History
Brewer Samuel Liebmann immigrated from Germany to America in 1854. He started S. Liebmann Brewery in Brooklyn with his three sons in 1855. In 1883, the Rheingold brand was born. According to family lore, “Rheingold” was an allusion to the Rhein (Rhine) River in Germany. In a time when most beers bore the names of the brewery’s founder, the sons evidently thought “Rheingold” had a great sound. The marketplace agreed.
The excellent product and brand name, along with the family’s solid work ethic placed the brewery on an upward growth path and by the turn of the century its expanding production facility was the most advanced in the country. The company survived the prohibition years, from 1920 – 1933, by selling “near beer,’ like other breweries. In the forties, the popular annual “Miss Rheingold” competition propelled the business to its heyday and a 35% local market share.
In the early ‘60s, after nearly seventy years of jockeying for the position as the state’s leading beer, the business began to suffer due to cost increases and fierce competition from the large national brands. In 1965, the fourth American generation of the Liebmann family finally decided to sell the business. The acquirers continued to operate the Brooklyn plant until 1975 and then after the plant was closed, the brand was carried on by various companies, off-and-on, until 2013.