Texas and Louisiana

 

In 1949, Lone Star (Harry Jersig) and Pearl (Otto A. Koehler) both wanted recognition as "The Brewery of Texas".

 

The competition became so fierce that they would bid each other up to triple the actual price for Blue Ribbon winning animals at San Antonio Livestock show.

 

Mr. Koehler's father had started his brewing career at Lone Star so his son (Otto A) bought Judson Candies where Mr Jersig had began his career and still had very strong relations with the owners and workers.

 

 

 

A rivalry this big - only in Texas!

The Black Label is from Fort Worth, a rarity. You can read the Carling story in "Can's by State", "Ohio" tab. 

 

Texas cans top three rows. The middle, Shiner, has a spackle finish on the face.  It took Shiner until 1971 to actually market their beer in cans even though they were a 

pre-prohibition brewery!

 

The (Gold) Lone Star is the book can. The cans were filled from the one millionth barrel from 1965.

 

Did you know that a keg (barrel) of beer holds exactly 31 gallons? There are 128 fluid ounces in each gallon. After doing the math, I arrive at 330 Gold Lone Star cans being filled. Any input?

 

In 1952 the San Antonio Brewing Association changed its name to the

Pearl Brewing Company (the name Pearl was used because the air bubbles

in a glass looked like Pearls). About this same time they decided to use

the xXx (three x's of Texas) in their logo.

The three x's date back to the 16th century Europe when a Royal Courier

would travel ahead of the official party, sampling the beers and ales of

the Pubs, Inns and Taverns along the route to be traveled (good work if

you can get it).

 

Pearl "The Gem of Fine Beer"

The courier marked the door: one x - average, two x's - pretty good, three x's - finest available (I'll wait here until you catch up).

In the early 1960's Pearl acquired the Goetz (Country Club Malt Liquor) Brewing Company of St. Joseph, Missouri and immediately placed the xXx inside the Blue Circle of the Country Club ML cans at both facilities. Cans without the three x's were from the St. Joseph's plant.

The Pearl can with the large triple x's (four known?) is a test can from the mid 1960's.

 

New Orleans

Dixie Brewing began operations in 1927. Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1989. The Mega Hurricane Katrina flooded and severely damaged the Brewery along with most of the rest of New Orleans in 2005. After the waters receded, the looters stole much of what remained and the Brewery remains closed.

"The Best Things are Found in Dixie"   

​

Louisiana cans bottom row.

JAX Brewing - Lawrence Fabacher started this Brewery in 1890. JAX was the only New Orleans Brewery to survive Prohibition. In 1935 they ended up in a legal battle with the JAX Brewing Company of Jacksonville, Florida over the "JAX Beer" trademark. Florida "JAX's" won exclusive rights to North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; New Orleans "JAX" got the rest of the south. In 1956 they bought out the Florida "JAX" company which then ceased operations making New Orleans "JAX" the largest regional Brewer in the South. In the early 1960's, trying to expand their market share in Texas, they introduced their "JAX Go Texan". Cans in San Antonio for the State Rodeo competition. Pearl Brewing, (San Antonio, Texas) acquired JAX in 1974.

"JAX - Taste you can hold on to"

   

Regal Brewing Closed in 1962 but the Pirate on their flat top cans is supposedly Jean Lafitte who helped Andrew Jackson win the 1814 battle of New Orleans. Although no self opening cans exist from this Brewery, Jean Lafitte appears on many other breweries self opening Regal cans. 

 

"Red Beans and Rice and Regal on Ice"