Continental Brewing Co


Company Names, addresses, dates1:
  Continental Brewing Co, 512 N Capitol (1897-1901)
  Continental Brewing Co, Alexandria VA

Notes:
The Continental Brewing Company of Philadelphia PA was open from 1883 to 1920.
This page is about the Washington D.C. and Alexandria VA branches of that company.

I couldn't find any indication that there was a branch in Alexandria Virginia, other than the embossing on one of the bottles below. That bottle doesn't actually say "Virginia", so I'm not 100% sure it's an Alexandria Virginia bottle. It has the initials "KW" (or "WK"), and I don't know who or what that refers to.

Charles Moses Fleishman was born 1861 in Baltimore MD.2
Starting about 1890, he was the Washington DC agent for the National Brewing Company of Baltimore.3
In 1893, Fleishman was arrested and charged with embezzlement.4
In August of 1896, there was an announcement that Fleishman had accepted a job as agent for the Continental Brewing Company of Philadelphia, with B. B. Baker as his local manager in Washington DC. The announcement said the depot was at 325 I Street S.E., although it shows up in the D.C. city directories at 512 N Capitol Street. 5,1
As far as I could tell, Fleishman was agent for the Continental Brewing company through 19011, but in 1902 he had an ad that referred to him as the agent for Toledo XXX beer, at the the address that had been associated with the Continental Brewing Co (512 N Capitol Street).6

I couldn't find any information about Benjamin B. Baker, other than his first name was "Benjamin", and he was indeed the manager of the Continental Brewing Company.1

Bottles:
continental_01 book # 183
This is an 8.9" aqua baltimore loop top, embossed:
oval slug plate: CONTINENTAL BREW. CO. / ALEX. / BRANCH / KW / REGISTERED
back: THIS BOTTLE NEVER SOLD
continental_03 book # 184
This is a 9.2" aqua BIM crown top embossed:
oval slug plate: CONTINENTAL BREWG CO. / B.B. BAKER / MANAGER / WASHINGTON, D.C.
back: REGISTERED / NOT TO BE SOLD
continental_04 book # 184
This is very similar to the bottle above, except it says "WASH" instead of "WASHINGTON", and it has a date (1896). It's a 9.2" aqua BIM crown top embossed:
oval slug plate: CONTINENTAL BREWG CO. / B.B. BAKER / MANAGER / REGISTERED 1896 / WASH. D.C.
back: REGISTERED / THIS BOTTLE NOT TO BE SOLD
continental_02 book # 185
This is a 9.3" clear (sun-colored amethyst) BIM crown-top bottle embossed:
neck: REGISTERED
oval slug plate: CONTINENTAL BREWING CO. / CHAS. / FLEISHMAN / WASH. AGT. / PHILA. PA.


1 Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)
2 US Census entry for Charles Fleishman, 1900, Washington DC
3 The Washington Critic, 28-Mar-1890, p.4 (Ad for National Brewing Co)
4 Alexandria Gazette, 18-Jan-1893, p.4
5 Evening Star, 1-Aug-1896, p.4 (announcement by Chas. Fleishman)
6 Washington Post, 22-Feb-1902, (ad: "Try the Only Beer,...")


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This page last updated on February 15, 2026.