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The Pearl Brewing Company (Pearl), established in San Antonio , Texas in 1881 , is an American Brewery . In 1988 Pearl 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 its breweries. The Pearl beers are still in production, but the Pearl Brewery was closed in 2001. HISTORY 1800s The Pearl Brewing Company was originally known as the J. B. Behloradsky Brewery (1881-83). Privately held for two years, the brewery was purchased by a group of investors in 1883 . The investment group comprised of local business men who formed the San Antonio Brewing Association and established the San Antonio Brewing Company (1883-1888) to run operations at the newly purchased brewery. Although logical, the two names caused some confusion in regard to business dealings. In the end, the association decided to do away with the name San Antonio Brewing Company, and have all operations and business transactions use the name San Antonio Brewing Association (1888-1918), thus in a short seven years, the same brewery had three different names. During these name changes, the brewery came across the product that would become their signature brew. In 1886 the first bottles of Pearl Beer rolled off the line and into local tap rooms. Pearl was formulated and first brewed in Bremen Germany by the Kaiser-Beck Brewery (which produces Beck's beer). The beer's name came from Kaiser-Beck Brewery's brewmaster, who thought the bubbles in a freshly poured glass of the brew resembled pearls. In Germany the brew was called 'Perlen', which is the German word for pearl. When brought to the US, the spelling was changed to the English version, thus the birth of Pearl. 1900s Pre-Prohibition In 1902 Otto Koehler, the most famous person in Pearl history, came to the helm of the brewery. Otto left his position as manager at the Lone Star Brewery (another San Antonio-based brewery), to become president and manager of the San Antonio Brewing Association. Under Otto's leadership the brewery set in motion strategic plans to grow in physical size as well as beer output. The San Antonio Brewing Association went from a micro-brewery that output a product to residents and businesses within a small radius of the brewery, to a strong competitor to the much larger Lone Star Brewery . Otto was so ingrained into the brewing business that as he switched jobs and took over the reigns of the San Antonio Brewing Association, he ensured he could monitor operations of the plant almost constantly. Otto was one of the first residents to build in the newly opened Laurel Heights section of San Antonio. There, Otto chose a hill to build his home that provided a clear view overlooking the skyline of the city which, of course, included an unobstructed view of the old San Antonio Brewing Association brewery. Legend has it that by sitting on his porch, Otto could determine whether his employees were hard at work by the color of the smoke coming brewery’s stacks. In 1914 , Otto Koehler passed away, before many of the plans he had developed for the San Antonio Brewing Association came to being. Upon his passing, Otto's wife, Emma, succeeded him as the chief executive. Under Emma Koehler's direction, many of her husband’s plans saw fulfillment. The original brew house was closed and in 1916 operations were moved into a larger modern establishment. As operations ramped up in the new facility, beer production went from 6,000 barrels per year to over 110,000. With the tremendous increase in production, the San Antonio Brewing Association was able to outpace Lone Star Brewery and became the largest Texas brewery and the beer America associated with Texas and the West. During the early 1900s, Pearl blitzed the market with advertisement campaigns that featured their new found "star." Unlike today, where companies use media celebrities, San Antonio Brewing Association latched on to one of the more colorful and popular law enforcement personalities of the wild, wild West. In Langtry , Texas Judge Roy Bean declared himself the "Law West of the Pecos " and ran his court in the town's tiny US Post Office and bar called the Jersey Lilly Saloon. Judge Roy Bean was as famous in the in late 1800s and early 1900s as many of the motion picture stars of today are. Judge Bean's favorite (and rumored only) beer in his saloon was Pearl. Seeing this as an opportunity, San Antonio Brewing Association used the connection to Judge Bean and the Jersey Lilly as the focal point in decades worth of advertising. Later, the brewery's old horse stables were converted into a hospitality room and named the Jersey Lilly, in honor of Judge Roy Bean and his saloon. Prohibition
Post-Prohibition
2000s
Today The Beers The Pabst Brewing Company is a virtual brewery, virtual in that they do not own or operate any breweries. Every brewery they have built or bought has since been shut down, the Pearl Brewery being one. Instead, Pabst contracts out beer production to other brewers. Pabst utilizes several brewers, but their largest agreement is with Miller Brewing Company , who produces Pabst's major brands as well as Pearl and Lone Star. Although Pabst’s more popular beers such as Colt 45 , Stroh’s , and Pabst Blue Ribbon are produced at just about every Miller facility, Pearl is only brewed at the one in Ft. Worth , Texas . Pearl and Pearl Light are available to this day, but only in small volumes and in select markets, a far cry from the 45-state distribution they once had. Although previously bottled and sold in almost every form, the current iteration of Pearl seems to be only cans and only available in 12-packs. In addition, Country Club (Pearl's version of Malt Liquor and which was previously sometimes called 900 Malt) has restarted production and is available at most H-E-B stores and enjoys a wider distribution than Pearl and Pearl Light. Many who have tasted Pearl before the Pabst buyout and since claim the formula has changed, resulting in the today’s Pearl tasting more like a watered down version of Budweiser . Officially thought, Pabst claims the formula used in today's Pearl is the same that was originally bought by the San Antonio Brewing Association back in 1886 . The Brewery When operations ceased at the Pearl Brewery in 2001 , many thought it would be the end for the brewery's buildings. The brewery's proximity to downtown San Antonio and the easy access to several highways led many to believe it would be a prime target for razing and replacement. However, the two attributes, along with another surprise development actually saved the brewery and helped to ensure its architecture would survive. San Antonio's plan to expand the River Walk means plenty of money and tourists for any location close enough to the river. As luck would have it, the Pearl Brewery is less than a half mile from the river, thus making it an attractive location and sure to qualify for any incentives the city will implement to assist business development. Toward the end of 2002 , Silver Ventures (San Antonio-based investment firm) purchased the 23-acre brewery site. Fortunately, the company has big plans for many of the current structures on the brewery, with the hopes to attract business as well as River Walk tourists. The finished complex would house retail space as well as training facilities for Aveda Institute (cosmetology campus) and '''Center for Foods of the Americas''', an upscale culinary institute developed through a partnership with the Culinary Institute Of America . In addition, there have been rumors of a few premium Condominiums planned for the upper floors of the brew house, but nothing official has been released pertaining to residential space. Most of the older buildings are scheduled for remodeling and restoration, but the all metal warehouses and production facility which are typical of 70s era bland buildings are sure to meet with the wrecker’s ball soon (one has already been partially dismantled). The brewery's garage has been completed and now houses the Aveda Institute as well as an excellent cafe named Texas Farm to Table. The renovation updated the building to meet the current business needs, but still maintain the garage feel to it by saving the gasoline storage tanks and a few of the old red pumps. The '''Center for Foods of the Americas''' utilizes one of the older warehouses, with the old garage doors removed and replaced by large windows to show off the lines of counters, sinks, and spotless shiny pots hanging from the ceiling. The Jersey Lilly is in the process of being remodeled. The building retained its circular shape, but now sports a new roof skylight and a crown above the main entrance displaying the former stable’s construction date, 1894 . When completed, the Jersey Lilly will be a large meeting/entertainment center and along with numerous gardens will serve as the heart of the new Pearl Brewery complex. IMAGES
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