Blue Top beer goes skunky after great success

The northwest corner of King and Victoria streets in Kitchener is, in 2023, basically barren ground. Oh, there are great plans for a new regional transit hub on the corner … plans that seem to slink further into the future as the years roll by. But dig into that corner and you’ll uncap a major 20th-century industry.

The story begins elsewhere — in 1842 Waterloo at William Rebscher’s new brewery at King and Princess streets. Rebscher died in 1856, and recently arrived German brewmaster Adam Huether and son Christopher took over before fully purchasing Lion Brewery in 1870. Christopher’s son, C.N. Huether, assumed control in 1895, but soon moved lock, stock, barrel and bottle to Berlin, selling the Waterloo Huether property.

C.N. established his new Berlin brewery at King and Victoria streets. Sources disagree on the exact date, so let’s just say that at the turn of the century, C.N. Huether Brewery opened with 15 workers. It was the Boer War era, so one of C.N.’s first products was Victoria Ladysmith lager, honouring the queen and a famous moment in the war. Within a decade, C.N. dropped his name and the firm became Berlin Lion Brewery featuring Wuerzberger and Pilsener lagers.

For many Canadian breweries, the First World War and Prohibition dealt knockout punches, killing most beer sales. Berlin Lion was also affected by the city’s name change but instead of Kitchener Lion Brewery, the much-reduced company reverted to C.N.’s name. For a couple of years, the plant was also used by a coconut processing firm, but limited beer making was allowed. By the mid-1920s, “strong beer” was produced for export, mainly to Quebec, and “near beer” for the Ontario market.

In 1927, two experienced brewery men arrived in Kitchener from Windsor where they had apparently profited handsomely during Prohibition. William Renaud and Arthur Diesbourg joined the senior management of Huether Brewing Limited.

They were just in time to be in the hot seats when federal and provincial auditors discovered the firm had for years been selling the strong stuff in the province. Worse, Huether Brewing Limited had — in addition to fermenting hops to make beer — been cooking the company books to make money.

As a result, Renaud and Diesbourg purchased the brewery from Huether, successfully guiding it through the Depression with product such as Old Tyme Stock Ale, Sunny Top, Canadian Ale, Gold Label, plus Pilsener and Wuerzberger lagers. By 1934, annual profits were $17,000.

Expansion added a retail outlet beside the brewery; a sidebar business, Tri-Pure Ice Company; and even an ice-refrigerator business. However, what sealed success was a new product — Blue Top beer. Blue Top became so popular that it became the company’s name in 1936. The owners had already decided to drop the Huether name because, then, as now, most people mispronounced the name, saying “hugh-thur.”

For a dozen years, Blue Top was the most popular brand in K-W, more than holding its own against Waterloo’s dominant CarlingKuntz Brewery. Blue Top cleverly used a blue spinning top as its marketing logo on labels, coasters, liners, billboards, newspaper advertising and on its huge signs. Half the K-W population seemed to keep its keys on promotional Blue Top fobs given out by the thousands. The end came suddenly in 1948. Somehow a bad batch of beer got released and the company’s reputation plummeted. New product such as New Yorker Lager and Premium Ale helped things recover, but even a 1952 name change to Ranger Brewing Company couldn’t hold off the inevitable.

E.P. Taylor was in the midst of building his huge brewing empire and, sensing trouble in Kitchener, purchased Huether/Blue Top/ Ranger. It became part of his Dow Kingsbeer subsidiary, but retained much of the previous workforce.

The new owners took over in 1953, only lasting in Kitchener until 1961 when Dow Kingsbeer was consolidated in Toronto.

The early 1900s factory was torn down in 1964 although the Blue Top/Dow sales outlet building remained for many years as Brewer’s Retail. On the site of Kitchener’s only-ever large brewery, later businesses included Frostop, Tim Hortons, an Asian food store … and now an empty field, albeit one with big plans.

RYCH MILLS COLLECTION Whether ale or lager, the label was almost identical and the blue top itself caught the eye first.

K-W RECORD NEGATIVE COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Artificial ice, clean and pure, was an important home necessity until mid-century. Electric refrigerators were still not common in homes thus the two-or-three-timesweekly arrival of Blue Top’s Tri-Pure ice man ensured food didn’t spoil. In addition to home delivery, customers could buy bags, blocks or cubes on-site … even “ice boxes” … at the Tri-Pure sales office.

LYNN BEBENEK Reader Lynn Bebenek submitted this early 1950s photo featuring the brewery complex and two Blue Top trucks at the curb. Her father, Robert Tolmie, worked there in the early 1950s, then transferred to Dow in Toronto after the sale. Behind the huge Blue Top sign at right is Kaufman Rubber Company, now Kaufman Lofts.