BOTTLED AND KEGGED: A TOAST TO EVANSVILLE’S BREWERIES EXHIBITION OPENS

Exhibition Interprets City’s Brewing History

Presented In Partnership With TIN MAN BREWING CO. And DR, VICTOR SCHRIEFER, JR.

Exhibition Open To The Public From July 27 – October 5

From July 27 – October 5 in the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau Center for History and Science, BOTTLED AND KEGGED: A TOAST TO EVANSVILLE’S BREWERIES recalls an important part of our city’s history.  Since the 1830s, breweries have played a key role in the story of Evansville.  This exhibition will examine historic breweries of the city and illustrate the continuation of this tradition in current Evansville enterprises.

Evansville’s first brewery opened in 1837.  Historically known as the Old Brewery, many of the other significant breweries in Evansville trace their origins to this enterprise, including F.W. Cook and Sterling.  The interpretation of the history of these two breweries is central to the exhibition.

In 1853, F.W. Cook and Louis Rice, both second generation Germans, began Cook and Rice Brewery in Evansville.  The brewery grew to sell more than 500,000 barrels per year, and it was incorporated as F.W. Cook Brewing Company in 1885.  Following prohibition, its “Goldblume Beer” was the top seller in the nation.  In 1955, an unresolved labor dispute led to the plant’s closing; and in the early 1960s, the Cook structures were demolished in preparation for the new Civic Center Complex.

The company that bottled Evansville’s famous Sterling brand was founded in 1894.  It was located at the northwest corner of what is now the Lloyd Expressway and Fulton Avenue.  During Prohibition, the company bottled non-alcoholic drinks under the name Sterling products.  In 1964, the company merged with Associated Brewing Company of Detroit, and it became part of the G. Heilman Brewing Company of LaCrosse, Wisconsin in 1972.  After G. Heilman ceased production in the city in 1988, the facility reopened as the Evansville Brewing Company and continued in operation until 1997.

Today, Evansville’s rich tradition of brewing is carried on by Tin Man Brewing Company, Carson’s Brewery and Turoni’s Pizzery & Brewery.  The stories of Evansville’s breweries are a vital facet of our city’s heritage.