Aztec Brewing Company
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2012) |
Formerly | Aztec Brewing Company |
---|---|
Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
Founded | 1921 |
Headquarters | , United States |
Products | Beer |
Website | www |
The Aztec Brewing Company (also known as the Aztec Brewery) was a regional brewery founded in Mexicali, Mexico in 1921, which moved to San Diego, California in 1933.[1] It closed in 1953, and was revived as a brand in 2011. It is the only brewing company ever to move from Mexico to the United States.
History
Baja California
In 1921, San Diego businessmen Edward P. Baker and Herbert Jaffe, and brewing engineer William H. Strouse opened Cervecera Azteca, SA, in Mexicali, the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California, since Prohibition disallowed them to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol in the United States.[2]
The brewery was destroyed by a fire in 1927, but was rebuilt at the same site.[3]
During the 1920s, Aztec competed with Cerveceria Mexicali (Mexicali Brewery) for market share in Baja California, especially in Tijuana where Americans were traveling during Prohibition for legal alcohol consumption.[4]
Aztec’s flagship brew was Famous A.B.C. Beer, a
Strouse was later chief engineer for the San Diego Brewing Company, and was also instrumental in founding, with Alberto V. Aldrete Sr., the Tecate Tecate Brewery in Tecate, Mexico in 1943. Strouse later returned to the Aztec Brewery until his death in 1944.[citation needed]
Move to San Diego (1933–1947)
With the end of Prohibition in 1933, a new brewery was built in
Aztec Brewing grew quickly. Within three months, it went from seventeenth place to third place in sales west of the Rocky Mountains. Aztec began producing beer in cans in 1936. The early
Aztec quickly had a new rival – the San Diego Brewing Company, which had originally opened in 1897, but had closed in 1920 for the duration of Prohibition. It reopened in 1935 and continued until 1942. The brewery should not be confused with the current San Diego Brewing Company brewpub that opened in the 1990s.
Keeping track of the number of beer brands Aztec made is difficult, because with a minimum order of 500 cases, the company would put any label on its bottles for the customer. But some of the surviving examples of labels for the company include A.B.C., A.B.C. Bock, A.B.C. Old Ale, A.B.C. Old Stout, A.B.C. Pale Ale, Associated, Aztec, Black Eagle, Bulldog, Casa Mia, Del Mar Pale Ale, Dutch Lunch, Excel, Great Seal, Majestic, Old Coin, Old Dutch Ale, Red Spot, and Spotlight. A.B.C. Beer’s primary markets were San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and parts of Arizona. However, the beer was also distributed to New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Hawaii as well.
Rathskeller
Photographs of the 1933 San Diego brewery show a modern facility with a very colorful tasting room, known as the rathskeller.[5] The rathskeller was lavishly decorated and covered in murals painted by renowned Spanish artist Jose Moya del Piño, who also oversaw the decorations in the room.[5] The murals on the wall depict various scenes of Aztecs.[5] Decorations in the rathskeller included, "painted and carved tables and chairs and ceiling beams, chandeliers, tiled mahogany cabinets, stained glass windows and doors, and a 9-foot replica of the Aztec calendar".[5] Coincidentally, among other works by Moya del Piño are murals painted for the Acme Brewing Company of San Francisco in 1935.[6] The Acme Brewing Company building and rathskeller was demolished in 1990, however the Moya del Pino murals were moved and currently live at the Logan Heights Library in San Diego.[7]
Sale and closure
In 1948, Aztec was purchased by the
Altes was bought by the
With the closure of the Aztec Brewery, there was no local commercially brewed beer in San Diego County for 34 years, until the Bolt Brewery opened in 1987 in Fallbrook, California.[9]
Revival of Aztec Brewing Company
In 2008, John Webster discovered the brand and began bringing it back to life with his partner, Claudia Faulk, and son Tristan Faulk-Webster. Webster learned about the Aztec Brewing Company while researching old California beer brands for a line of T-shirts he was designing. Recognizing the potential the name and historic brand had in the San Diego area he secured the U. S. trademark rights and with his partner Claudia Faulk, set about reviving the brand as a modern craft brewery.[10] In 2010, they joined forces with Robert Esposito. A year later they opened a small production brewery with tap room in Vista, California.
The revival of the Aztec Brewing Company opened on August 29, 2011 in the Vista Business Park. Vista, California is home to 12 Craft Breweries including Mother Earth Brew Co., Iron Fist Brewing Co., Toolbox Brewing, Booze Brothers Brewing Co., and Latitude 33 Brewing Co. to name a few.[11] The company operates a tasting room at its brewery.[12] In 2012, Paul Naylor came on board as brewer. Robert Esposito left the company in 2014.
References
- ^ "San Diego Beer's History from 1868 to 1953: A Look Back". West Coaster San Diego Beer News. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "Aztec Brewery | Chicano Park Museum". Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "FindLaw's California Court of Appeal case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "San Diego's Craft Brew Culture" (PDF). The Journal of San Diego. 59: 104. Winter–Spring 2013.
- ^ a b c d Carone, Angela (April 16, 2012). "A Brewery's Vivid Artwork, Mothballed for Years". KPBS Public Media. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ "Moya del Pina at Acme Brewery". www.artandarchitecture-sf.com. 2016-04-26. Archived from the original on 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- ^ "Celebrating 100 years of Aztec Brewing". San Diego Reader. 2021-01-22. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ A Brewery’s Vivid Artwork, Mothballed for Years, KPBS, April 16, 2012
- ^ "Voices of San Diego Beer", WestCoaster San Diego, September 5, 2012
- ^ [1]"Breathing New Life – Aztec Brewing Company Rises Again In San Diego", April 24th, 2012
- ^ "Vista Brewers Guild website"
- ^ "Vista's Aztec Brewery snags first deal", NCTimes,November 28, 2011
- Bibliography
- The Home of A.B.C., The Miracle Brewery, Aztec Brewing Company brochure, circa 1937.
- Burgess, A.J., The Aztec Brewery Once Thrived in San Diego, Beer Can Collector News Report, Vol. 10, No. 5, September – October 1980.
- Sipos, Ed, A-1: The Western Way to Say Welcome, American Breweriana Journal, January–February 1998.
- Van Wieren, Dale P. American Breweries II, Eastern Coast Breweriana Association, West Point, Penn. 1995
- Williams, Dan. San Diego Breweries 1868-1953, San Diego Public Library, RCC 663.4/SAN
External links
- Beer & Breweries in San Diego Photo essay on San Diego Historical Society web site.
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-79, "Savage Tire Factory (Aztec Brewing Company), 2201–2399 Main Street, San Diego, San Diego County, CA", 1 photo, 24 data pages, 1 photo caption page