz acquired the Albert Albecht brewery business and property located on Broadway between Shumway and Smith Streets. According to the Buffalo City Directory, he resided at the brewery until at least 1887.
Julius Binz was born in Germany in 1847. At the age of 20, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Buffalo, New York. Binz became a successful businessman in areas other than brewing and malting. He was considered a very wealthy man by standards of that day and age.
In 1884 Binz built his malt house on the brewery property. Julius Binz became better known as a malster than a brewer and was considered “to be one of the best authorities on raw materials” for malting.
In 1886 Binz had the entire brewery rebuilt with red brick and installed new machinery. The main building was four stories and was considered to be fireproof. The brewing kettle, mash turn, beer vaults, engineer room and keg washhouse were on the first floor. The second floor contained the malt mill and malted grain storage. The third and forth floor were used for beer storage coolers and grain storage. The brewery now employed 15 workers.
Broadway Brewing and Malting Company aka: Broadway Brewing Co. 1887–1920 Julius Binz organized a stock company called the Broadway Brewing and Malting Co. in 1887 with a capitalization of $200,000 (3). The brewery now had a capacity of 15,000 barrels of beer and sold 13,250 in 1887-1888.
Binz retained sole ownership of the malting business. His malt house had a reputation as one of the finest in the city. The annual output reached three hundred thousand bushels by the 1890’s.
In 1890 natural gas was discovered on the property and was subsequently used for heating and lighting at the brewery. The brewery now had its own stables with 20 teams of horses.
By 1897 the brewery was using refrigeration and ice making machines provided by the Case Refrigeration Machine Co. in Buffalo, NY with a total capacity of 100 tons. The brewery officers were Julius Binz, president, Peter Vogt, vice-president, and Joseph Schattner, secretary, with George Baldus and Charles W. Belzer (5) as the board of directors.
By 1903 the brewing capacity was 60,000 barrels of lager beer. Among the brands brewed were “Imperial Beer”, Porter”, Export Beer” and “Standard Lager Beer” In 1907 a two-story building was added at the west end of the property. The front of the building was an office with a bottling works in the rear. The brewery now occupied the entire length of block from 797 to 815 Broadway. For a few years, beginning in 1898, a small trolley line ran past the brewery on the Smith street side.
Broadway Brewing was one of the first brewers in the country to use micro filtering instead of pasteurization of their beer; only the empty beer bottles were sterilized. By 1913 the malting operation was discontinued and a bottling operation was added in the back of the office building.
Mohawk Products Company (4) a.k.a. Broad-Smith Co. Inc. 1920-1933 In 1920 the brewery closed with the advent of prohibition. The property was then purchased in 1920 by Francis X. Schwab and William J. Weigle, former President of the Iroquois Beverage Company. Schwab then merged the Broadway Brewery and the Cooperative Brewing Company into the Mohawk Products Company to make near-beer. It was rumored by nearby residents that the brewery also produced bootleg beer.
In 1922, Schwab was elected Mayor of Buffalo and resigned from his position with Mohawk Products. During his two terms as Mayor he was strongly opposed to prohibition. It is well known that Buffalo was one of the more wide open cities for alcohol consumption during his two mayoral terms.
One of the more famous bootlegging cases in the area involved Francis X. Schwab being accused of producing alcohol in violation of the Volstead Act. Schwab was prosecuted and convicted by Wm. J. Donovan, United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. Donovan would later be appointed head of the O.S.S. during World War II (predecessor of the C.I.A.). Schwab was fined in the case but never paid it.
In the mid twenties a portion of the brewery was donated to the city to improve access to Smith Street.
Broadway Blending Company 1928-1933
George F. Stein purchased the brewery property in 1928. He began operation as the Broadway Blending Company that same year. The Company produced concentrated and liquid malt products for bakeries. Stein was from Medina, NY and operated a brewery in Medina from 1904 until 1919.
Just prior to New Year Day, 1930, a federal raid on the Stein’s Hotel in Orchard Park, NY netted an unknown quantity of liquor. Many believed George F. Stein was involved, but in reality he had no connection to the Stein’s hotel.
Broadway Brewing Company 1933–1934
With the end of prohibition in 1933 Stein reopened the Broadway Brewing Company and began brewing beer in July. $750,000 was invested to update the plant and equipment. After prohibition ended, the Federal Government required all brewers to operate with a federal permit at a cost of $1000, and they placed a $5.00 tax on every barrel of beer produced. Before prohibition a permit was not required, and each barrel of beer was taxed at $1.00. George F. Stein’s Breweries Internal Revenue license was D-41 and the New York State tax permit number was NY-U-249.
George F. Stein Brewery, Inc. 1934-1958
In 1934 Stein changed the brewery name to the George F. Stein Brewery, Inc. The License and permit numbers remained the same. In 1936 the brewery had 32 union employees including eleven brewers, eight bottlers, seven drivers, four engineers and two maintenance workers. The workers were all members of the Brewery Workers Union, Local 4. The Brewmaster was I. F. Wismer. There was also an additional staff of office workers and salesmen. George F. Stein died in 1938 and was succeeded by his son Joseph Stein.
Some of their brands were “Canadian Brand Cream Ale, “Stein’s Light Ale”, “Stein’s Pilsner Beer”, “Canandaigua Extra Dry Beer” and “Canandaigua Light Ale”. The Canandaigua brand was taken over from the defunct Cataract Brewery in Rochester NY. The brewery also brewed “McCoy Beer” under contract for a short time. Stein’s had a large and loyal local following. Many steel workers of German and Polish decent that lived in the area would have a “boilermaker”, a shot of whisky with a Stein’s beer, after work. The Brewery employed a first and second shift during the 1950’s. Annual beer production reached a high of 122,000 barrels during this time. In 1956 a laborer at the brewery was making $2.15 an hour.
The George F. Stein brewing business was sold to the Leisy Brewing Company of Cleveland, Ohio in 1958. At that time all brewing operations were moved to Cleveland. The brewery employed 70 workers at the time of the closing.
The year after the brewery closed the buildings were demolished to make room for a gasoline filling station. The demolition was attempted with a steel ball swinging from a crane. The original brewery building was red brick 40” thick with a cork layer in the middle for insulation. The steel ball would swing into the walls and bounce off with little or no damage. Later a crane and bulldozer were brought on site and the building was slowly demolished (6). During demolition Joseph Stein remarked; “ In the brewing industry, as in the manufacture of automobiles, it has turned out that the big operator has advantages over the small business”.
NOTES:
(1) In the early 1800’s the Holland Land Company owned all the land in Western New York except for some Indian reservations.
(2) Some of the available information from this time period is conflicting.
(3) Three different sources state the capitalization as three different amounts, $100.00, $200.00 and $300.00.
(4) a.k.a. Broad-Smith Co. Inc. 1920-
(5) 1933Charles W. Belzer later purchased and operated the Frontier Brewing Co. in Tonawanda, NY from 1939 until 1948.
(6) From the author’s observations in 1959.