Falstaff logo with red text on a yellow background.

Falstaff Brewing began as the Lemp Brewery, German immigrant John Adam Lemp in St. Louis in 1838. The Lemp Brewery company closed in 1921, and sold its Falstaff brand to the then-named Griesedieck Beverage Company. Griesedieck Beverage was renamed the Falstaff Corporation and survived Prohibition by selling near beer, soft drinks, and cured hams under the Falstaff name. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the first two cases of beer were airlifted from Curtiss Stienberg Airport to the governors of Illinois and Missouri. After Prohibition, the company expanded greatly. Its first acquisition was the 1936 purchase of the Krug Brewery in Omaha, which made Falstaff the first brewery to operate plants in two different states. By the 1960s, Falstaff had become the third largest brewer in America.

White text on green background with white Falstaff logo surrounded by white shamrocks.

Falstaff Brewing began as the Lemp Brewery by German immigrant John Adam Lemp in St. Louis in 1838. The Lemp Brewery Company closed in 1921 and sold its Falstaff brand to the then-named Griesedieck Beverage Company. Griesedieck Beverage was renamed the Falstaff Corporation and survived Prohibition by selling near beer, soft drinks, and cured hams under the Falstaff name. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the first two cases of beer were airlifted from Curtiss Stienberg Airport to the governors of Illinois and Missouri. After Prohibition, the company expanded greatly. Its first acquisition was the 1936 purchase of the Krug Brewery in Omaha, which made Falstaff the first brewery to operate plants in two different states. By the 1960s, Falstaff had become the third largest brewer in America.

Top of button is red, bottom of button is blue, center of button has blue text on a white background.

Originally introduced by the Lemp Brewery, Falstaff Beer was just one of several different brands offered by the largest brewery in St. Louis prior to Prohibition. The Lemps chose the Shakespearean character for the name of their new beer due to Sir John Falstaff's reputation as a jolly, fun-loving knight. When the Lemp Brewery closed, William J. Lemp Jr. sold the Falstaff brand to his friend and fellow brewer, Joe Griesedieck in 1920; it would be one of the last business decisions Lemp would make before committing suicide in the family's mansion in 1922. Following the end of Prohibition, the Griesedieck family began to expand their new Falstaff Brewing Company aggressively, competing with Anheuser-Busch Brewery in the decades of the mid-twentieth century. The older, small breweries Falstaff purchased ultimately proved too inefficient to compete with Anheuser-Busch. The four plants in St. Louis, out a total of ten plants in the Falstaff Company, closed one by one, the last in 1977.

White text in a red oval and white text in a red rectangle, on a white background.

In 1905, local tavern and grocery store owners got together and formed the Falls City Brewing Company as a way to break a local monopoly on beer production by the Central Consumers Company. Prohibition hit in 1919 and knocked many breweries out of business, but Falls City changed their name to the Falls City Ice and Beverage Company and survived selling block ice and soft drinks. When Prohibition ended, they changed their name back to Falls City Brewing Company and from then until the late 1960s, Falls City was a dominant brewery and was the most popular beer in Louisville. Oertel’s and Fehr’s, Louisville’s other top breweries eventually went out of business and Falls City was the lone survivor until the national players like Schlitz, Miller and Budweiser became too powerful to compete with.

Top of the button has green text set on a red music staff with red musical notes. Center of the button has red script text with a green shadow. Bottom of the button has bold green text. All text is set on a white background.

Peter Schoenhofen, a Prussian immigrant, was in Chicago working in the brewing trade in 1861 when he started a partnership with Matheus Gottfried. They were soon operating a brewery where they made about 600 barrels of lager beer a year. In 1867, Schoenhofen bought out his partner, and the company became the Peter Schoenhofen Brewing Co. During the 1890s, the business was owned by the City Contract Co. of London, England, but then around 1900, the Schoenhofen family regained control of the company. The company's "Edelweiss" brand of beer was a big seller. Operations shut down during Prohibition, but by 1933, after the national ban on alcohol production was lifted, the company was back in business as the Schoenhofen-Edelweiss Co.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Center of the button contains the Dubuque Malting Company logo encircled by a thin gold ring and bunches of  green grains. Black text is found along the rim.

Increased demand for beer prompted four local breweries to consolidate in May, 1892. The A. Heeb Brewing Company, Northern  Brewing Company, Iowa Brewery, and the Western Brewery joined together to form the Dubuque Brewing Company, which later changed its name to the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company. In 1910, Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company had grown to become the largest manufacturer in Iowa. The brewery acquired a great deal of property. Many saloon operators simply rented from the brewery until laws were passed stating that breweries could not own and control other business property. To get around this law, the Dubuque Realty Company was formed. This business was nothing more than a holding company for the brewery which could continue to profit from the rented property.

White text outlined in black between smaller black text on a red background and encircled by a black and white border.

Regal Beer was put into production by the American Brewing Company in 1933, the year Prohibition was repealed. The company, which had its origins in New Orleans’ French Quarter in 1890, promoted Regal Beer with images of Prince Regal toasting his own beer as well as with the popular southern jingle, “Red beans and rice and Regal on ice.” The American Brewing Company closed in 1962 and is today the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

Illustration of eighteenth-century blonde-haired colonist wearing a red hat on an orange background. Black text is curved across the top left and bottom of the button.

In 1821, John Cooper and Thomas Gould established a brewery in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. When William Van Nostrand acquired interest in 1860, he gradually expanded production and distribution.  His son, Alonzo G. Van Nostrand, originated the “P.B. Ale” (Purest and Best) brand.  In the 1890’s, Alonzo became the sole proprietor of the brewery, which was now known as the Bunker Hill Brewery.  It operated until Prohibition.  In addition to P.B. Ale, the brewery also manufactured; Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty and Van Nostrand's Porter.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Black text on a light blue background with an illustration of a white clown centered. The clown is dressed in a white and red outfit with hat.

In 1821, John Cooper and Thomas Gould established a brewery in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. When William Van Nostrand acquired interest in 1860, he gradually expanded production and distribution.  His son, Alonzo G. Van Nostrand, originated the “P.B. Ale” (Purest and Best) brand.  In the 1890’s, Alonzo became the sole proprietor of the brewery, which was now known as the Bunker Hill Brewery.  It operated until Prohibition.  In addition to P.B. Ale, the brewery also manufactured; Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty and Van Nostrand's Porter.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Black, white, and red illustration of a Canadian Mountie with a horse, with black text on white background and a red circle around the perimeter of the button.

Drewrys was a brand of Canadian beer that originated in 1877. Drewry's slogan and claim to fame was that the beer was "more flavor, less filling, more fun!" and also that a can of Drewrys would float in water, rather than sinking to the bottom of a bucket or tub. The Drewrys Mountie, and his faithful horse, were front and center on the earliest Drewrys cans. Although the Drewrys brand discontinued production in 1972 because of stiff competition, brand made a comeback in 2014 in the Chicago area.