The ATL's Original Craft Brewery: The Atlanta Brewing and Ice Company

Some folks admonish that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. However, sometimes history sounds really tasty and repeat-worthy.  The latter seems to be the case with Atlanta's only brewery to have survived Prohibition and the naughtiness of Victorian Era ankle shows.  Long before Red Brick and Sweet Water there was the Atlanta City Brewing Company established in 1867 at the corner of modern day Courtland and Harris streets (now the Hilton).

In line with most of its counterparts, Atlanta Brewing was founded by German immigrants.  Egidius Fechter, Joseph Feishel, and Emil Langgesser's original wooden structure burned down in 1880 and was later rebuilt in the same location, this time with more brick and stone.  It seems very likely the trio of German friends may have been the inspiration for the Three Little Pigs, but I digress.  In 1892, seizing on the hellish summer temperatures of Atlanta, the brewery began to market ice as well, and subsequently renamed itself the Atlanta Brewing and Ice Co.  One of the brewery's earliest offerings was an ale with the very German moniker, "Steinerbru."

Things were really looking up for the company until a paternalist Congress decided Americans could no longer hold their collective liquor.  Like all breweries that managed to financially survive Prohibition, Atlanta Brewing had to come up with other streams of revenue to compensate for the lack of beer sales.  Producing soft drinks and bottling for Coca-Cola saw the brewery through the true Dark Ages of mankind.  With the passing of the 21st Amendment and the end of Prohibition in 1933, Atlanta Brewing was back in action, albeit for a short time under the same name.  In 1935, Chattanooga-based Southeastern Brewing Company (nee Chattanooga Brewing Company est. 1890) bought out the brewery and renamed itself and its new acquisitions the Atlantic Ice and Coal Co., because nothing says beer more than not saying it all. 

 In addition to the Chattanooga and Atlanta locations, Atlantic also brewed out of facilities in Charlotte, Norfolk, and Orlando thus becoming the largest regional brewery in the Southeast at the time.  From what I can gather, Atlantic produced several beers including a bock, red ale, pale ale, and a pilsener.  Their slogans during this time period included "Atlantic Ale and Beer: Full of Good Cheer" and "The Beer of the South."

 Sadly, the big national powerhouse breweries such as Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, et al. eventually drove Atlantic out of business, and the Atlanta facility became the penultimate closing in 1955.  A year later, the final plant boarded up its doors in Charlotte, thus ending the run of the Southeast's largest regional brewery in 1956. 

So that's the tale of Atlanta's first major brewery.  Thanks for reading, and until next time, go drink some craft beer. H.A.G.S.