Everything about G Heileman Brewing Company totally explained
The
G. Heileman Brewing Company of
La Crosse, Wisconsin,
USA, was a
brewery firm that operated in 1858-1996. It was acquired in the latter year by
Stroh's, and its independent existence ended. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewery bore the family name of its co-founder, brewer
Gottlieb Heileman.
Other key brewery CEOs in the life of
Heileman's were Heileman's son-in-law and successor, Emil T. Mueller, and Russell Cleary. Mueller introduced what was to become Heileman's leading "premium" beer label, Heileman's
Old Style Beer, in 1902. Cleary headed an acquisition and consolidation effort in the 1970s and early 1980s that gathered a significant percentage of old-line brewery names and intellectual properties into the Heileman family. After doing this he lost control of the firm to
Alan Bond of
Australia.
Bond, who already controlled the
Tooheys name and beer interests in Australia, hoped to build a worldwide brewing combine. Lacking cash, he financed the acquisition of G. Heileman with junk bonds. The collapse of Bond's financial empire led indirectly to the end of Heileman's existence as an independent brewer. After further consolidations, G. Heileman's brewery names and intellectual properties became part of the
Pabst Brewing Company, the current owner (as of 2007). Pabst oversees the brewing of several well-known Heileman brands, including Old Style and Special Export, under the G. Heileman name.
Historic U.S. brewing names that were consolidated into G. Heileman during its final years include
Blatz,
Blitz-Weinhard,
Drewry's,
Grain Belt,
National Bohemian,
Olympia, and
Rainier. At its height the Heileman's combination was the third largest brewer in the United States, behind
Anheuser-Busch and
Miller.
As of 2007, the former Heileman's flagship brewery in La Crosse is owned and operated by the
City Brewing Company. The new brewery chose to use the name that the former Heileman's used as its startup name in 1858-1872.
The World's Largest Six Pack
Motorists driving past the Heileman's facility in LaCrosse were greeted by a billboard reading, "Shhh...slow down...Heileman's aging here."
For many years, the large storage tanks on the street side of the brewery were painted in the colors of "Old Style," the flagship brand of the brewery. Actually, in a visit during February 1983, there were 8 tanks, not 6, but only 6 tanks were so painted.
With the rebirth of the brewery as The City Brewery (a tip of the hat to the original name used by Heileman's), the tanks were repainted in the colors of La Crosse Lager beer. From the pictures taken the day of the unveiling (
September 23,
2003), only six of the tanks remain, making it truly "The World's Largest Six Pack."
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