Schepps Beer Texas

[keithker]

Rather than hijack the Manhattan Bock thread any further....I've been asked to see if there are any indications that Schepps Beer in Texas was ever advertised with beer cans that possibly could have been from Manhattan and shipped to Texas. Here is what I found:

- There was a Schepps Beer distributor in Longview
- As many know there was a connection between Manhattan Brewery and Longview.....there is a chance that such a can might exist...
- There was an agreement that had the Rosalie cans shipped to Longview......
- However I could not find any ad to confirm that theory......

Here are the ads I was able to find....

[Leon]

a Rosalie beer can ad would be nice. Or Tiger. LEON.

[keithker]

Longview being one of the few wet areas in Texas was pretty popular with selling a wide array of beers from across the USA....as noted in this ad....

[keithker]

Here is further proof that many Manhattan Brewery cans made their way to Longview.......Sorry @Leon no Schwepps......click to enlarge those $0.10 cans.....

[Tom Hoefer]

I believe Longview was a dry area. Most of Gregg county was wet, including Kilgore, but Longview was dry. I am certain this was the case when Schlitz opened the brewery in Longview in the mid 60s.

[Leon]

I know in some States some Counties voted every few years & many voted wet, then dry, then wet, then dry & back & forth for years. LEON.

[Leon]

Here is further proof that many Manhattan Brewery cans made their way to Longview.......Sorry @Leon no Schwepps......click to enlarge those $0.10 cans.....

Longview_News_Journal_Fri__Sep_29__1939_.jpg

Interesting, White Horse & English Lad & Black Dallas in Cans, along with Manhattan. Wonder if that meant Quart Cones also

[Dixie Dave]

I believe Longview was a dry area. Most of Gregg county was wet, including Kilgore, but Longview was dry. I am certain this was the case when Schlitz opened the brewery in Longview in the mid 60s.

I would believe the opposite. We have two sources of beer here that are both within the town limits of Longview. I can't believe that it would be legal to sell alcohol there but not to consume it.

I may be wrong, though. Texas is mighty screwy where its beer laws are concerned, more so in the Bible Belt. Even today, my buddy lives near Carthage. Carthage just voted a couple of years ago to go wet, though Panola County around it still remains dry.

[Dixie Dave]

The main thing seeing those ads does is whet my appetite to go dumping in that part of Texas! Some mighty interesting things to try to find!

[Leon]

The main thing seeing those ads does is whet my appetite to go dumping in that part of Texas! Some mighty interesting things to try to find!

I Believe some Rosalies where dumped in that part of Texas, or somewhere in East Texas. LEON.

[Tom Hoefer]

The Rosalie dump is about 40 miles from Longview. It's certainly possible they came from there.

Longview has been dry for decades. It's possible it was not dry for periods of time, as those votes did occur periodically. The ads showing the cans for sale, while they are in the Longview paper, do not specify the stores are in the city. You could buy beer a mile or two out of town. I am kind of sorry I brought it up, as it's a distraction from some very cool information.

We've found several of those brands in East Texas, but never White Horse or English Lad. Black Dallas has been found in several different areas of East Texas.

[keithker]

@Tom Hoefer Tom not to worry since it is all good discussion. I can only base my assessment that Longview Texas was wet at this time based on the ads as well as the map provided from this document as well. A few of the ads indicated that the liquor stores were directly in Longview.

Liquor10.pdf

(1.07 MiB) Downloaded 33 times

[Longhorn Mike]

The old BCCA rosters list a Schepps flat top can and attribute it to Manhattan in Chicago. I believe the only evidence was some paperwork. To my knowledge, nobody has ever seen this can.

It is possible that a test can was made, but again, nobody has ever seen one. We know for a fact that Schepps did not have any canning equipment, so the cans were not produced in Dallas. The brewery did not get a canning line until after it was sold and became Time Brewing, sometime after 1939, and that canning line produced Continental cone tops. The likelihood they installed a flat top line, then not produce cans in large quantities, then scrap the line and later install a cone top line is remote, at best.

As we know, Manhattan has produced cans for other breweries in their Chicago brewery but list some other city (like Food City in Battle Creek, MI) so it is possible, but again, no Schepps has been found.

I have found evidence of a possible relationship between Schepps and Manhattan. There is a letter dated 6/19/1937, where Schepps offers to distribute Manhattan beer in cans in Schepps' market, presumably the Dallas - Fort Worth area. In the letter, Julius Schepps states they do not have a canning line and the brewery's full capacity is used on bottled beer. However, I don't know if Manhattan ever took Schepps up on their offer, or offered to produce beer in cans for Schepps. Manhattan was distributed down here, but I'm not sure if Schepps, or successor breweries Time and Bluebonnet were involved.

The mystery continues.

- Mike

[keithker]

@Longhorn Mike I've been tasked with doing a project for the BCCA on breweries including history and breweriana. Has anybody ever done a history on Schepps, Time and the Dallas-Fort Worth Brewing Co. at 1026 Young Street, Dallas, Texas? If not I'd like to work you on putting one together. I'd like to include it in the February 2018 input. Is there any way you could scan that document about and save it as a full jpg?

[Leon]

The old BCCA rosters list a Schepps flat top can and attribute it to Manhattan in Chicago. I believe the only evidence was some paperwork. To my knowledge, nobody has ever seen this can.

It is possible that a test can was made, but again, nobody has ever seen one. We know for a fact that Schepps did not have any canning equipment, so the cans were not produced in Dallas. The brewery did not get a canning line until after it was sold and became Time Brewing, sometime after 1939, and that canning line produced Continental cone tops. The likelihood they installed a flat top line, then not produce cans in large quantities, then scrap the line and later install a cone top line is remote, at best.

As we know, Manhattan has produced cans for other breweries in their Chicago brewery but list some other city (like Food City in Battle Creek, MI) so it is possible, but again, no Schepps has been found.

I have found evidence of a possible relationship between Schepps and Manhattan. There is a letter dated 6/19/1937, where Schepps offers to distribute Manhattan beer in cans in Schepps' market, presumably the Dallas - Fort Worth area. In the letter, Julius Schepps states they do not have a canning line and the brewery's full capacity is used on bottled beer. However, I don't know if Manhattan ever took Schepps up on their offer, or offered to produce beer in cans for Schepps. Manhattan was distributed down here, but I'm not sure if Schepps, or successor breweries Time and Bluebonnet were involved.

The mystery continues.

- Mike

Very Interesting. Sounds like Schepps was volunteering to Distribute there Manhattan Beer for them in the Texas area? BUT, What compensation or did they want in return? Maybe some Schepps canned for them? LEON.

[keithker]

So here is a long shot.....so in Longview there is a place called Schepps Beer Store....was it family....did they send Manhattan there because of a Schepps Family deal???


Longview News Journal Sun Oct 24 1937

[keithker]

Seems like George Schepps of the brewery was also a big time baseball guy that happen to have a league in Longview so there are more connections....

[keithker]

Also seems George Schepps' brother Julius Schepp happened to be a liquor distributor in both Dallas and Longview with his brother George.....owner of the Schepps Brewing Corp.

Longview News Journal Fri Aug 20 1937

[Longhorn Mike]

The Schepps family was a prominent Dallas family in the 20th century. They had numerous businesses in Dallas, and quite frankly, the brewery was one of their least successful, only lasting from the end of prohibition till 1939.

The Schepps family was involved in minor league baseball, a bakery and an insurance company.

The Schepps family was involved in numerous charities over the last 70 years.

The Schepps family owned Schepps Dairy, a large regional dairy that was bought by Dallas based Dean Foods in the early 2000's.

The Schepps family owned Schepps Dairy Stores, a chain of convenience stores throughout the DFW area. It was sold to Stop & Go Stores in the late 80's.

The Schepps family owned the Julius Schepps Company, a large regional liquor, beer and wine distributor. The company had the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner contract brew Schepps beer in stubby bottles in the 80's. The business was sold to Republic Beverage a few years ago.

There is a statue of Julius Schepps in Julius Schepps Park. There is a freeway named after Schepps as well.

- Mike

[Longhorn Mike]

@Longhorn Mike I've been tasked with doing a project for the BCCA on breweries including history and breweriana. Has anybody ever done a history on Schepps, Time and the Dallas-Fort Worth Brewing Co. at 1026 Young Street, Dallas, Texas? If not I'd like to work you on putting one together. I'd like to include it in the February 2018 input. Is there any way you could scan that document about and save it as a full jpg?

A recent book has been written about this subject by Paul Hightower that briefly talks about the three breweries, but there are some major holes in some of the research (in my opinion).

I used these books to supplement my stories about the breweries I put in the Bluebonnet Chapter newsletter. I will forward you copies of the articles.

- Mike