Imperial Beer of NYC as from the July 29, 1914 New York Times July 30, 2019

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm looking at the Imperial "Gold Label" Beer that was brewed by the Beadleston And Worez brewers and was brewed at the Empire Brewery right here in New York City.

July 29, 1909 New York Times

This Imperial Beer is not to be confused with the Cerveza Imperial created in 1924 from Costa Rica of the Cerveza Imperial created in 1930 from Honduras. In addition, the old Empire Brewery is not to be confused with the current day Empire Brewery that is doing their thing up in Syracuse, NY (but do check out their website and their brewery if you are near Syracuse.)

I couldn't find too much on the old Empire Brewery aside from what information the article Beadleston and Woerz, Empire Brewery, New York from the Bay Bottles website provides:

Beadleston and Woerz was the outgrowth of the small brewing business started in Troy NY in 1825 by Abraham Nash, called Nash and Co. In 1837, Ebenezer Beadleston, a relative of Nash living in Troy moved to NYC to serve as the company’s NYC representative. Three years later in 1840 the company became known as Nash, Beadleston and Company. In 1845 they purchased the old state prison property in NYC bounded by Washington, Charles, West and W 10th The prison had been first occupied in 1797 but upon completion of Sing-Sing in 1828 the convicts were removed to the more modern establishment.

The prison that previously sat on the footprint of the Empire Brewery was known as Newgate Prison. The prison was indeed completed in November of 1797 and is mentioned in correspondence by the Governor of New York John Jay. You can find the correspondence mentioning the prison's completion at the Papers of John Jay which can be found at Columbia University. Also, for more information on Newgate Prison,  I recommend that you read the article The tale of Newgate, the New York state prison in the West Village from the Bowery Boys website.

 
The area where the brewery was located is significantly different from today's NYC. But its proximity to the Hudson River and its piers meant that the brewery was in prime real estate for the production of beer.

I wish I could find more information on both the Empire Brewery it's Imperial "Gold Label" Beer. Referring back to the article from Bay Bottles:

An recent archeological study done for the brewery site states that Prohibition shut the plant down permanently in 1920 but the business transitioned into real estate because of all the properties they owned.

The listing in the December 16, 1920 New York Times confirms this.

As with many breweries across the country, Empire Brewery was a victim of Prohibition. But why did this brand stand out to me? I have to admit that I got a chuckle in reading their ad from the July 29, 1914 edition of the New York Times:

July 29, 1914 New York Times

I love their tagline on the bottom of the ad: Improves Dinner Immensely! Good for the Family, Too! In today's ultra charged P.C. society that we live in, I find it amusing that they would say the beer is "Good for the Family, Too." I can only assume that beer was being given to minors with their dinner. This is definitely not an ad from 2019.

If I come across some more information on either the old Empire Brewery or the Imperial "Gold Label" Beer, I'll do another post.

Until Then Keep Drinking,
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