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Saturday, February 28, 2015

POP A TOP: SHERIDAN BREWING COMPANY! by Kirsten Lynn

Good as Cookie’s coffee is, after a long day of fillin’ up on dust on the trail a cowpoke wants to sit back with a cold brew or soda pop...Oh yeah, cowboys love a grape or orange pop, look it up…  And the place that was brewin’ up the best was the Sheridan Brewing Company!

sheridanbeer

In 1887, Arnold Tschirgi, George Paul, and Peter Demple, joined forces to found The Sheridan Brewing Company. First they had to avoid robbers’ intent on stealing the business’s start-up money. Thieves were common along the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage line. So, the men sent the $10,000 in gold by the Northern Pacific Railroad to Custer Station, and transported the capital the rest of the way by wagon.  By 1888, the brewery distributed its first product.

sheridan0109A year later, in 1889, The Sheridan Brewery expanded its operations, producing millions of barrels of beer before Prohibition in the 1920s. Undeterred by this law, the brewery shifted to new products like near beer Sherex and an assortment of fruit-flavored soft drinks.


By the end of Prohibition in 1933, the brewery was producing 600 barrels of beer a day. During World War II, the Brewery began canning water in their recognizable yellow cans. Canned water was sent to the front for the boys, and later kept by citizens for emergency situations.

By 1954, 60,000 barrels of beer a year left the brewery, and at this time the Sheridan Brewery stopped its beer operations and focused on soda pop. That same year the brewery became the first company in the United States to bottle its products in flat-topped cans.


canapopThe Can-a-Pop Beverage Company quickly became the leading producer of canned soft drinks larger than any other plant in America. Soon, franchises started up in Los Angeles and Compton, California and Peoria, Illinois. But as quickly as Can-a-Pop sprung to the top, its bubble was popped by such brands as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and Nehi. These brands held national recognition and advertising and edged out the hometown soda company.

The brewery was torn down in 1994, and a park is now at the spot of Sheridan Brewing Company. But never fear there are still plenty of places in Sheridan, Wyoming to have a cold one.

SOURCES:
Pictures from the Sheridan County Museum

Blair, Pat, Prater, Dana and the Sheridan County Museum. Images of America: Sheridan. Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

 Kirsten Lynn writes stories based on the people and history of the West, more specifically those who live and love in Wyoming and Montana. Using her MA in Naval History, Kirsten, weaves her love of the West and the military together in many of her stories, merging these two halves of her heart. When she's not roping, riding and rabble-rousing with the cowboys and cowgirls who reside in her endless imagination, Kirsten works as a professional historian.

10 comments:

  1. Great post Kirsten. Wow, the things I do not know. It is sad to see how one start-up company was in existence for so long and then went by the wayside because of better ad campaigns. But what a history Sheridan Brewing had.

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  2. It's always fun to find these pieces of history that are often forgotten, Barb. It's amazing how many of the long time citizens of Sheridan have something from the Sheridan Brewery. It did have quite the history.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Love this post. I was unaware of this company. Along the Mississippi near Warsaw, Illinois they had a brewery. Fishermen would go there to fish since the brewery emptied its leftovers into the river. It no longer exists either. (At least to my knowlege, I'll have to check on that.) These small pieces of history are so fascinating. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Doris. It's sad that so many historic buildings have been lost. One thing about the Sheridan Brewery is when they tore it down many citizens gathered the items, so its history is well preserved.

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  4. Kirsten, this is so fascinating. All these little forgotten tidbits of our history--I wish it was possible to put them all in one place--the internet? Yes... it might all be there...but how do we know what to look for? With a book you can just thumb through it and stop to read interesting things...Love this post.
    Cheryl

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    1. Cheryl, I agree, a website full of historic tidbits would be a treasure!

      Glad you enjoyed this post on the Sheridan Brewery. There are a few people around town with the Can-a-Pop or Beer cans that still have the contents inside. Not sure those should be opened. :)

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  5. Kirsten,

    "...became the first company in the United States to bottle its products in flat-topped cans" <<< This little tidbit really caught my interest. Not that I'd ever contemplated the invention of flat-topped beverage cans, but it surprised me that it wasn't invented by one of the "name brand" companies.

    The instant I read your blog title, I had to take time out for a few minutes of YouTube time and " Pop a Top Again" (the Jim Ed Brown version)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABQrnAqW3YY

    So just to keep the record straight on incidences of earworm infestation, I want Kathleen to take note this time it wasn't me. lolol

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    1. I already doomed myself, Kaye, when I gave the post that title. :)

      Isn't that interesting about the first flat-topped cans. Most people, I'm sure, think it was Coke or Pepsi or even one of the beer companies, but nope it was right here in Sheridan.

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  6. I had no idea there was a Sheridan brewing company. When I saw the part where they switched to soda only, I started to think perhaps their name changed to Shasta. I remember that soda company's name from the time I lived in Nebraska. But I see that the company has shut down completely. What a shame, especially after making it through Prohibition. Water in a can does not sound appealing to me, but if I was thirsty, it sure would.
    Wonderful post, Kirsten. All the best...

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  7. Glad you enjoyed the post, Sarah. I remember Shasta pop from growing up. My granddad would by a bunch of flavors on the 4th of July. It was a real treat.

    Yes, sadly, the old Sheridan Brewery is completely gone, but a new brewery is being built as we speak. Hope springs eternal.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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