Robert A. Musson - Akron Beer: A History of Brewing in the Rubber City

Published by The History Press

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2018 by Robert A. Musson

All rights reserved

Front cover image by Ron Saari

First published 2018

e-book edition 2018

ISBN 978.1.43966.393.6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958367

print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.818.5

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This work is dedicated to Margaretha Burkhardt, the first lady of the citys brewing heritage. A native of Germany, she overcame tremendous personal tragedy to oversee the rise of her familys brewery to become the citys largest and most successful. At the age of thirty-four, she lost both her husband, Wilhelm, and her young daughter, Carrie, within a span of five days in 1882. Instantly she was forced to choose between selling her husbands company or keeping it and running it herself, all while raising two young sons. Her decision to retain it and manage it successfully, despite being in a highly male-dominated industry, cemented her place in Akrons history. Her solid business sense, willingness to work hard and dedication to her family served her well over the next four decades, until her passing during the Prohibition era at the age of seventy-seven.

As the father of three young daughters, I am well aware of the challenges that women face in society and in the workplace and am happy to use Mrs. Burkhardt as an example for them to follow as they grow into young women, about to embark on their own careers.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

When considering the history of brewing in Akron, its amazing how much the craft beer industry has grown here throughout the last quarter century. A few breweries were established by the end of the 1980s, and a clear ramp-up seemed to start in Akron in the mid-1990s with the birth of the Thirsty Dog brewpubs and other craft breweries.

This was craft beers honeymoon period, which saw unprecedented growth in many parts of the country. In those days, it was like the Wild West in many ways, where the saying quickly became If you brew it, they will come. This growth continued in Akron and the surrounding areas for several years. But there was a fallout in 1999 and 2000, where the supply eventually overtook the demand. By early 2005, there were no breweries left in Akron.

However, the brewers and craft beer lovers in Akron wouldnt rest. Growth started over again in 2006 with the opening of my Hoppin Frog Brewery, followed by a rebirth of the Thirsty Dog Brewing Company the following year. Now, ten years later, we are seeing explosive growth of the craft beer industry once again in Ohio and all across the country. Akron is definitely in the middle of it all, with several more craft breweries established in 2017 and many more to come.

The question may soon become, Can these craft breweries attract enough customers for all of them to survive? With the spread of knowledge and the excitement of craft beer in Akron, it seems there could be prosperity and growth in this industry here for a long timemaybe even sustained growth for years to come. All craft beer lovers certainly hope for this.

The future growth of breweries in America seems to be the most promising in facilities that make and serve their own beer, similar to what was often seen in the nineteenth century, decades before Prohibition. Establishments that make and serve their own beer often win the hearts of the local patrons and energize their respective communities. Akron has certainly had its fair share of breweries, and the number keeps growing. It goes without saying that craft beer lovers in Akron will continue to support their local breweries, assuming that the beers are high quality and meet the customers expectations.

FRED KARM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I began writing about Akrons brewing industry in 1994, during the early years of the citys craft brewing industry, and this led to my first self-published book, Brewing Beer in the Rubber City (1997), and the subsequent Brewing Beer in the Buckeye State, vol. 1 (2005). As I continue to research and write on the subject today, there are many people whom I would like to thank for their assistance and support over the years.

First, I want to thank my family for their support of my writing. My late parents, Irv and Frances Musson, were always enthusiastic about my research in the early days, and today my wife, Jennifer, and my daughters, Anastasia, Alexandra and Athena, remain supportive and excited about these projects.

One person who has been endlessly helpful over the years is Bill Carlisle. A collector of brewery history, relics and advertising since 1973, he has amassed a huge assortment of these and has provided information and images for my books on many occasions.

Carl Miller is another individual who has been tremendously helpful on my writing projects for more than twenty years. The author of Breweries of Cleveland (1998), he has provided me with many tips on writing style and the art of self-publishing.

Thomas Burkhardt, the founder and operator of the Burkhardt Brewpub, was extremely helpful during the writing of my first book. In addition to providing information about his modern brewing operation, he allowed me to reproduce many rare images of his familys previous brewery in Akron, several of which appear in this book.

Rick Armon is a prominent writer for the Akron Beacon Journal and has been covering the areas craft brewing industry for many years. His columns and his online blog have documented the rapid changes of the industry in great detail over the past decade, and these have allowed my coverage of the modern era of brewing to be far more complete.

Fred Karm, the founder and operator of the Hoppin Frog Brewery, was kind enough to provide images of his facility and the foreword to this book. With more than twenty years of experience in professional brewing, he knows the local industry as well as anyone.

The staff of the AkronSummit County Public Library have been very helpful over the years, providing resources from their collection and allowing me use of their microfilm readers.

Kevin Wise, a friend for more than forty years, has provided endless technical support, helping me to get established with a home computer system in the early 1990s that started the ball rolling on the path to self-publishing.

Dale Van Wieren, a brewery historian on the national level, has spent many years documenting and publishing lists of known breweries in the United States. His American Breweries II (1995) is considered a landmark publication for brewery researchers like myself.

Bob Kay has amassed the largest collection of United States beer labels, many of which are extremely rare. He has allowed me to use images of many of these in this publication and other books I have written.