The Volstead Act setting up the structure for Prohibition enforcement was passed over Presidential veto on October 28, 1919. When two court cases challenging the constitutionality of the Act were decided in favor of the Government in June, 1920, breweries were left to contemplate survival strategies now that their primary product was illicit.

The production of near-beer (with an alcohol content of less than 1/2%) was one popular option. In Belleville, Western began producing Premium Stag brand non-intoxicating beverage. However, the Western Brewery only manufactured and bottled near-beer for a short time. By the mid 1920’s, they found it more economical to have the The Falstaff Corporation in St. Louis (later Falstaff Brewing Corporation) produce and bottle the relatively small amounts of Stag near-beer that they were selling, and ship it back to Belleville for distribution, than to produce it themselves at a plant working at a fraction of its capacity.

To counter its cross town competitor, Star made Peerless beverage near beer. To entice former beer drinkers to try the latter, a crown contest offered prizes ranging from a dime to five dollars.

Diversification was another answer. The Western Brewery started producing soft drinks and an orange pulp drink. Breweries could also continue making and selling ice, selling malt products, and renting space for cold storage. Such ventures at least offered continued employment for part of a company’s workers, of which there were over 300 in Belleville prior to Prohibition.

In October, 1922, the Star Brewery announced that it was ceasing the production of Peerless near-beer. Federal agents were called in to legally dispose of 1,000 barrels of beer from which the alcohol had not yet been removed. It took eight hours to empty the 35,000 gallons of beer into the sewer. A brewery representative said that making near-beer was unprofitable because there were too many home brewers and too much sale of illegal beer!

This presented another option for breweries: the continued production and sale of real beer. It was around since you needed it to produce near-beer, Prohibition enforcement could be spotty, officials could be bought off, and the price of beer had skyrocketed. Brewmaster Friedrich had left Western for a Mexican brewery in 1922, but his art had continued, as in July 1923, a warrant was served charging Western with manufacturing real beer. The warrant recommended prosecuting brewery officials, revoking their malt producer permit, and closing the facility. A truck had been seized in western Belleville in May, containing eighteen barrels of beer.

The alcohol content had been analyzed as 4 to 5%, and the brewery office had traced the beer to the Western Brewery. Fortunately, this was Western’s only scrape with the law, and the company was able to avoid prosecution. Other nearby breweries were not so lucky. The Stecher Brewery in Murphysboro was closed by federal agents in a similar case, and the Probst brothers, owners of the New Athens brewery, ended up with two year jail sentences for making beer. The brewery in Mascoutah, just ten miles east of Belleville, was closed and seized by the Feds as well.

Amidst this backdrop, in 1926, the Star Brewery was sold to a group of local men, including longtime brewmaster John Birsner. Red Crown Malt Products was to operate in part of the plant. This venture was not successful, and in 1929 the company was hit with a foreclosure suit. The next year saw the old Star Brewery, which had been valued at $300,000 before Prohibition, bring just $50,000 at a master-in-chancery sale.

Meanwhile, part of the Western Brewery was being leased to a dairy farm. But the political winds of change were once again beginning to blow, and this time in a direction favorable to brewers. The "noble experiment" was being viewed with increasing disfavor, and companies were soon to begin scrambling for position in the post-Prohibition brewing industry.

THE HIGH-WATER MARK

By the early 1930’s the Western Brewery had little business other than its ice business, with no activity in most of the former brewery buildings. Seeing the end of Prohibition in sight, and an underutilized facility, "Papa" Joe Griesedieck, then at the helm of the Falstaff Corporation in St. Louis, made a serious attempt to buy or lease the Western Brewery. "Papa" Joe was planning ahead to secure additional capacity to satisfy the sales demand that the well known Falstaff brand name was sure to generate, if and when beer became legal again.

"Papa" Joe, at one time a manager and a principal stockholder of the Western Brewery, was well familiar with it’s advantages. As compared to the tiny "coffeepot" Falstaff brewery on Forest Park Boulevard in St. Louis, the Belleville plant had a much larger capacity, and because of general design and location, was considerably more economical to operate. Located right at the edge of the Illinois coal fields, its cost of fuel was extremely low. Water for power was available from a pond on the premises, while brewing water came from its own deep wells. Also, the Western Brewery was located on a railroad spur, thus lowering transportation costs on inbound raw materials and empty cooperage, as well as outbound shipments of beer. Falstaff’s plan to acquire the Western Brewery was sunk by the tepid support of the deal by H. L. Griesedieck Sr. and other stockholders, and the failure of New York banks to commit financing.

By 1932, the repeal of Prohibition appeared a certainty. Work began on refitting the plant at the Western Brewery. In November, it was announced that Western was the only brewery in Illinois outside of Chicago that could begin manufacturing beer on short notice. Dealers as far south as Alabama notified brewery officials that they would like to buy their beer if and when the 18th Amendment was repealed, and St. Louis hotels began bidding for the first case. Just before the end of Prohibition, the company changed its name to the Griesedieck Western Brewery Company, Inc., with H. L. Griesedieck, Sr., as president, and H. L. Jr., as Vice-President. Adolph Walther was hired as brewmaster, and the brewery was refurbished. The facility would reopen with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per year, and the ability to pack 5,000 cases daily.

On May 27, 1933, Stag Beer, now with a temporary 3.2% alcohol content, came back on the local market. Proud brewery officials showed reporters stacks of orders, and gave tours of the facility, where 50,000 new cases waited to be filled with bottles.

In January 1934, Henry Griesedieck, Sr., invited 1,500 beer dealers to a party at the brewery’s new rathskeller. Demand was soon to outstrip production capacity for Stag. The Star Brewery was not far behind. In June, 1933, the suddenly valuable facility was purchased for $1 million by a group of Chicago financiers and local businessmen. The company incorporated as the Star-Peerless Brewery, over 100,000 shares of stock were sold at $6 each, and the plant was rehabilitated. The first batch was brewed in April 1934, and on June 11, Star Beer came back on the market. Small replicas of the illuminated star above the brewhouse were shipped as far north as Springfield, Illinois, and as far east as Paducah, Kentucky, as promotional display items.

Financial problems soon developed at Star-Peerless, however, and bankruptcy was declared on June 12, 1935. The company cited the following reasons for its troubles: heavy operating expenses, the fact that the company had been sold to newcomers in the business who had poor credit, high marketing costs, increased transportation costs for long-distance shipping, and a general lack of working capital.

The brewery continued operating and a plan was developed to get it back on its financial feet. Stockholders would be assessed $1 a share to raise working capital. Those who refused to fork over the buck a share would have 70% of their shares revert to the company. This resulted in $16,624 being raised, and 70% of 86,070 shares being turned in to the company.

Near the end of 1935, a local group that held 35,000 shares of stock organized to take over Star-Peerless. The Hartmann family was back at the brewery’s helm as Hans W. Hartmann was elected corporate president. It was estimated that if the company could sell 40,000 barrels a year, it could make a profit. To facilitate this a new bottling plant was built. It opened on June 05, 1936, and began bottling the new Stern Brau brand. This marked the beginning of a successful period for the brewery. In 1939 a new $150,000 bottling machine was put on line, increasing the bottling rate 25% to 164 bottles per minute. During the 1940’s, Star-Peerless shipped its beer as far as the Southwestern states. Also during this time, the brewery introduced a premium brand under the Oltimer label. Oltimer appeared first on draft, and in seven-ounce painted label bottles called "flips." Later, the brand was sold in 12 ounce bottles, and conetop cans. Star-Peerless also sold contract beer to the Berbiglia liquor-store chain in Kansas City, Missouri, also in seven-ounce painted label bottles.

Meanwhile, the advantages of producing beer at Griesedieck Western that "Papa" Joe had so coveted, were helping this brewery grow by leaps in the late 1930’s. The power plant capacity was increased, a new fermenting cellar built, and a new stockhouse featured 700-barrel aging tanks. The brewing capacity was doubled, and the plant was working around the clock. The old wooden cases were replaced by cardboard, much to the delight of brewery workers. Stag became the top-selling beer in the St. Louis metropolitan area, well ahead of Falstaff and Budweiser, and the Stag distribution area began to grow.

Another reason that Griesedieck Western tripled sales in the late 1930’s was their extensive use of newspaper advertising. The brewery was probably for a few years the largest and most consistent newspaper advertiser of beer in the country. Henry L. Griesedieck, Sr., the president, aimed to sell Stag beer to the man on the street, at a ‘popular price,’ which led to 99% of retail sales to be at 10 cents a bottle. Mr. Griesedieck was a believer in continuous advertising, with the idea to keep the customer sold the year round. In 1939, approximately 70 newspapers carried Stag beer copy on a 12 month basis. Those newspapers were located in Illinois (outside Cook County), Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, western Tennessee and Kentucky, and eastern Kansas. The brewery also supplemented newspaper ads with billboards as a constant reminder of the selling story being told in the newspapers. Griesedieck Western used radio only as an introductory medium when new sales territories were opened.

Growing sales meant the need to brew more Stag, leading to the building of a new modern brewhouse, featuring two 490-barrel brew kettles. Completed in 1939, it was the fourth addition to the plant in three years. The five story structure cost $550,000 to build. Soon to follow were new boiler, and settling houses. Production was set at over 2,000 barrels a day, four to five days per week, which was more than the bottling plant could keep up with. The World War II years put a large burden on the brewing industry. Supplies of barley were restricted and beer production at Griesedieck Western dropped nearly 50%.

In 1944 construction began on a new smokestack. The 225’ tall structure was completed in early 1945 and featured 5’5" high white tile letters saying "Stag Beer."

By 1946, the brewery resumed at its pre-war levels and construction of a new bottling plant began. Sales of Stag continued to escalate, with 4,000 barrels being produced daily. Edward Jones, who had married into the Griesedieck family, and was the head of a prestigious St. Louis brokerage firm, had replaced Henry Griesedieck, Jr., as company president.

On November 17, 1948 Griesedieck Western dropped a bombshell on the St. Louis brewing industry, by announcing a merger with the Hyde Park Brewery at 3607 North Florissant in St. Louis, forming a new $12.5 million company. Hyde Park had agreed to the merger as they were running significantly below their rated capacity, and had lost $72,546 in the four months ended July 31. It was a time of nationwide brewery expansion, and Griesedieck Western felt it needed the increased capacity. The Belleville plant had a production potential of nearly a million barrels yearly and Hyde Park added 800,000 more. Stag would be brewed at both plants, and the Hyde Park brand would be retained and brewed in St. Louis. It was kept for a few more years, including a special clear 75th anniversary bottle which enjoyed some success, but as sales continued to decline, the Hyde Park name was eventually dropped.

The two-brewery combination’s biggest year was about 1.5 million barrels, and by the early 1950’s Griesedieck Western was the 11th largest brewing company in the U. S., with Stag beer being sold in 22 states.

While the 1950’s marked continued success for Stag, the cross-town Star-Peerless Brewery began to wither. Sales started to decline and financial difficulties were not far behind. In the spring of 1957, the brewery suspended operations. Vice-President Louis Knab claimed that the shutdown would be temporary and that new machinery would be installed to improve the brewery, but this never happened. In December 1958, the brewery property on Lebanon Avenue was sold to St. Teresa’s Parish, which had plans for building a new church. The brewery equipment and additional land were soon sold to pay creditors. In the spring of 1961 the brewery was demolished, with large portions of debris being bulldozed into the creek directly behind where the brewery stood. Down came all the buildings, the 175’ smokestack, and the famous six-pointed star that had stood atop the brewhouse for so many years. Today, no portion of the brewery remains.

The fifties saw another big change in Belleville brewing, as in 1954 Carling, through its Brewing Corporation of America in Cleveland, announced plans to buy both Griesedieck Western breweries. Company officials at Western felt they needed to either expand or sell out, and in hindsight made the right choice. The $10 million sale was approved by stockholders in October, 1954. With Stag at #11 and Carling at #18 on the sales list of U. S. brewers, the sale jumped Carling into the top ten.

With another brewery under construction in Natick, Massachusetts, Carling figured to become an even bigger player in U. S. brewing. Carling officially took control of the breweries on November 1, 1954. Ian R. Dowie, company president, outlined plans to brew Stag in Belleville; and Black Label and Red Cap Ale at the St. Louis plant. John H. Morris, Griesedieck Western president, was appointed general manager over both facilities. The former Hyde Park plant ended up staying open only until 1957, where upon the Belleville plant was enlarged. Sales continued to be strong for the next several years. All three Carling products were brewed in Belleville, and advertising campaigns of the time featured the cartoon character Mr. Magoo for Stag, and the well known "Mabel, Black Label" theme.

The 1960’s and 1970’s continued to be volatile times in the brewing industry, with larger companies increasing market share and smaller ones being absorbed or going out of business. Carling’s market share had shrunk, and by 1978, it was rumored that the Belleville plant would soon be closed. Around this time, Carling National was purchased by the G. Heileman Brewing Company for $35.3 million. On the first day they began operating as the Carling National Division of Heileman, March 28, 1979, notices were posted at the Belleville and Tacoma plants advising that the breweries would soon close if a buyer could not be found. Two months later Stag brewery employees picked up their last paychecks. Only twenty remained on duty in the warehouse. While Heileman searched for a buyer, its president Russell Cleary pledged "Stag Beer Forever" in newspaper ads.

Soon Heileman had a change of heart, as in August the Belleville brewery returned to operation, and 230 jobs were saved. Manufacturing of Stag was continued and the plant began producing other brands in the Heileman stable as well, with production running at or near the plant’s yearly capacity of 850,000 barrels for several years. The talented brewmaster department, due to its ability to brew most of the Heileman labels, probably extended the life of the brewery. In 1986, the top 45 feet of the giant Stag smokestack was renovated. It was deemed impractical to replace the "Stag" lettering which had been on this section, so now only the word "Beer" loomed above the Belleville skyline.

Perhaps this had been an omen, for in June, 1988, Heileman again announced that the Belleville brewery would be closed. Australian brewing giant Bond Ltd. had purchased Heileman the previous year and had closed their Evansville, Indiana brewery. Belleville was next on the chopping block due to its proximity to other Heileman breweries, the age and inefficiency of the plant, and Heileman’s excess capacity. An environmental order to build a new wastewater pre-treatment plant at the brewery further deterred both Heileman and any potential buyers. Unlike the Evansville brewery, which had been rescued by local investors, nobody stepped forward to save the Stag plant.

At 1:00 P. M. on September 1, 1988, Terry Galati pushed the final case of beer off the line at the Stag Brewery in Belleville. Ironically, it was a case of Kingsbury in non-returnable bottles. 180 workers were laid off, with 50 more kept on only temporarily. The last major brewery in the entire state of Illinois would be closed for good this time, ending 160 years of brewing history in Belleville.

Less than a year later demolition began on the brewery. The property had been purchased by M. J. Roberts Construction of St. Louis. Plans called for tearing down all of the manufacturing complex, and keeping the rest for the purpose of leasing warehouse and business space. About half of the 23 building, 420,000 square foot Stag Brewery was to be torn down. When the wrecking ball started swinging on July 14, 1989, there were representatives present from the newly formed Evansville Brewing Company buying equipment.

Today, parts of the brewery still stand, much of them empty. A section which was being rented was recently damaged by fire. The old brick office building at 1201 West E Street remains, and is being used. As for Stag beer, it is still being brewed in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, by Stroh, after their acquisition of the G. Heileman Brewing Company. Stag beer continues to refresh beer drinkers in central and southern Illinois, and parts of Missouri, in particular the southeast portion of the state. A fair number of large Stag outdoor neons still glow red outside taverns, and both of the big Belleville breweries live on in the collections of many members of our association. As Russell Cleary once wrote, "Stag Beer forever!"