Skip to main content

Crates of Shortys

Recently uncovered inside Mautz Tavern were not just one, but two crates full of these adorable little bottles, affectionately known as shortys.  Rhinelander Brewing Company was known for these back in the day - a 7 ounce, stubby little bottled filled with a light lager style beer.  Best guess on their age from doing some googling, I think these are from circa 1950?


A local Wisconsin brewery find from long ago




Isn't this just the cutest little thing?

Here is my timeline of the original Rhinelander Brewing Company

1882  - Brewery founded in Rhinelander, WI

1897  - Brewery burns down. Sorry folks. We're closed. The hodag out front shoulda told ya!

18?? - Ooh, yay, they rebuilt, open once again.

1920 - Dang it, closed again due to Prohibition. Beer dumped (insert sad face) and equipment sent to Mexico.

1933 - Yay, prohibition is over! Sold stock to make some money and opened 'er back up!

1967 - Ugh, closed again. Stupid big breweries sucking up all the market share.


From Rhinelander to Monroe

After the brewery in Rhinelander closed, the beer was still brewed for several decades by the Joseph Huber Brewing Company in Monroe, WI (think, Augsburger and Berghoff's).  In 1995, Joseph Huber Brewing Company filed for bankruptcy and was sold.

In 2006, a Canadian company purchased the Joseph Huber Company and the Huber brands. This Monroe brewery is now called Minhas Brewing.  In 2011, the company reintroduced the Rhinelander Shorty because they knew how nostalgic us beer lovers are.  Soon, the company would bring the brand back to Rhinelander, WI.

Enter the new Rhinelander Brewing Company - 2018

It's now a craft brewery, located in Rhinelander.  I don't even think they make the shorty beer in Rhinelander.  I think it's still made in Monroe.  But the brewery has a presence once again up in the Northwoods.

Long live the shorty!


Comments

  1. Praying GrandmotherNovember 10, 2019 at 8:24 PM

    Such great history for my family at that tavern!! My mother, Martha, grew up 2 houses away from the tavern. Her maiden name was Urban. She told me stories how your grandfather, Adalbert used to come over to her house as a young boy and give her "horseback rides" when she was just a little girl. This was especially fun for her during a time when she had Rheumatic Fever and had to stay in bed for a long time, not even allowed to get up and walk on her own. So when Adalbert would come and give her "horseback rides" she could get out of bed but didn't have to walk. In later years her father, my Grandpa Franz Urban would take us kids over to the tavern every Sunday after church and while he would have a beer, he would buy us each a chocolate bar....probably 5 cents or less in those days!

    ReplyDelete

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