When did Pearl Brewing Company close?
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The Pearl Brewing Company (also known as the Pearl Brewery or just Pearl) was an American brewery, established in 1883 in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed the Pabst name. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing, on a contract basis, and closing all of its breweries. Pearl beer is still in production at Miller's Ft. Worth, Texas facility, but the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio was closed in 2001. Since then, the former brewery was purchased by Silver Ventures, Inc., which has made the property the crown jewel in revitalization efforts of southern Midtown and northern Downtown San Antonio.
Pearl Brewing Company
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The Texas Transportation Company (TXTC) was a class III short-line railroad in San Antonio that serviced the Pearl Brewery. The company operated electric locomotives on their line for more than 113 years. TXTC was started as a private company in 1887 until it was chartered on September 24, 1897. In the early days when the Lone Star Brewing Company was located on W. Jones Avenue, TXTC serviced both breweries. Service ended for the line when the Pearl Brewery closed in 2001.
Pearl Brewing Company
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In 1961, the Pearl Brewing Company officially purchased the M. K. Goetz Brewing Company. Overall, the merger of the two companies was a success. Beers from both companies began to be produced at the two facilities. Goetz brewed all of the Pearl beers for easier distribution in the north, and Pearl produced Goetz's Country Club malt liquor. Country Club proved very successful for Pearl, and in fact is the only Goetz beer still in production by Pabst today under the Pearl Brewing Company name. The merger was not without its problems, but overall the transition occurred smoothly. Pearl took over as the corporate headquarters and some duplicate jobs were eliminated. The production side of Goetz remained intact, with Pearl treating Goetz employees just as they did the employees in San Antonio, like family.
Pearl Brewing Company
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Pearl was successful, not only in Texas, but on a national level, as well. Larger companies saw this success and made many attempts to buy out Pearl and their beers. Almost all offers were never even considered. In what would turn out later to be ironic, one company came very close to buying out the Pearl Brewing Company in the 1950s: Pabst Brewing Company. B.B. McGimsey, who was Pearl's plant manager, shareholder, and the face of Pearl at most events, began gaining support to sell the brewery off. McGimsey was a charismatic leader whom most of the employees liked and respected. McGimsey's influence also reached other board members, and when the offer came from Pabst, it was not as easily dismissed. Details of the offer have long been lost, but one can surmise it was a good deal given the consideration given to it by Pearl. McGimsey believed that Pearl's stance as an independent Texas brewer would never allow them to truly compete on a national level with brewers from St. Louis and Milwaukee. Ultimately, the sale to Pabst was defeated by Otto A. and the other shareholders, but only by the slimmest of margins. Pearl maintained its independence, for now.
Pearl Brewing Company
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As the Great Depression ended in the United States, world affairs worsened and spun the globe toward World War II. After almost 26 years at the helm of the San Antonio Brewing Association, Emma Koehler decided it was time to relinquish the official title. Her “retirement” closed an amazing chapter in the brewery's history. While it may not seem much these days, Emma's successful management role at Pearl was a breakthrough for its day. At a time when women's suffrage was still in its infancy and women did not yet have the right to vote, Emma Koehler led Texas’ largest brewery and one of the larger breweries in the nation.
Pearl Brewing Company
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In 1952, when the San Antonio Brewing Association changed its name to the Pearl Brewing Company, the triple Xs joined the Pearl name as a dominant image on the product and the company as a whole. The triple Xs were back on the company logo and were used on almost all of Pearl's advertisements. The Xs held this significant role to the end of production at the brewery in 2001, when the brewery closed its doors and the company logo was abandoned. As production of Pearl and Pearl Light spun up at Miller's Fort Worth facility, the product logos were redesigned. The updated label does not use the triple Xs, so a significant part of company identity has been virtually eliminated from the Pearl beers. However, Pearl's Country Club malt liquor still displays the XXXs in its logo.
Many people wonder where the Xs came from, and how were they ever used on beer. In truth, the three Xs are actually a quality rating system. The system was initially used in Europe during the 16th Century. As European royalty traveled their lands and visited neighboring counties, a royal courier was sent ahead of the official party. The courier's job was to sample beer at inns along the way. If the beer was only average, the courier would mark the inn's sign or door with a single X. If the inn's beer was deemed good, the sign or door would receive two Xs. A mark on an inn of three Xs meant that the beer inside was excellent, and a must-stop for the royal court as they passed through.
Pearl Brewing Company
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After 118 years of brewing along the San Antonio River, the doors to the Pearl Brewery closed.
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In 1969, Pearl was acquired by Southdown, a conglomerate that started out in the sugar industry. In 1977, Pearl was sold to General Brewing of San Francisco, owned by Paul Kalmanovitz. Kalmanovitz specialized in leveraged buy-outs, which take over businesses to sell off their parts for profit, closing plants and laying off employees. After a takeover in St. Louis, brewery employees there flew the American flag at half-staff and upside down. Kalmanovitz acquired the Pabst breweries, going back to 1844, in 1985 and united his holdings under the name Pabst Brewing Company.
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The strangest twist to the seemingly endless rivalry involved a small candy company in San Antonio, called Judson Candies. In 1965, the Pearl Brewing Company bought Judson Candies from the three sons whose father had helped found the business. On its own, Judson was a profitable company that had an established name in the candy industry. Judson was not on the level of Hershey or Mars, but did have strong sales in the Southwest. Pearl simply made the Judson sons an offer they could not refuse. So, in 1965, Judson Candies joined the Pearl and Goetz families under the umbrella of the Pearl Brewing Company.
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Judson was part of the company, but in many ways it was still very independent. Financial backing came down from Pearl, but Judson still made decisions on their own, setting their own strategic goals independently of Pearl. Whatever the decisions were at Judson, they obviously worked. From the day Pearl acquired them, until they were sold off to members of the Atkinson's Candy family in 1983, Judson remained a profitable business. When the Atkinsons bought Judson, the only real evidence of ownership by a larger company, and one in a completely different industry, was the office furniture and supplies. Everything in the Judson offices were labeled with "Property of the Pearl Brewing Company" and items such as pencils, pens, ashtrays, notepads, and even first aid kits were branded with the Pearl logos.
Pearl Brewing Company