Kauffman Brewing Company

Kauffman Brewing Company

The John Kauffman Brewing Company is a defunct brewing operation at 1622 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. It was known for its “Gilt Edge,” “Columbia,” and “Old Lager” beers. It closed in 1919 when Prohibition was enacted, and Kauffman never reopened.

History

The John Kauffman Brewing Company is a defunct brewing operation in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was known for its “Gilt Edge,” “Columbia,” and “Old Lager” beers.

In 1856, John Kauffman, George F. Eichenlaub and Rudolf Rheinbold bought the Franklin Brewery on Lebanon Road near Deer Creek from an aunt in the Kauffman family.(1) Franklin Brewery, founded in 1844 by John Kauffman, had died in 1845.

Three years after the purchase, Kauffman, under the company name Kauffman and Company, constructed a new brewery on Vine Street, replacing the location along Deer Creek.(1) The first of several structures was completed in 1860. It was during this time that Kauffman purchased the Schneider grist mill on Walnut Street at McMicken Avenue, but decided to lease it out to another company.

By 1861, the brewery produced approximately 1,000 barrels per year.(1)(2) Two years later, the company was renamed Kaufmann Brewery.(2) Eight years after the renaming the brewery was the fourth largest in the city, selling over $30,930 beer per year and producing up to 25,000 barrels per year.(1)(2)

Kauffman was producing over 50,000 barrels per year by 1877, selling in many markets in the midwest, south and the southeast. It’s main beers included “Gilt Edge Bohemian,” “Pale Lager,” “Columbia,” and “Standard.”(2) A popular slogan used by Kauffman repeatedly appealed to the sickly during the time, “A liquid food for the invalid a wholesome beverage for the healthy!”

In 1865, Eichenlaub retired, followed by Rheinbold twelve years later.(1)(2) Kauffman became the sole owner of the brewery. During this time, his son, John, studied brewing in Augsburg, Germany, later working for his father’s corporation. Emil Schmidt, Kauffman’s son-in-law, became superintendent of the site by 1877.

The brewery became incorporated as the John Kauffman Brewing Company in 1882.(1) The company at this point was immensely wealthy, and had a paid-in capital stock of $700,000.

Six years later, a new brewery structure was completed at 1622 Vine Street.(1) The Kauffman Building followed in 1876, which housed brewery employees. (Constructed of the Second Renaissance Revival style, the structure is currently being repaired through a $450,000 forgivable loan from the city.) The office and family residence was located at 1625 and 1627 Vine Street, although that was demolished in in 1922. By 1890, Kauffman produced 55,000 barrels per year.(2)

John Kauffman passed away in 1892 and his wife Marianne Eichenlaub Kauffman took over operations and became president.(1) Brewery production peaked in 1894,(2) when Kauffman produced 70,000 barrels of beer per year, and the malt house had a production capacity of 150,000 bushels of barley. The complex occupied approximately five acres in Over-the-Rhine.

The brewery closed in 1919 when Prohibition was enacted, and Kauffman never reopened after it was repealed in 1933.(1)

Gallery

Links

1. Brewery District, Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Bockfest in Cincinnati at American Byways

Sources

1. Wimberg, Robert J. “The John Kauffman Brewing Co.” Cincinnati Breweries. 2nd ed. 1989. Cincinnati: Ohio Book Store, 1997. 86-90. Print.
2. Hampton, Steve. Prohibition Resistance Text. Cincinnati: n.p., 2010. N. pag. Print.