St. Louis: The Volatility of German Beer Brewing
Written By: Julia Diehl, Zoe Ziesmer, Ricky Schodel, and Lauren Guest
Thousands of Germans immigrated to St. Louis during the nineteenth century, hoping for the freedom and democracy they were deprived of in Europe. With them, they brought knowledge of beer brewing and established many of the brewing dynasties that we know of today. Their dominance of the St. Louis brewing industry brought the city economic prosperity and catalyzed the spread of German culture, specifically social, casual beer drinking.
In the 1870s, on the corner of Choteau Avenue and 21st Street, was the Joseph Schnaider Beer Garden. A staple of German culture, beer gardens are exactly what they sound like: an area with trees and foliage providing shade for consumers to enjoy beer and typically light food offerings. While brewing was a hugely popular part of German culture that remains in St. Louis, with the Anheuser-Busch, Lemp, Griesedieck, and Joseph Schnaider’s breweries being major players in the late-1800s. What made Schnaider different was his vast beer garden or, Biergarten in German.
That beer garden likely introduced many Protestants and Anglo-Americans of St. Louis to the idea of drinking socially on Sundays. This appalled some residents, and the local government went as far as to create laws to enforce a no drinking policy on Sundays. Eventually, these laws were overturned as German ‘Sunday’ culture became more socially acceptable.
However, leading up to World War, anti-German sentiment began to fuel ideologies regarding prohibition. Prohibition was therefore a direct attack on German tradition, business, and culture. Some organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League, made up of members of the Protestant Church, argued for prohibition because they, not only, opposed drunkenness, but felt it was patriotic and pro-American.
Eventually, prohibition would be ratified into the constitution as the 18th amendment banning the sale and production of alcohol. This was detrimental to all German breweries in St. Louis, and many had to find a way to sell alternative beverages or products just to stay in business. In the end, most breweries that had previously been successful would have to shut down.
During the 13 years of prohibition, the extent to which the Germans’ culture was represented in their brewing faced major transformations. From removing Germanic imagery, making the switch to English beer labels, and even these German immigrants involved in the breweries deciding to change their names — it is apparent that the enforcement of prohibition fostered irreparable changes within the represented German culture, alongside the halt of the breweries all together. The 20 breweries that existed in St. Louis at the time of prohibition either struggled or were simply sold to other companies. Ultimately, only 8 of them survived.
Prohibition and the 18th amendment were appealed by the 21st amendment in 1933. This was good news for breweries in St. Louis that had managed to survive prohibition. One of which was a brewery still well known today, Anheuser-Busch. Currently, Anheuser-Busch has an annual gross profit of about $30 billion, proof that German beer culture is still valued in St. Louis today.
