Tiki Archeology - Primo Beer and the Royal Brewery (Image Heavy) - General Tiki

F freddiefreelance Member San Diego, Ca. Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 3006	F freddiefreelance Posted posted on Wed, May 3, 2006 6:03 PM Although not the first brewery in the Islands (that would be the “Honolulu Brewery" which brewed a non-alcoholic beer for most of 1854, followed by the National Brewery Company in Kalihi which produced steam beer from January 1888 until about 1893), the Royal Brewery brewed Primo & Royal beer from 1900 up until 1962. Established in 1898 as the Honolulu Brewing Company, it was renamed the Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company, Ltd., in 1900 when the Brewery was opened, and what a brewery! With it's 3 story tall corbelled red brick arches & patterned masonry decoration over a steel-framed concrete building it was a butterfly built to last the ages. Although it's New York archetect's name has been lost to time, his work hasn't. In addition to the existing 80-foot structure, the complex also had a two-story bottling house and an ice-making plant. From The Hawai'i State Historic Preservation Devision: Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company offered prompt delivery of their Primo Lager, which, by the way, did not have to be "fortified." The brewery remained in business as Honolulu Brrewing & Malting until 1920, when Prohibition started in the Territory of Hawaii. In 1934 it began operation again as the American Brewing Company. To celebrate Hawaii becoming a state in 1959 Primo decided to issue its beer in a can for the first time. However, shipping material to Hawaii is expensive so the company searched for ways to reduce shipping weight. Instead of the steel cans every other brewer that canned used, American Brewing bought lightweight aluminum cans from a Swiss Company and they purchased foil labels for the cans. The latter saved the company from importing can painting machinery and paints as shipping costs to Hawaii are expensive. Unfortunately for the brewer, and the consumer, the cans were not appropriately designed for holding beer. The special lining did not adequately protect the beer from the metal, resulting in 23,000 cases of spoiled beer. Also, the concave top actually dipped into the beer so when the can was opened the beer would spray out. Worse, an overly enthusiastic (or overly thirsty) customer could accidentally punch their churchkey not only through the lid, but with the soft aluminum top and body, could actually keep going and punch the opener through the can's side at the same time. The cans ended up being recalled and dumped, but the damage was done to the brewery's reputation. The American Brewing Company ended up declaring bankruptcy and the Royal Brewery was closed forever. * The Schlitz brewing Company took over brewing Primo in 1963 and quickly turned the business around. Brewing of Primo Beer expanded and the brewery went to 24 hour a day operations. In 1966 a new, more modern, brewing facility opened in Pearl City. By the beginning of the 1970s, Primo Beer market share peaked with 70% of the local market. In part this was due to local loyalty since this was "Hawaii's beer", but the tourist trade also helped as the many visitors to the islands wanted to try the local brew. Schlitz started canning Primo Beer again in the early 1970s and came out with several cans that were very popular with the collectors of the time. Canning beer in Hawaii was still expensive, so in 1979 Schlitz moved the canning operation to the mainland. Unfortunately, moving the canning operations only weakened the local support in Hawaii for "their" beer. In 1983 Strohs Brewing in Detroit purchased Schlitz, including Primo. Strohs brewed Primo in Longview, Texas and they tried to arrest Primo's declining sales, which had dropped from 12,000 cases a month to 1,200. Primo was sold in parts of California and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Attempts were made to sell it Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. It was even sold for a time in Japan. Strohs also changed Primo's label, copying a 1904 label. Strohs efforts made some progress, in 1986, they increased back to 12,000 cases a month, but they soon began declining again. Surprisingly, market analysts attributed some of the rise and fall to the color of the bottle used. When Strohs sold Primo in a green bottle, sale rose. When they sold it in a brown bottle, sales fell. Brown bottles are actually better for the beer inside because brown glass protects the beer from light better than green, and light hurts a beer's freshness. However, consumers liked beer in green bottles. Beers such as Heineken are sold in green bottles and consumers saw green as a symbol of quality as opposed to brown. Stroh's efforts to promote Primo failed and the last batch was brewed in November 1997 and was sold in May, 1998, almost exactly 100 years since it was first brewed in Hawaii. Other beers brewed in the Royal Brewing Building included Royal Beer & Ale (from 1922 'til 1962), AmBrew Beer (1933 - '38), Paradise Beer ('33 - '40), and Von Zart Beer ('33 - '42). The brewery was renovated in 1996, part of a $28 million project that included housing and a Senior Center, but a pervasive odor from termite-treated wood forced the Kakaako Senior and Community Center to leave the site in 1999. QuickTime VR view of the outside of the Brewery Hawaiian Beverage Museum (home of Primo & Royal Beer Brewerania) (Most of the information in this paragraph was taken from Beer Can Collectors of America. United States Beer Cans (Fenton, Mo.: Beer Can Collectors of America, 2001) 17.)

Although not the first brewery in the Islands (that would be the “Honolulu Brewery" which brewed a non-alcoholic beer for most of 1854, followed by the National Brewery Company in Kalihi which produced steam beer from January 1888 until about 1893), the Royal Brewery brewed Primo & Royal beer from 1900 up until 1962.

Established in 1898 as the Honolulu Brewing Company, it was renamed the Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company, Ltd., in 1900 when the Brewery was opened, and what a brewery! With it's 3 story tall corbelled red brick arches & patterned masonry decoration over a steel-framed concrete building it was a butterfly built to last the ages. Although it's New York archetect's name has been lost to time, his work hasn't. In addition to the existing 80-foot structure, the complex also had a two-story bottling house and an ice-making plant.

From The Hawai'i State Historic Preservation Devision:

Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company offered prompt delivery of their Primo Lager, which, by the way, did not have to be "fortified."

The brewery remained in business as Honolulu Brrewing & Malting until 1920, when Prohibition started in the Territory of Hawaii. In 1934 it began operation again as the American Brewing Company. To celebrate Hawaii becoming a state in 1959 Primo decided to issue its beer in a can for the first time. However, shipping material to Hawaii is expensive so the company searched for ways to reduce shipping weight. Instead of the steel cans every other brewer that canned used, American Brewing bought lightweight aluminum cans from a Swiss Company and they purchased foil labels for the cans. The latter saved the company from importing can painting machinery and paints as shipping costs to Hawaii are expensive. Unfortunately for the brewer, and the consumer, the cans were not appropriately designed for holding beer. The special lining did not adequately protect the beer from the metal, resulting in 23,000 cases of spoiled beer. Also, the concave top actually dipped into the beer so when the can was opened the beer would spray out. Worse, an overly enthusiastic (or overly thirsty) customer could accidentally punch their churchkey not only through the lid, but with the soft aluminum top and body, could actually keep going and punch the opener through the can's side at the same time. The cans ended up being recalled and dumped, but the damage was done to the brewery's reputation. The American Brewing Company ended up declaring bankruptcy and the Royal Brewery was closed forever. *

The Schlitz brewing Company took over brewing Primo in 1963 and quickly turned the business around. Brewing of Primo Beer expanded and the brewery went to 24 hour a day operations. In 1966 a new, more modern, brewing facility opened in Pearl City. By the beginning of the 1970s, Primo Beer market share peaked with 70% of the local market. In part this was due to local loyalty since this was "Hawaii's beer", but the tourist trade also helped as the many visitors to the islands wanted to try the local brew. Schlitz started canning Primo Beer again in the early 1970s and came out with several cans that were very popular with the collectors of the time. Canning beer in Hawaii was still expensive, so in 1979 Schlitz moved the canning operation to the mainland. Unfortunately, moving the canning operations only weakened the local support in Hawaii for "their" beer.

In 1983 Strohs Brewing in Detroit purchased Schlitz, including Primo. Strohs brewed Primo in Longview, Texas and they tried to arrest Primo's declining sales, which had dropped from 12,000 cases a month to 1,200. Primo was sold in parts of California and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Attempts were made to sell it Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. It was even sold for a time in Japan. Strohs also changed Primo's label, copying a 1904 label. Strohs efforts made some progress, in 1986, they increased back to 12,000 cases a month, but they soon began declining again. Surprisingly, market analysts attributed some of the rise and fall to the color of the bottle used. When Strohs sold Primo in a green bottle, sale rose. When they sold it in a brown bottle, sales fell. Brown bottles are actually better for the beer inside because brown glass protects the beer from light better than green, and light hurts a beer's freshness. However, consumers liked beer in green bottles. Beers such as Heineken are sold in green bottles and consumers saw green as a symbol of quality as opposed to brown.

Stroh's efforts to promote Primo failed and the last batch was brewed in November 1997 and was sold in May, 1998, almost exactly 100 years since it was first brewed in Hawaii.

Other beers brewed in the Royal Brewing Building included Royal Beer & Ale (from 1922 'til 1962), AmBrew Beer (1933 - '38), Paradise Beer ('33 - '40), and

Von Zart Beer ('33 - '42).

The brewery was renovated in 1996, part of a $28 million project that included housing and a Senior Center, but a pervasive odor from termite-treated wood forced the Kakaako Senior and Community Center to leave the site in 1999.

QuickTime VR view of the outside of the Brewery
Hawaiian Beverage Museum (home of Primo & Royal Beer Brewerania)

(Most of the information in this paragraph was taken from Beer Can Collectors of America. United States Beer Cans (Fenton, Mo.: Beer Can Collectors of America, 2001) 17.)

Post #230337 by freddiefreelance on Wed, May 3, 2006 6:03 PM