Buckeye Brewing Co.
Toledo, OH

Brewery History

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1800s

• 1836: Toledo, Ohio founded
• 1838: Brewery near Front and Consaul is founded by Julius Kohler, a German Brewmaster. The Brewery was an individually owned company, then later a partnership.
• 1853: Julius Kohler purchased the Bush and Champlain site.
• 1854: Julius Kohler shifted his brewery operations to Bush and Champlain Streets. Here they used wood fires and the mashing was done by huge paddles. The beer ingrediants could now be delivered by canal boat.
• 1858: Julius Kohler sold his operation to Andrew Stephan, a German Brewmaster.
• Bef 1873: Stephan retires and the operation is taken over by Lehman and Eckhardt Brothers Company.
• 1873-77: Owned by Eliz. Stephan and Company.
• 187?: Dennis Coghlin and John Jacobi create a 7-acre facility that contained 600 barrels of beer.
• 1878: The brewery incorporates as Jacobi, Coghlin and Co. They produce Buckeye Lager Beer.
• 1884: Richard F. Cummerow named bookkeeper for Buckeye.
• 1885: Buckeye Brewery is incorporated.
• 1886: New name is "Buckeye Brewing Co." Facility is located at 1501 Michigan Ave.
• 1887: Jacobi and Coghlin complete the building of a red brick Brew House.
• 1890s: One of eight breweries in Toledo, OH.
• by 1895: A new bottling plant is built on Michigan and Bush.

1900

• 1905: One of five breweries.
• 1914: Otto W. Cummerow became assistant secretary -treasurer.
• 1916: Beer is delivered by horse and wagon.
• 1919-1933: Prohibition. Buckeye Brewing Co. brews "near beer", bottles soft drinks and utilizes their cold storage facility.
• 1922: Otto W. Cummerow named director of Buckeye and becomes secretary-treasurer.
• Apr. 1933: The brewery begins brewing beer again after the Repeal Act is passed.
• June 15, 1933: The first brew is available for public consumption.
• 1933: New name is "The Buckeye Brewing Co."
• 1947: Col. William R. Martin named President of Buckeye.
• 1948: Buckeye spends $50,000 on fly ash catching equipment.
• by 1949: Two other local breweries go out of business and leaves Buckeye the only brewery within 50 miles.

1950

• May 1951: New product introduced at the Toledo Sports Arena called "B-F-T"
• 1952: New labels are announced.
• 1953: Col. William R. Martin resigns as President of Buckeye in Sept. because of differences of opinion in operating policies. Buckeye appoints Otto Cummerow as acting general manager.
• 1954: William Coyle named Vice President of Buckeye, Ward L Handscom named General Sales Manager and Russell E. Cunningham named Field Sales Supervisor.
• 1954: Market is expanded into Indiana in March. New smoke control devices called the "Smoke Eater" are installed in May.
• 1955: Red Smith named General Manager.
• 1955: In Jan., Buckeye Brewery produces it's 10 millionth barrel of beer in it's 100 years of continuous operation at the Bush and Champlain location. The barrel was given to Otto W. Cummerow for his 70^th birthday.
• 1955: In Mar., A stainless steel hop seperator with centifugal action is installed. The hops are removed from the beer carefully, because if they are bruised or broken, they will release bitterness into the beer. The hops are gently dropped onto a conveyor belt from the seperator.
• 1955: In Sept., a new label is introduced. The Buckeye logo is ringed in gold against a scarlet background and the antlered buck's head is on the neck of the bottle. The older label was the antlered buck's head.
• 1956: In Nov., Red Smith is names Executive Vice President and General Manager
• 1956: In Dec., Joe E. Gage is named auditor and office manager.
• 1957: In May, Buckeye more than doubles their production of canned beer by purchasing new equipment that fills, seals and cartons the beer cans at 360 per minute. They also redesigned the can packaging.

1960

• 1960: In Nov., Red Smith is elected President and Albert Braun is elected Vice President of Buckeye. The board authorizes 6 new metal fermentation tanks for $90,000.
• 1962: In Nov., Albert Braun is elected President of The Master Brewers association, Detroit District and Board of Governers of the National Association of Master Brewers of America. T.R. Klinksick is elected Vice President of Finance.
• 1963: In April, Buckeye has their 125th Anniversary celebration.
• about 1965: Buckeye acquires "Gold Bond" beer from Cleveland Sandusky Brewery.
• 1965: In April, Buckeye builds a new custom bottle washing machine produced by George J. Meyer Mfr. Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The machine can wash 640 bottles per minute. The expansion cost $165,000.
• 1966: In Feb., a new 8-head twist cap closure machine is installed for $50,000. The machine will put aluminum twist off caps manufactured by Owens-Illinois, Inc. on beer bottles.
• 1966: In April, Buckeye is sold to Peter Hand Brewing Co. of Chicago. Peter Hand plans to brew "Meister Brau" and "Buckeye" in the Toledo facility. They also plan to brew, bottle, and market Buckeye beer in the Chicago area. Peter Hand Brewery also makes "Reserve" beer.
• 1967: In July, Red Smith appointed Assistant President of Meister Brau. Red will be responsible for sports promotions for Meister Brau. Meister Brau is to sponser all Chicago White Sox games next year.
• 1967: In Oct, Meister Brau will market a line of diet foods to go with "Lite" beer under the "Lite" trade name. These products include dry-roasted peanuts, party dips and snacks. These products will be sold in Toledo. In Nov., a new subsidiary is formed to develop and market these products.
• 1968: Buckeye is the second oldest brewery in America. A small outfit in Nevada is the oldest.
• 1968: In Dec., Red Smith retires and becomes a member of the board of directors of Meister Brau. Paul Shotola is elected as Vice President and General Manager of Buckeye and Albert Braun is elected Vice President and Assistant Manager of Buckeye.

1970

• 1971: Buckeye aquires "Iroquis" beer from Iroquis Brewing Co. in Buffalo, NY.
• 1972: Aug 31 is the last day of production at the Buckeye Brewery on Bush/Michigan and Champlain Streets.
• 1973: In Jan., Metropolitan Distributing named distibutor of Miller High Life, Miller Malt Liquor, Buckeye, Meister Brau, Lite and Milwaukee's Best in the Toledo Area. Buckeye, Lite and Meister Brau are currently being produced in Milwaukee.
• 1974: In May, six of Buckeye Brewery buildings are demolished. Some of the buildings and 5 acres of land are purchased by Libbey, div. of Owens-Illinois. The rest of the buildings and land are purchased by Gibralter Realty Co., from the federal bankruptay referee in Chicago, who is liquidating all assets of Meister Brau. The buildings on Michigan Street side are being renovated and rented. Sixty glass lined storage tanks, that have a 600 barrel capacity, are sold to Roy Adams Co. in Cincinnati.

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