The Life of an Anglo-American: Before the Ban Part 7 - Pre-Prohibition Baltimore Breweries - Thomas Beck Brewery/Dukehart Brewing Company/Maryland Brewery

By 1861, Thomas Beck opened a brewery known as the known as the Rock Springs Brewery, which was known for its production of beer in kegs and ginger beer in bottles. In 1871 in partnership with his son August Beck, the brewery became known as Thomas Beck and Son.

Thomas Beck Brewery 1869

At some point after 1882, the brewery was taken over by Thomas M. Dukehart. Dukehart had previously taken over the old Medtart Brewery, known for the production of ales, porters, stouts, and malt extract, on Holliday Street near Centre Street in 1872, and moved this operation to the former Beck Brewery on Baltimore Street.

Thomas Beck Brewery 1869

In 1891, through a reorganization, the first of several, the Dukehart Brewing Company took over the Ale & Porter Brewery of Thomas M. Dukehart. At this time the brewery complex consisted of a large and commodious brewhouse, extensive underground vaults, a large ice house, stables, a cooperage, a 3-story brick hotel corner of Baltimore and Calverton Streets, and the brewery had a 30,000-barrel annual capacity.

In 1900 the brewery was sold as a receiver sale and taken over by the Dukehart Manufacturing Company. At this time the brewery consisted of a brick brewery buildings and bottling house, brick and frame stables, a washhouse, blacksmiths’ and wheelwrights’ shops, sheds, a 3-story brick hotel with 2-story brick back building. The brewery also listed as assets 10 wagons, 2 buggies, 1 copper cooler, 1 copper bottom mash tub, 2 boiling kettles, 8 fermenting tubs, and 12 vats.

In February 1904, the brewery leased the bottling house and old ice-storage building to the Cahn, Belt & Company for one year.

An interesting note about their beer. On November 2, 1908, their Dukehart's Porter was tested by the State of Maryland and found to have a 3.5% alcohol content.

As of 1911, with William Obermann serving as manager, the brewery had 1-35-ton Pennsylvania Iron Works compression ice making machine made by the Pennsylvania Iron Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a direct expansion refrigeration system, and 45,266 cubic feet of cold storage space.

While remaining independent of the great Baltimore brewery mergers of 1899 and 1901, the brewery eventually closed in 1913.

Today all that survives of the brewery complex is two stories of the 3-story brick hotel with its 2-story brick back building at the corner of Baltimore and Calverton Streets, now known as the Club International.