Former type Private Founder Christian Schmidt Founded 1860 | Industry Alcoholic beverage Defunct 1987 | |
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The Christian Schmidt Brewing Company was an American brewing company located in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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The company ceased production and sold its brands to G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, in April 1987. The Philadelphia factory, located between Second and Hancock Streets and south of Girard Avenue, was razed in 2002 after being sold at sheriff’s auction on January 19, 2000 for $1.8 million to developer Bart Blatstein. Today, it is the site of the 28-acre Piazza at Schmidt's, a retail, restaurant, and apartment complex.
History
Christian Schmidt, born in Machstadt, Wurtemberg, Germany in 1832, immigrated to the United States and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1851. He became associated with the brewery of Robert Courtenay and became a partner in 1860. The brewery was renamed Christian Schmidt, Kensington Brewery when Schmidt became sole proprietor in 1863.
By 1892 Christian Schmidt's three sons, Henry C., Edward A. and Frederick W., joined the business and the brewery was incorporated as C. Schmidt & Sons. Upon Christian's death in 1895, Edward A. Schmidt became head of the company until his own death in 1944. Frederick W. Schmidt, served as president until 1945 when he became chairman of the board, a position he held until his death in 1949.
In 1945 Christian H. Zoller, a grandson, served as president until May 1958, when Carl E. von Czoernig, the youthful 40 year old great-grandson of Christian Schmidt, took over the business. Carl E. von Czoernig served as head of the company until he was removed on April 16, 1975 and rumors began to circulate of a sale.
Schmidt family ownership ceased in 1976 with the sale of the brewery to William H. Pflaumer for $15.9 million.
Under William Pflaumer's tenure, Schmidt's was producing more than 3.15 million barrels of beer per year by 1983, making it the ninth-largest brewery in the United States. But after more than a decade of criminal investigations into his practices and allegations of ties to organized crime, Mr. Pflaumer was convicted in 1983 of a false billing scheme in which he had evaded paying $125,000 in excise taxes in three states.
After his appeals failed, William H. Pflaumer began serving his three-year sentence in 1986. Production of the Schmidt's brands slumped to about $1.6 million barrels in 1986, less than one percent of the total U. S. Market. Schmidt's brands were sold in 1987 to the G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin and the brewery closed.