Before the Ban Part 3 - Pre-Prohibition Baltimore Breweries - The Odenwald & Joh/Sommerfeld/Lion Brewery

Now long forgotten to history, Baltimore was once a major brewing city with over 45 breweries operating at one time. In this series, I hope to bring to life this long lost history.

Bird's Eye View of Odenwald & Joh's Lager Beer Brewery 1869

The Philip Odenwald & Ferdinand Joh brewery opened in 1862 on what is today South Calverton Street, and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest surviving brewery in Baltimore. Odenwald, who was born in Germany, operated a tavern prior to opening the brewery. Joh, also from Germany, worked as a bartender prior to opening the brewery.

 Odenwald & Joh's Lager Beer Brewery 1869

By 1871/72 the brewery was producing 5,491 barrels of beer a year. The brewery was was sold in 1872 after death of Odenwald, the brewery continued under the ownership of Odenwald's widow, Mrs Julia Odenwald, and John Sommerfeld, Odenwald's brother-in-law, bought out Joh's interest in the brewery and from 1873 to 1875 it operated as the Sommerfeld & Company Brewery. Sommerfeld was born in 1831 in Freienhagen, Prussia and came to Baltimore in 1848, engaged in the liquor business. By this time there was on the site a restaurant or saloon, three dwelling houses, an office, stables, ice house,  etc. along with 650 fermenting tubs, three double team wagons, and one single team wagon.

1887 Advertisement

From 1875 to 1880 it operated as the John Sommerfeld Brewery. In 1878 the brewery sold 6,063 barrels of beer and in 1879 it sold 5,193 barrels of beer. By July 1894 it was producing 10,000 to 12,000 barrels per year.

In 1881 the brewery was sold due to insolvency. At this time it consisted of 19 fermenting tubs, 4 beer wagons, and 2 beer cooler. From 1880 to 1891 the brewery operated as the Sommerfeld Brewing Company. In 1895 Sommerfeld was unable to pay the mortgage interest and sold the brewery to the Lion Brewing Company, headed by J. Harry Biemiller. At the time of the 1895 sale the brewery consisted of a three story brick and stone brewery, a three story fermenting house, a three-story washhouse, a two-story ice machine house, two brick stables, an office building and outbuildings, two three-story brick dwellings and a two-story brick dwelling. The brewery was furnished with a refrigerating machine, artesian well, fifteen fermenting tubs, twenty-one beer vats, two copper kettles, one large and one small boiler, an iron mash tub, a fetching machine, four double team and two single team beer delivery wagons, two collectors jagger wagons, and had a 35,000 barrel capacity.

1898 Advertisement

In 1901 was bought by the Maryland Brewing Company. This company went into receivership shortly after the purchase and all the breweries in Baltimore which were part of the Maryland Brewing Company were bought by the Gottleib-Bauernschmidt-Strauss Brewing Company.

1902 Advertisement

It was one of the least productive breweries of this company and was closed in 1904. The site was later occupied by Samuel Dell Company, brush makers, and Lenmar Lacquers, a paint company.

Some of the brewery survives today. These parts include the former office, the ice machine/condensing building, the boiler house, the wash house/cooler (only the exterior walls survive), the storage building (only the exterior walls survive), two 2-1/2 story brick dwellings (one with an altered roof to two stories and the other gutted by fire), a three story brick dwelling, and the original 1862 brewery building coolers malt house.

J. Sommerfeld Brewery 1890

150 South Calverton Road

Lion Brewery (formerly J. Sommerfeld Brewery) 1901

150 South Calverton Road

 Site of the Lion Brewery (formerly J. Sommerfeld Brewery) 1914

150 South Calverton Road

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