Christian Heurich
Largest brewer in Washington, D.C., and major real estate investor.
Christian Heurich (September 12, 1842 – March 7, 1945) was a Washington, D.C., brewer and real estate investor. His Christian Heurich Brewing Company, founded in 1872, became the city’s largest brewery. At his peak, Heurich owned more land in Washington, D.C., than anyone except the federal government.
He was born in the village of Haina, near Römhild, in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen (Thuringia), the third of four children of Kaspar and Anna Margarethe Heurich. When he was twelve, his family moved to Römhild, where his father ran an inn and worked as a butcher and brewer. Christian learned the trade from him and through apprenticeships. Both parents died by the time he was fourteen, leaving him an orphan. He apprenticed in Themar from 1857 to 1859, then traveled across Europe until his older sister Elizabeth, living in Baltimore, urged him to emigrate to the United States to pursue his dream of owning a brewery. He arrived in June 1866 and joined her in Baltimore.
As a young man, Heurich learned to brew lager beer in Bavaria and Vienna. After moving to the U.S., he worked at a Baltimore brewery, then moved to Chicago to work at Seipp & Lehman (later Conrad Seipp Brewing Company). He lived briefly in Topeka, Kansas, then returned to Baltimore in 1868 or 1869 to work on a sailing vessel. He next worked at a brewery in Ripley, Ohio, until it was sold to a Cincinnati firm, after which he went back to Baltimore as a brewery foreman.
In 1872, Heurich partnered with Paul Ritter, a Baltimore brewery employee, to lease a brewery from George Schnell at 1229 20th Street NW in Washington, D.C. Within a year, Schnell died and the partnership dissolved. Heurich bought Ritter’s share in 1873 and launched his own business, Christian Heurich’s Lager Beer Brewery. He expanded the plant from 1223 to 1235 20th Street NW, and by 1878 its annual capacity reached 30,000 barrels. He incorporated the business in 1890 as the Christian Heurich Brewing Company. In his 1934 autobiography, *Aus meinem Leben*, Heurich wrote that he did most of the brewing while Schnell entertained customers. He built a second brewery on 20th Street NW in 1877 and 1878. In 1891, the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated his beer for impurities; chemical analysis cleared it, and Heurich published the results in local newspapers.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Christian Ferdinand Heurich
- Birth Date
- 1842-09-12
- Birth Place
- Haina, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, German Confederation
- Death Date
- 1945-03-07
- Death Place
- Washington, D.C., U.S.
- Resting Place
- Heurich Mausoleum, / Rock Creek Cemetery, / Washington, D.C., U.S.
- Occupation
- brewer · real estate investor
- Known For
- founder of Christian Heurich Brewing Company
- Children
- 4
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Christian Heurich learned brewing from his father, an innkeeper, butcher, and brewer, and through apprenticeships in his youth. After being orphaned at age 14, he traveled Europe and emigrated to the United States in June 1866, joining his sister in Baltimore. He worked in breweries in Baltimore, Chicago, Topeka, and Ripley, Ohio, before moving to Washington, D.C. In 1872, he partnered with Paul Ritter to lease a brewery; within a year, the owner died and the partnership dissolved, and Heurich bought Ritter's share in 1873, naming the company Christian Heurich's Lager Beer Brewery. He expanded the plant and by 1878 annual capacity was 30,000 barrels. He incorporated in 1890 as the Christian Heurich Brewing Company. In 1891, the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated his beer for impurities; the analysis proved no impurities, and Heurich published the results in local newspapers. The brewery suffered three fires: a chimney fire in 1875, two stable fires, and an explosion in the malt mill, prompting a new fireproof facility in Foggy Bottom, opened in 1896, with a capacity of 500,000 barrels per year. The brewery was the second largest employer in Washington D.C. after the federal government. It closed in 1919 due to Prohibition, focusing on ice production, resumed beer in 1933, and stopped ice in 1940. Heurich worked until his death; the brewery closed in 1956.
Reader's Guide
Christian Heurich's significance lies in building the largest brewery in Washington, D.C., and amassing extensive real estate holdings, second only to the federal government. His brewery was one of the first fireproof buildings in the city and, at its peak, the second largest employer in Washington D.C. Heurich's commitment to purity was demonstrated when he voluntarily published a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis proving his beer free of impurities, and later used physician testimonials. His personal life included three marriages, the first to the widow of his former business partner, and he fathered four children, three surviving to adulthood. Heurich's mansion, built in 1894, was donated to the Historical Society of Washington in 1956 and later became a museum. His brand was resurrected by his grandson in 1986 as the Olde Heurich Brewing Company in Utica, New York, which closed in 2006. Heurich died at age 102 of bronchitis.
Did You Know?
- Christian Heurich was orphaned by age 14 and learned brewing from his father and apprenticeships.
- His beer was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1891 and found free of impurities.
- Heurich died at age 102 of bronchitis on March 7, 1945.
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