Old Crown Brewing Corporation


Old Crown Brewing Corporation was an American brewery, founded as The French Brewery in 1862 by Charles L. Centlivre in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

History and products

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The brewery's best-known brand was Old Crown, a renaming of their earlier Centlivre brand. Prior to Prohibition, brands included Nickel Plate Beer, Muechener, the aforementioned Centlivre Beer and The Centlivre Tonic, among others. Nickel Plate Beer is believed to be the only beer named after a railroad, the Nickel Plate Road and was served in its dining cars in the early twentieth century. During Prohibition they produced a near beer called That's It, and briefly revived the old Centlivre brand after Prohibition, before introducing Old Crown, which quickly became their flagship brand. The company itself adopted the Old Crown name when they merged with Chris-Craft Industries for a short time in 1962. Chris-Craft sold the company to its employees. The brewery produced Old Crown Beer, Old Crown Ale, Old Crown Bock, Van Merrit, Old German, Renner and Alps Brau, until they ceased production on December 1, 1973. Peter Hand brewing of Chicago continued to make Old Crown beer and ale, as well as Van Merrit, Old German and Alps Brau, until the late 1980s.

Demolition

Plans to turn the old brewery into a historic site were dashed by vandalism during the 1970s. Hopes to utilize the remaining buildings were never realized, with the last of the brewery demolished in 1989. Only the Centlivre home and horse stables were saved.

Founder's biography

Charles Louis Centlivre was born in Dannemarie, Haut-Rhin, France, September 27, 1827. He was trained as a cooper and initially came to America in 1847, having settled in New Orleans, Louisiana. After a cholera epidemic he returned to France, returning to America via New York City with his father and two brothers. After living in Massillon, Ohio and working as a cooper in Louisville, Ohio, he founded a brewery in McGregor, Iowa in 1850 and operated it until he came to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1862 and founded the C. L. Centlivre Brewing Company with his brother, Frank. He died in 1894 at the age of 67.