Chosi's Pabst Page

Pabst

Company Names, addresses, dates¹:
Raedy & Walsh , 703-705 N Capitol (1886-1887)
Thomas D. Harper , 703-705 N Capitol (1887-1889)
Philip Best Brewing Co, 701 N Capitol (1887-1889)
Pabst Brewing Co, 703-705 N Capitol (1890-1917)

Notes:
This is Pabst Brewing Company's Washington DC branch. Pabst beer was brewed in Milwaukee, but it was bottled and sold in Washington DC. Presumably it was shipped in barrels via railroad to the Washington DC branch, where it was bottled and delivered by horse and wagon. The bottles below belonged to the Washington DC branch of Pabst.

Newspaper ads from 1910, 1911 and 1914 list their beer as "Pabst Milwaukee beer", "Pabst Blue Ribbon", and "Pabst Red White & Blue" beer respectively. Phone number was Lincoln 1431 ²

Bottles:

	book # 481 This is an 9.25" aqua baltimore-loop top bottle with a ring around the neck, embossed: front: PABST / BREWING CO / WASHINGTON / BRANCH rear heel: THIS BOTTLE / NOT TO BE SOLD
	book # 483 This is an aqua 9.3" baltimore loop top bottle embossed: in circle: ('B' superimposed over a hops leaf) / TRADE MARK below circle in script: P. B. Co. / Washington, D.C. / Registered
	book # 484 These are BIM crown-top bottles. The left one is 9.25" aqua, the center is 9.5" light-amber, and the right is 9.25" dark amber. They are all 3 embossed: in circle: ('B' superimposed over a hops leaf) / TRADE MARK below circle in script: P. B. Co. / Washington, D.C. / Registered back: JOHN BRO'S.F.W.VA
	book # 489 This bottle is a 9.5" aqua crown top embossed: inside large circle: PABST / ('B' superimposed on hops) / TRADE MARK / MILWAUKEE below circle in script: Registered base: A B Co / 1374 / 5 label: (see below)
	This is a close-up of the label from the bottle above. It says: label inside circle: PABST / ('B' superimposed on hops) / TRADE MARK / BOH BRAND BEER / MILWAUKEE label below circle: BOTTLED AT / WASHINGTON BRANCH / 703-705 N. CAPITOL ST. N.E. WASHINGTON, D.C. label left of circle: GUARANTEED / BY / PABST BREWING / CO label right of circle: UNDER THE FOOD / AND DRUGS ACT / JUNE 30th 1906 / SERIAL No 1921.

DC Bottles ?
The bottles in this next table do not say Washington DC on them, however each has a 'W' embossed on the base, which some people have suggested was an indicator that they were from the Washington DC bottling plant. I have never found proof of this, but I have included these bottles anyway.

	book # (not applicable) This is an 9.25" amber baltimore-loop top bottle embossed: round slug plate: PABST / ('B' inside hops leaf) / TRADE MARK / MILWAUKEE below slug plate in script: Registered base: W
	book # (not applicable) This is an 9.7" aqua crown top bottle embossed: round slug plate: PABST / ('B' inside hops leaf) / TRADE MARK / MILWAUKEE below slug plate in script: Registered rear heel: EHE CO base: W.

Other Items:

	This print shows the Pabst bottling plant in Washington DC, at 703 & 705 N Capitol Street. The eBay seller of this item said it was from 1893. The building that says "PABST BREWING COMPANY" on top is 703 N Capitol Street, and the building to the left which says "STORAGE HOUSE" is 705. The wagon in front of the building says: BOTTLED BEER / FOR FAMILY USE
	This is an old ad from the Washington Star newspaper, August 5th 1906. It touts the cleanliness of the Pabst brewery.
	This is an old ad. I don't know if it was from a newspaper or a magazine. It mentions the sales from 1893, so it's probably from 1894.
	This is an advertisement from the 1887 book "Washington Hisorical sketches of the Capital City of our Country", by John P. Coffin. The Philip Best brewing company was the predecessor to Pabst. The book says the building was supplied with steam power and the best modern-improved machinery. It also said that 22 hands were employed and 7 teams were kept busy delivering. ³
	This is a letter postmarked 1955 from the Alexandria Distributors for PBR. No evidence that they bottled the beer, only distributed it. The letter says: Upper left: After 5 days, return to / ALEXANDRIA DISTRIBUTING CO. / 715 North St. Asaph Street / ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA / (Pabst Blue Ribbon logo)

¹ Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)
² Advertisements in the Washington Star newspaper between 1905 and 1914
³ Washington Historical sketches of the City of our Country by John P. Coffin

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This page last updated on June 19, 2022.