Falls City Brewing Company
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Products | Beer |
Falls City Brewing Company was based in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The company operated from 1905 until 1978. After the company closed the Falls City brand was purchased by a group of investors who sold it in the late 1990s to the Pittsburgh Brewing Company who produced the brand until around 2007. The brand name "Falls City Beer" was revived in 2010, and a beer is contract brewed at Sand Creek Brewing Company for a Louisville computer software entrepreneur.
The Falls City Brewing Company was organized in 1905 by local tavern and grocery store owners. The name is taken from a nickname for Louisville, i.e. "Falls City," which derives from Louisville's position on the Falls of the Ohio. This company was a bit different from many breweries in the USA as it was not family owned. It was organized to break a local monopoly on beer production by the Central Consumers Company. Central Consumers also owned the taverns (or tied houses) located in neighborhoods where they could be operated profitably. The brewer, acting as landlord and supplier at the same time, caused the tavern operator to be at their mercy. This practice, while common in the United Kingdom, was later outlawed in the US.
Draft beer was introduced in 1906 and bottled beer two years later. A small ice house was built in connection with the brewery, and ice was sold to peddlers who operated in the western part of the city. In 1911, the company purchased a five-ton Morgan truck and one half ton auto car, and there was a great rivalry among the drivers as to who would be chosen to drive the two trucks. Also in 1911, the Central Consumers company tried to buy out their little competitor. A number of heated debates took place and loyal stockholders fought to retain the company.
In 1919 the brewery was closed for Prohibition and the company reorganized. From 1919 to 1933 the company survived as the Falls City Ice and Beverage Company by producing ice, soft drinks, and near beer. Despite no longer being able to brew alcoholic beer, the company prospered.
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