The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company, an American brewing institution, was established in 1865 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its history is intertwined with iconic advertising and memorable signs, particularly those featuring the Hamm's Bear mascot.
The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when German immigrant Theodore Hamm (1825-1903) acquired it in default of a loan issued to Andrew F. Keller. Keller had in 1858 established the Pittsburgh Brewery over artesian wells in a section of the Phalen Creek valley in St. Paul.
As the brewery grew, Keller procured a loan from tavern owner and customer Theodore Hamm to expand the brewery. The loan was secured with the deed of the brewery. Costs ran ahead of sales, and in 1864 Hamm took over the business in default and renamed it Theo. Hamm.
A butcher by trade and local saloon owner, Hamm first hired Jacob Schmidt as a brewmaster. Schmidt remained with the company until the early 1880s, becoming a close family friend of the Hamms.
In need of a new brewmaster, Hamm hired Christopher Figge, who started a tradition of three generations of Hamm's brewmasters, with his son William and grandson William II eventually serving in the position.
Read also: Understanding Lucifer's Role
August Maritzen designed a large brewery complex that opened in September 1894. The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company incorporated in 1894.
Throughout its history, Hamm's has undergone several ownership changes:
- In 1968, Heublein acquired Hamm's.
- In 1973, a group of Hamm's distributors bought Hamm's and sold it to the Olympia Brewing Company in 1975.
- When Pabst purchased the Olympia Brewing Company in 1983, it acquired the Hamm's brand.
- Miller Brewing acquired the Hamm's brand from Pabst in 1999.
- South African Breweries acquired Miller Brewing and changed the name to SABMiller.
In 2016, SABMiller sold its interests in MillerCoors to Molson Coors, who had been its partner in the joint venture, for around $12 billion. While Hamm's is no longer an independent brewing company, it is still sold in select markets under the Hamm's brand and label. The beer is brewed and sold by Molson Coors North America.
The Hamm's Bear: An Advertising Icon
In 1945, Campbell-Mithun, a Minneapolis advertising agency, created the Hamm's Bear. The Hamm's Beer bear (or the Hamm's Bear) was a cartoon mascot used in television production and print advertisements for the beer. The animated character was the first of its kind in the beer industry.
The Hamm's Bear was created by Patrick DesJarlait following an idea first sketched on a restaurant napkin in 1952. The resultant advertising campaign-launched in 1953-was produced by the Campbell Mithun Advertising Agency.
Read also: Leo Moon: Traits & Compatibility
In a typical TV spot, the bear would dance around in a pastoral setting while the "Land of Sky Blue Waters" advertising jingle played in the background.
Hamm's Beer - "Duck Trouble" (1980)
The original jingle, with lyrics by Nelle Richmond Eberhart and music by Charles Wakefield Cadman was derived from a 1909 art song entitled "From The Land of Sky-Blue Water". It was first used on radio and later on television.
The Hamm's ads were the first to use an animated character for a beer, although the perpetually mute character eventually only learned to speak one line: "It bears repeating!"
In 1999, Advertising Age Magazine called the Hamm's Bear the key element of one of the best ad campaigns in the last 100 years.
According to Moira F. The Audit Research Bureau reported that nationwide, in 1965, the Hamm's Bear mascot was the "best liked" advertisement. Considering that Hamm's commercials only aired in 31 states, this is quite an accomplishment.
Read also: Divine Blessings & Zodiac
The Hamm's Bear mascot was the key element of the campaign which ranked 75th in the "Best Ad Campaign of the 20th Century" as named by Advertising Age Magazine in 1999.
The character was so well known (and identified so closely with the state of Minnesota) that in 2000, the St. By that time, however, the current parent company, Miller Brewing, had drastically reduced the bear's use due to concerns it might be interpreted as an attempt to market beer to children.
In 2002, to commemorate the bear's 50th anniversary, a St.
The Hamm's Bear was featured on an endless array of signs, glassware, and promotional merchandise. Although they were silly, the commercials were well written. The commercials were smarter and funnier than most non-advertising cartoons of the time.
Hamm's went on to become one of the first companies to create a national pro-sports and college-sports branding campaign.
The Hamm's bear mascot comes from the early 1950s, and was designed by Ojibwe artist and a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Patrick DesJarlait, who also designed the Standard Gas firebird and redesigned the Land-O-Lakes maiden.
The Hamm's bear is even more adorable in 3 dimensions. The bear displays that designed by Paul Stanley, in working order, are more. But the other displays seem to continuously bring in over $2,000 rather consistently.
A statue of the mascot was erected in a St.
The most notable expansion was the state-of-the-art brew house, which was built in 1893. In 1897, the wash house and part of the bottling plant were built, both of which still stand.
The brewery was in an almost constant state of expansion from 1933 until 1948.
The brewery shut its doors in 1997 under the ownership of the Stroh Brewing Company. The property was sold to a real estate investor who in turn sold the southern half to the City of Saint Paul, including the original brew house.
The city left these buildings to decay and crumble.
The northern portion of the brewery today is mostly inhabited by various businesses, including a trapeze school.
As of 2013, businesses have started to return to the historical southern portion of the brewery.
The keg and wash house are currently home to Saint Paul Brewing.
In 1953, Hamm's purchased its second brewery from the Rainier Brewing Company.
Hamm's opened its San Francisco brewery in 1954 at 1550 Bryant Street. Its 20-by-80 foot sign, was surmounted by a three-dimensional 13-foot beer-glass-shaped lighting sculpture on top, filling with "beer" and forming a "head", all with lights.
It appeared in the first Dirty Harry film and was a local landmark. The brewery closed in 1972.
In 1957, Hamm's purchased the former Acme Brewery on 49th street in Los Angeles, California. The brewery had been owned by the New York-based Rheingold Beer / Liebmann Breweries since 1954.
In 1959, the Gunther Brewery of Baltimore, Maryland, was purchased. The decision to discontinue the Gunther brand turned much of the Baltimore population against Hamm's. The brewery's reputation was further tarnished by a frozen batch of beer that made its way to market.
A final attempt at expansion was made in 1963 with the purchase of the Gulf Brewing Company of Houston, Texas. The brewery had been founded in 1933 by Howard Hughes. This venture was more successful, but in 1967 the brewery suffered a fire. Heublein decided not to rebuild and sold off the property.
The closing of the Houston brewery in 1967 marked the beginning of the end for Hamm's bid to be a national brand.
In 2018 and 2019, Archie’s was the top seller of 12-ounce Hamm’s cans in the entire United States, selling around 50,000 cans each of those years, Arthur said. The bar has sold almost 40,000 so far in 2022, she said.
Since publicly announcing the sign was coming down last week, Arthur said she’s received overwhelming support on social media, with posts getting hundreds of likes and heartfelt comments about the sign and bar in general.
Arthur said the experience has been difficult, especially because it coincided with the anniversary of Boraca’s death.