Patriotism was strong at the turn of the century. America's "manifest destiny" had been fulfilled in the Spanish-American war. Victories against Spain, a leading world power, inspired a new spirit of nationalism as the new American empire stretched west to the Philippines and south into the Caribbean.

Teddy Roosevelt was in his second term when Valentine Merz, late president of the New Orleans Brewing Company, announced plans to open a new brewery. He would call it the Union Brewing Company as a salute to America's ascent to world leadership. The name was not uncommon. Thirty-four American breweries before Prohibition used that name and red, white and blue labels bore the name Union in cities from California to New York. Construction of the new brewery in New Orleans was underway when papers announced that President Roosevelt had received the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the war between Russian and Japan.

New Orleans' first Union Brewery ended before the first kegs were tapped. The company died when a last minute merger created the new Dixie Brewing Company. That brewery became the Merz Products Company during Prohibition, and continues to brew today at its plant in the 2500 block of Tulane Avenue.

New Union Brewery born

Four years later the patriotic fervor emerged as a new Union Brewing Company at North Robertson and Press Streets. The stars and stripes adorned its crest and American flags waved when, in 1912, the first kegs and bottles of Old Union Lager reached consumers. The brand name itself capitalized on Union, an old New Orleans brand produced at the turn of the century by the New Orleans Brewing Association.

Little is known about the early history of this brewery. The first president was Joseph DiCarlo, George Mule was vice-president, and Philip Foto was secretary-treasurer of the company. Investors spent $450,000 on the new "fireproof" brewery , a five-story structure of steel and concrete. Motorized trucks were used for delivery and a large crowd was on hand when the formal opening took place on May 14, 1912, reported the New Orleans States.

Harry G. Dihlmann, the master brewer, "was a popular fellow in the brewers circles, being president of the New Orleans District Masters Brewers Association at the time of his death July 27, 1935, at the age of 69," said The Brewers Journal.

In 1914, the Union Brewing Company installed a Meyer bottling machine capable of running 110 bottles per minute. When the brewery finally closed in 1939, the machine went to the Dixie Brewing Company and was still pumping out bottles in 1952, The Brewers Journal reported.

Prohibition in 1919 saw a name change to the Union Beverage Company (1919-1927) and then to the Union Products Company, Inc. (1927-1936). The brewery remained operational through prohibition producing malt beverages. Many men, most for short periods, tried to steer the brewery through the dry years. City directories list six different presidents or general managers during that time.

Happy days here again!

Repeal was a joyous time in New Orleans when the return of Old Union Lager Beer was proclaimed in a full-page ad in The Times Picayune. After 14 years, Old Union would be available the first day beer became legal in New Orleans. The slogan, "The choicest product of the Brewer's Art" would herald the return of Old Union Lager. This slogan would later be adopted by Falstaff (located in New Orleans from 1937-1975). Union Brewery officials were "ready to shoot" with 100,000 gallons," reported the newspaper, and at 55¢ a six-bottle carton "happy days are here again!" More than 500,000 gallons of locally brewed 3.2% beer was ready for shipment and local consumption that first day of legal beer.

From 1927 to 1936, the Union Products Company and the Union Brewing Corporation (1936 to 1939) would bottle Old Union. When the business closed in 1939, the buildings went to the Schneider Paper Company which still occupies them. The brand name went to the New Orleans Brewing Company.

Mystery surrounds brand name

Why the Union brewery closed and the appearance of the brand name on labels a decade later remain a mystery. Old Union labels marked "under license from New Orleans Old Union Company and brewed and bottled by Jax Ice and Cold Storage Co., Jacksonville, Fla." have been found. "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" statements on the labels date them before 1950.

The New Orleans Brewing Company, which acquired the Old Union brand, closed in 1949. Another mystery is the rare "Old Union" can of the same design (BCU 101/40) marked as "Brewed and Packed by Jax Ice and Cold Storage Co." in 1956, the same year the Jaxsonville brewery closed. One theory is that the Old Union can, and a few elusive others, were actually canned by the Jackson Brewing Company in New Orleans and shipped to Jacksonville, Florida, for distribution. I do not know the answer to the puzzle. All that is clear is that Old Union breweriana, by any brewery, is tough to obtain.

This article appeared in the American Breweriana Journal, Issue 72, Jan-Feb. 1995 by Kip Sharpe.