Skip to main content

Gangster Wood Crates

Manhattan Brewing Company of Chicago

I like what one would call 'vintage decor'. Just walk through my house and you can tell I've bought my fair share of Hobby Lobby 'vintage' -  you know, brand new stuff that looks old.

I see these vintage looking pieces every time I'm at the tavern, much like things I would gravitate towards when I see them in the store, but then I have to remind myself that these things are actual vintage! The real deal!

So I come across some old crates and decide I want to take one home, log in to Pinterest and find some great way to decorate with it that I would never be able to think of on my own.  I decided to select the crate that shows the bottle marks on the inside bottom and because it had the word beer printed on it in old-timey letters. 




I had never heard of the beer written on the crate - Old Manhattan Beer from Manhattan Brewing Company in Chicago (yes, Chicago, not to be confused with Manhattan Brewing Company in New York which from what I could tell are completely separate operations).

Google makes two distinct things stand out when you search this beer:  organized crime and Al Capone.

The brewery was founded in 1893. Then Chicago mobster Johnny Torrio and a brewing partner purchased the brewery in 1919.  Shortly after that, Al Capone's 'finance man' took over management responsibilities.  During prohibition (1920-1933), the brewery operated under Malt Maid and then Fort Dearborn Products, although it wasn't clear to me exactly what they claimed to legally produce under those names.  The brewery was often the target of searches, so I think we can all guess what was actually being produced there. It was no surprise to learn that it was during this time that Al Capone was known to mostly be associated with the brewery.

Old Manhattan was their flagship product up until 1936 and was mostly only distributed to states that neighbored Illinois. Like perhaps to Wisconsin!? To a tavern in East Bristol!?  From what I was able to find out, the crate is likely from before 1938 because of the signs that there were bottles stored in it.  After that, the brewery switched to all cans.

In 1947, they changed their name to Canadian Ace and anything bearing the Manhattan name was no longer produced. Canadian Ace brewing closed in 1968. Canadian and Manhattan branding from a brewery in Chicago, Illinois?  Perhaps the identity crises contributed to its demise.

Sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2018, September 22). Manhattan Brewing Company of Chicago. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:21, August 26, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manhattan_Brewing_Company_of_Chicago&oldid=860700734

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vintage Soda Bottles

Vintage, Retro Soda Bottles They just don't make them like this anymore.  Although they are heavy and fragile to transport, they are a more environmentally friendly option than the plastic soda bottles of today. And they just look so much cooler!! Buried in a box in the side garage were a pile of empty soda bottles of various brands.  I find the bygone days of regional soda, before Pepsi and Coke took over everything, fascinating.  I grabbed a few of some of these more interesting looking bottles, most of brands I had never heard of, and found a way to use them as vintage decor in my office. Most of these are from the 1950s. It was fun to do a little retro soda research. We do love our soda pop! Pile of 60+ year old empty soda bottles Vintage Soda Bottle Decor in My Office Howel's Root Beer Bottle is Circa late 1940s The origins of Howel's Beverage Company out of Chicago, IL started with the sale of an orange-julep syrup (this would eventually bec...
1 comment
Read more

Let's Start with Englebert Mautz (formerly Mauz)

I'm going to start my blog with what little I do know about my great-grandfather, Engelbert Mautz, since he was the family member that first settled in East Bristol, WI. Nothing says classy biography like a bullet point list, but for your easy reading pleasure, here are some high level 'facts' that I found on the Internet and through information that my aunt had in the form of historical documentation, anecdotes, and photos. He was born in 1858 in Burladingen, Germany He was a cabinet maker According to my aunt, he was a tall and husky German (see photo below) He came to America in 1890 first to somewhere on the East coast. He settled in East Bristol, WI in 1893 His last name was actually Mauz. His first wife's name was Anna Heim. They had three daughters, Regina, Kate and Johanna. Anna died after giving birth to Johanna. His second wife's name was also Anna. Her maiden name was also Mauz. Were they related?  At some point and for a reason I'm not s...
4 comments
Read more

Kurth's Brewing, Columbus, WI

Kurth's Beer from Columbus, WI Well, the online auction of items from the tavern has been over now for a few months and at times I find myself still reflecting on how valuable some of those items were to people.  Our signature piece was the Kurth's Beer sign that had been sitting in the garage for upwards of 70 years.  It's that sign that has inspired this blog post, which focuses on all the vintage Kurth Brewing items that were found inside. Kurth's Beer Sign If you want to know more about Kurth Brewery, I encourage you to check out this July 2016 article by Lisa Cestkowski for the Columbus Journal https://www.wiscnews.com/columbusjournal/news/local/kurth-brewery-was-barreling-full-steam-ahead-until-flames-altered-the-course-of-history/article_a5cd6ef0-4a02-5501-bd40-1084d25fe168.html I'm sure it makes sense that there was an abundance of Kurth's Beer served at the tavern. Since the brewery was located in Columbus, WI it was likely the closest bre...
1 comment
Read more