Jan 06, 2018 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)

Today we continue our series on the historic breweries and distillers of Greenwood (Part 1 and Part 2). In the late 1800s, both Elkhorn Brewery and Lion Bottling faced one tough competitor from out of region… and from out of the country. The Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin had established a firm presence in the Greenwood market as early as 1898, delivering kegs through their local agent, Rendell & Co._[1]

Clearly, the Schlitz Brewing Co. was not offering any exclusive territory to its agents. By late 1900, Rendell & Co. themselves faced competition, as the Greenwood Trading Co. also became a local agent for Schlitz. Their line of beverages was described in a special edition spread on local enterprises:_[2]

GREENWOOD TRADING CO., LTD.
Dealers in Clothing, Boots, Shoes, Hats, Caps, Gents Furnishings, Queensware, Crockery and Groceries — Wholesale Dealers in all Kinds of Liquor and Agents for Schlitz Beer

"One of the main features of this establishment is their wholesale liquor department, in which will be found foreign and domestic wines and liquors, brandies, Scotch and Irish whiskeys, rum, gin, Bass ale, stout, etc., besides a large stock of native whiskeys and eastern ales and porters. The facilities this establishment have for buying place them in a position to simply defy competition. They are also agents for Schlitz beer and enjoy a large trade in this line."

Schlitz Brewery Co. Poster

In 1903, Schlitz sent a personal representative to meet with distributors in Greenwood:_[3]

"E. Reimschneider agent for Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous, was in the city this week."

Getting barrels of beer from the brewery in Milwaukee to Greenwood, British Columbia in the late 1890s was no small task. The barrels were shipped by rail much of the way, but local delivery was by horse and wagon. Transport was expensive and extremely bothersome, and didn't do much good to the beer either. The constant sloshing was said to lower the quality.

The Schlitz Fleet
Horse-drawn delivery trucks, Schlitz Brewery, Milwaukee

Schlitz delivered by horse and wagon locally in Wisconsin, as well. In 1895, a large stable was built on the brewery premises, where 200 acres were fenced in and three large horse barns built. Sadly, a fire destroyed nearly the whole complex, killing more than 100 of the horses._[4]

Eventually, the brewery used horses only to deliver the barrels to the railroad station. On Sunday mornings, the long queue of horse-drawn wagons could be seen moving down towards the terminal. It was known as "the Schlitz fleet". As the barrels were offloaded in British Columbia, our local drays picked-up the stock and delivered it to distributors in Greenwood, and elsewhere.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Boundary Creek Times — Dec 24, 1898, p. 19
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170335

[2] Greenwood Weekly Times — Oct 31, 1900, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172860

[3] Boundary Creek Times — Jun 12, 1903, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170852

[4] History of Schlitz Brewing Co.
http://www.slahs.org/history/brewery/schlitz/history3.htm