Charleston Beer & Liquor Bottles
Ben & Isaac (Ike) Baer
188?—1914(?)
Ben Baer was likely the second liquor wholesaler and bottler in Charleston (the first being Samuel S. Strauss, lower down on this page). In the 1898-1899 Polk West Virginia Gazetteer, Ben Baer was listed as being located at 258 Kanawha Street and his brother Isaac at 28 Capitol Street, though Isaac sold meats at this time. Ben and Isaac Baer both operated out of the same building at 622 Kanawha Street by 1905—Ben being a liquor wholesaler and Isaac being a saloon (R.L. Polk & Co., 1905). In 1909, Ben Baer & Bro., the brother at this point being David Baer, were wholesale liquor dealers (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909).
Dark amber Ben Baer. Monogrammed export-style pint. Baltimore-loop.
A paper label whiskey from Ike Baer. Back is embossed w/ a Paris, KY distillery.
The Capital Carbonating Co.
1901—1905
The Capital Carbonating Company also bottled beer at one time. The only known variant is this tall, aqua blue quart. Based off Dun & Bradstreet records, the Capital Carbonating Co. was established by 1901 and ended sometime in 1905. The bottler was written as Capital and Capitol, so I am unsure as to which is correct, but it is Capital in later listings. The 1905 West Virginia Gazetteer and Business Directory places Capitol Carbonating Co. on “East End Capitol,” which I am supposing just means the eastern end of Capitol Street, not the East End of Charleston. It also notes that J.U. Graham was the manager of the firm.
Aqua blue C.C.Co. Champagne-style neck, blob top. Quart.
Charles Capito
1872—1906
Charles Capito switched his professional focus several times, but he did not personally start bottling beer until the 1900s. The earliest records show him as a grocer and wholesale liquor dealer (Mercantile Agency, 1872; J.S. Sheppard & Co., 1875), though he is listed as only a grocer on Kanawha Street in the early 1880s (now Kanawha Boulevard; R.L. Polk & Co., 1883). By 1898, he was at 304 Kanawha Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1898), which I am assuming was the same spot. He continued in this location into the 1900s (R.L. Polk & Co., 1903), though his bottling works was located at 136 Kanawha Street. However, in 1901, a different directory lists his business at the corner of Smith and Brooks Streets (R.L. Polk & Co., 1901). Around this time he was no longer a grocer, instead both a wholesale liquor dealer and beer bottler. In 1905, both his store and bottling plant changed locations to 812 Kanawha Street and 220 Kanawha Street, respectively (R.L. Polk & Co., 1905).
Both Dun & Bradstreet and city directories stop listing him in 1906, so I presume his business ends here. Though evidently, Capito was later the president of the Kanawha National Bank (Kanawha National Bank, 1910). I can only presume this is the same person, but I do not have a direct connection.
Chas. Capito, bottler. Amber. Export neck. Baltimore-loop seal. Pint.
Charleston Brewing Co.
1906—1907
The first appearance of Charleston Brewing Co. is in the September 1905 Dun & Bradstreet. The 1907 Charleston city directory (R.L. Polk & Co.) lists their location as Bullitt Street near the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad. Additionally, W.D. Johnston served as their president and William F. Sharbaugh was the secretary-treasurer. A December 1906 article about the brewery reveals that Charleston Brewing Company’s manager was originally W.F. Sharbaugh and the brewmaster, C. Graebner, was a brewer from Germany with twenty-five years of experience (“Big Enterprise,” 1906). Despite apparently having quite impressive facilities, survived just a single year.
A Charleston Brewing Company appears in 1874-1875 city directory of Charleston (J.S. Sheppard & Co., 1875), but I presume this was likely the business of S.S. Strauss, though I do not have direct evidence of that aside from his early bottle. There may be a missing bottle from this original company.
Honey amber Charleston Brewing Company crown top. BIMAL. Export-style neck. Pint.
Honey amber Charleston Brewing Co. "T-Top" closure, export-style neck. Pint.
Amber Charleston Brewing Co. "T-Top" closure, export-style neck. Pint.
Charleston Liquor Co.
1903—1909
The Charleston Liquor Co. first appears in the 1903 Dun & Bradstreet listings. The 1905 Charleston city directory places them at 810 Kanawha Street, with Albert P. Tiers as manager. As of 1909, the officers of the company included C. William Welty, President, and Frederick H. Hanke, Secretary and Treasurer (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909). 1909 was the final year of operation for Charleston Liquor Co., possibly due to one of the officers of the company being indicted on bribing a councilman to resign their seat (“Liquor Men”, 1910).
Pictured is a paper label bottle for Welty’s whiskey, originally of Wheeling.
Welty's Pure Old Rye whiskey. Paper label. Half-pint.
James P. Clark
Coming soon.
James P. Clark ran a saloon that doubled as a wholesale liquor outlet. In 1909, the saloon was located at 24-26 Capitol Street, and the liquor store was at 26 Capitol Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909).
Crystal Bottling Co.
See “Crystal Bottling Company,” Charleston Sodas
Crystal Bottling Co. Light aqua green. Blob top. Champagne neck. Pint.
Greenlie & Harmon
Coming soon.
Greenlee & Harmon was a saloon run by William J. Greenlee and Wirt B. Harmon (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909). In 1909, the saloon was located at 20 Summers Street, corroborated by a bottle with a paper label reading the same.
Kanawha Brewing Co.
1907—1914
The first year that Kanawha Brewing Co. appears in Dun & Bradstreet is 1907. According to advertisements, their beers had various branding, including “Kanawha Chief” (Kanawha Brewing Co., 1907) and “Cream of Rain.” This likely would have been printed on a paper label for these bottles. Between at least 1909 to 1911, the manager of the company was J. Fred Englert (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909; “30 Retail… Licenses", 1911). In 1909, the company was located at the corner of Bullitt Street and the K. & M. Railroad—the original building of Charleston Brewing Company.
By the September 1914 issue of Dun & Bradstreet, Kanawha Brewing Company disappears. Presumably due to prohibition being enacted in West Virginia that year.
Kanawha Brewing Co. Light amber. BIMAL. Champagne neck. Pint.
Kanawha Brewing Co. Medium amber. BIMAL. Champagne neck. Pint.
Kanawha Brewing Co. Dark amber. BIMAL. Champagne neck. Pint.
Kanawha Brewing Co. Circle slug plate. Misspelled "Charleston." BIMAL. Champagne neck. Pint.
Kanawha Distilling Co.
1904—1909
The Kanawha Distilling Co. first appears in the March 1904 issue of Dun & Bradstreet. Strangely, it does not appear in the 1905 West Virginia Gazetteer and Business Directory, but the 1907 Charleston city directory does list them. It was located at 104-106 Capitol Street, owned by M. Goldbarth.
J.H. Mendel
Coming soon.
Joseph H. Mendel was the owner the Family Liquor Store at 101 Capitol Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909).
I. Adler Rosenheim
1900—1914
I.A. Rosenheim first appeared in the 1900 Dun & Bradstreet as a branch of Parkersburg (Mercantile Agency, 1900). In 1901, he was a liquor dealer located at 33 Capitol Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1901). Later, in 1909, the I.A. Rosenheim & Bro. saloon was located at the corner of Summers and Virginia Streets (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909). I.A. and D.F. Rosenheim were granted a liquor license to sell spirits in 1911, still at their former location (“30 Retail”, 1911). The business closed when prohibition took effect in 1914.
Samuel S. Strauss & Co.
1875—1880s
According to advertisements from the last 1860s, Samuel S. Strauss was originally a dealer of dry goods and groceries with his brother, Isaac Strauss, under the business name of Strauss & Bro. (Tompkins & Maden, 1866). The two dissolved their business in July of 1866 with Samuel continuing in business at the same property (“Notice,” 1866). At this time he was at a property on Front Street (now, Kanawha Boulevard). By 1869, he had moved to a lot in the St. Albert Hotel (S. Strauss, 1869), though I cannot determine a location for this hotel.
The first year that Samuel Strauss sold liquor was in 1875, as evidenced by his Dun & Bradstreet listing for September (Mercantile Agency, 1875). This remained true through the 1880s, dealing under the name S.S. Strauss & Co. while on Summers Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1883). In fact, I cannot find a reference to them being beer bottlers at any point. I imagine it was a very short-lived operation.
Very early, crude blob beer. Dark amber w/ an export-style neck.
West’s Bottling Works
1898—1909
Charles E. West was a bottler of beer by 1898, at which point he was located at 73-1/2 Summers Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1898). The 1905 West Virginia Gazetteer and Business Directory then places him as a beer bottler at the corner of Brooks and Smith Streets. He last appears as a bottler in 1909 (Mercantile Agency, 1909), then working as an agent for the George Wiedemann Brewing Company (R.L. Polk & Co., 1909). By 1910, he switched industries, becoming a coal dealer (Mercantile Agency, 1910) affiliated with the Blackhawk Coal Company.
West's Bottling Works. Honey amber. Export neck. Baltimore-loop seal. Quart.
West's Bottling Works. Honey amber. Export neck. Baltimore-loop seal. Pint.
References
30 retail and four wholesale liquor licenses to sell spiritous liquors. (1911, June 29). The Advocate, 6.
Big enterprise. (1906, December 20). The Labor Argus, 2.
Kanawha Brewing Company (1907, July 11). [Advertisement for beer]. The Labor Argus, 3.
Kanawha National Bank. (1910, October 13). [Advertisement for their bank showing capital stock]. The Advocate, 5.
Liquour men indicted for bribing Cook. (1910, April 14). The Independent-Herald, 1.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1883). West Virginia state gazetteer and business directory, 1882-3, volume II.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1905). West Virginia Gazetteer and Business Directory.
J.S. Sheppard & Co. (1875). Sheppard’s Charleston, W.VA. City Directory 1874-5. Volume I.
S. Strauss (1869, January). [Advertisement for dry goods and clothing]. The West Virginia Journal, 4.
Notice. (1866, August 1). The West Virginia Journal, 3.
Tompkins & Maden (1866, January). [Advertisement for winter goods]. The West Virginia Journal, 4.