Falstaff

Brewing Corporation

St Louis, Omaha, New Orleans, Galveston, El Paso, Ft Wayne, San Jose, San Francisco, Cranston, RI

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History of Falstaff Beer

Plant Photos

Ft Wayne Brewery Tour

Galveston Brewery Tour

More Photos

Working for Falstaff

Ballantine Ale

Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor

The Friends of Falstaff

The Gabe and Walker Story

Where Can I Buy  Ballantine Ale & Other Brews?

Carling-National Brewing Corporation

Falls City Beer

Theodore Mack and the Peoples' Brewing Corp.

Joseph Picketts & Sons of Dubuque

Walter Brewing of Eau Claire

Horlacher Brewing Co.

Web Guy Ego Trip Page J

T Shirt Shop

 

 Welcome to the Falstaff Beer fan site!  In Memory of Falstaff Beer and the Falstaff Brewing Corporation 

Please note this is site is not affiliated with, and does not reflect the opinions of the Falstaff Brewing Corporation, Pabst Brewing nor S&P Corporation and has been created with the permission of the owners of the trademark.

On the Web since 8/3/99 - Index, Haffenreffer, Walters, Ballantine, Where Can I Buy Updated - 5/9/08 

Falstaff ad scan thanks to Paul Abrams

   Falstaff Brewing was the story of two St. Louis based brewing families, the Lemps and Griesediecks. Started by German immigrant Adam Lemp in the 1840s, in 50 years' time the Falstaff brand became one of the most popular in  America, and was exported world-wide.  Unfortunately, the Lemp family enterprise was devastated by personal tragedies and the economic effects of prohibition. Lemp Brewing went into receivership in 1920s. The Falstaff brand was then purchased for a very small sum by another St. Louis brewing family, the Griesediecks,who marketed near beer, soft drinks, and cured hams under the Falstaff name.

With the repeal of prohibition in 1933 came a period of rapid expansion for the company. By the 1960s, Falstaff was the third largest brewer in America with plants situated from coast to coast. During the 1970s, however, fortunes began to decline as Falstaff fell victim to consolidation within the beer industry. In 1977 they were purchased by a California based holding company who also owned General Brewing (Lucky Lager). Assets from Pabst, Pearl, Olympia Brewing, and eventually Stroh's were later added to the fold.  The Falstaff breweries were  eventually closed  and most of the equipment sent to China. The brand has been discontinued in 2005, and this site is a tribute to the employees of Falstaff Brewing as well to all of us that ever enjoyed "the choicest product of the brewer's art".  I have also included pages on four other breweries whose beers I enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s; Falls City, Walter's, Carling - National, and Jos Picketts & Sons. Click on the links on the left for more info!

5/9/08 You won't believe this one. Just click here.  Thanks to GA friend of Falstaff Ricky Graham.

I am now offering cool Falstaff and Walter's T Shirts for sale - click on the T Shirt Shop for more information

The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous is Back (but not in Milwaukee!)

5/1/08 Schlitz, in its original recipe, is returning to the Chicago area. I had a little trouble finding it as it is only being test marketing in select areas; for example it wasn't available in Buffalo Grove but I did find it in Arlington Heights. It's in the old 60s brown bottles and labels, and after tasting three, in my humble opinion, kicks serious butt.  Let's hope it succeeds and goes nationwide. I knew eventually I'd find some reason to be happy to be living in Chicago. <grin>  Click here. There's a bit more down below in the News section. Thanks to Gains McDonald and Beck Martin. I found the reformulated Schlitz at:

Teddy' Liquor Store

1050 E Rand Rd.

Arlington Heights, IL  60004

Phone (847) 368-9166

4/11/08 A few of us still have remnants of the last vintage 2005 Falstaff hidden in our homes. Here is Texas Falstaff Fan Beck Martin savoring one of his last remaining cans....

3/21/08 In memory - Edmund Sieben, former brewmaster at the Sieben Brewery in Chicago, which closed in 1967. For those of you who know their brewery history, the Sieben Brewery was controlled by mobsters Dion O'Banion and Johnny Torrio during Prohibition. Click here.

12/10/07 There are an increasing number of Falstaff ads on YouTube. Here's one, just click on the picture. Thanks to John Salvatore for the tip. You can visit John's beer history site here

3/21/08 And here's a bunch more thanks to Freddie Beeman. Just click here, here, here, and here. If you follow the links on Youtube you can find a whole bunch more to enjoy.

                     

3/17/07 Dixie Brewing was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and looting in its aftermath. The owners are trying to bring back the last regional in the deep south. Click here for a short update.

 

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May 2008

There's a tiny bit about Falstaff Beer here

Falstaff Beer and the story of Willie Nelson here

More on the return of Schlitz to Chicagoland here

Sales of craft beers brewed in Wisconsin are slipping. Go here

"Beer O'Clock" has been determined to be 6:14 PM. For more, just click here.

If you listen to "Talk Radio" you'' know that the prices of food are driven upwards by the government mandate on ethanol, which is basically putting what we should be eating into our cars. Expect the price of beer to go up too, as farmers turn to corn instead of other grains. Go here and here.

And following Schlitz, another classic beer brand returns. Click here.

A man in Romania has lodged an official complaint with the government after he got drunk drinking just one beer.  We used to call this being a light weight. <grin> go here.

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Point is one of the last beers to still come in returnable bottles, so save the planet and drink Point Beer!

   Please feel free to email me with any comments, corrections, or suggestions on the site, or you can visit my My Space profile!

Beer Ad of the Month: May 2008: The Marshall Tucker Band and 38 Special endorse Schlitz Malt Liquor - THE BULL

70s Retro Babe of The Month: May 2008 I thought perky actress Sally Field was momentarily a babe in "Smokey and the Bandit"

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If you have an old Falstaff advertising piece, the best place to get an idea of its value is on eBay -- it is also the only about the only place I know of to buy Falstaff memorabilia on line 

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 Remember Always: F.D.N.Y. - N.Y.P.D. 

   

(2nd from Right) This website is dedicated to the memory of Ballantine Ale fan Capt. Bill McGinn - Squad 18 Elite Rescue Unit F.D.N.Y. - Lost on 9/11/2001 but never forgotten. Capt. McGinn left behind a wife and two small children- (scan thanks to Michael Newman of the Bronx)  For the FDNY Squad 18 Memorial Page click here. Bill perished bravely doing his job to save others.  Please remember the 343 Firefighters, 23  NY Policemen, 37 officers from the Port Authority and more than 2000 innocent human beings from every corner of the world murdered by terrorists.

This website is owned by John Smallshaw who is solely responsible for its content. A founding member of the 70s Wauwatosa, Wisconsin based rock band "Crude",  Smallshaw was the lead guitar player in this group which accumulated nearly a dozen fans prior to its disbanding in 1977.  Poised for dominance in the record charts, Crude was only held back from commercial success by an obvious lack of musical talent and the fact the singer rarely showed up for gigs.  Following this debacle, Smallshaw got a college degree by mail after responding to an ad in the National Enquirer. He then traveled the world; eating food, drinking beer, and staying in cheap hotels. This project lasted nearly twenty years before his employers began to question exactly why he was on the payroll.  In the interim he sired at least three well behaved children, none of whom, fortunately, are in prison at present. Now based in the scenic Cabrini Green Projects just south of downtown Chicago, Smallshaw has written a number of articles for ABA Journal.

On a more serious note, Smallshaw is currently working on a book regarding the 17 churches built by Polish immigrants in his home town of Milwaukee, WI around the turn of the last century. For more please go here. It has been said that he believes that this project might get him a "Get out of Jail Free" card from St. Peter to compensate for a multitude of past misdeeds. (fat chance of that)  In his spare time Smallshaw enjoys drinking beer, sitting on I -94 for hours on end and listening to Ozzy records backwards for the secret messages...  I know many of you are passing sleepless nights wanting to know more about your humble webguy. I posted a profile on My Space . To look at the pics, you need to be a member and log in, though.


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Mega thirsty visitors since 06/12/04 (though it's probably just the same two or three guys visiting all the time)

200,000 hits. Whoa. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

The friends of Falstaff remind you: Please don't think unless you drink!