ANAHEIM BREWERY "FOUNDERS DAY" ON MAY 18th!

Birthdays are always a great reason to celebrate, so join us in wishing a Happy 164th Birthday to Friedrich Conrad, proprietor of the Anaheim Brewery from 1872 to 1904.

Friedrich was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1849, and arrived in San Diego in 1866 where, as a boy of seventeen, he set up shop as a cooper (barrel maker). Friedrich moved to Anaheim in 1870 and opened a winery. Two years later, he opened the Anaheim Brewery.

The party begins at 4 pm, with authentic Bavarian pretzels, and great food from our K&A Downtown Cafe. Vintage swing band Riff Raff will start the entertainment for the evening, followed by Brother Yusef and his “organic deep-fried fatback blues.”

Of course, no brewer’s birthday celebration would be complete without a special beer, and, of course, the Anaheim Brewery has brewed one: “Conrad’s Kolsch” is styled after the top-fermented beers of Koln (Cologne), Germany.  It is a light golden, pleasantly hoppy ale.

The label is an interpretation based on a fragment from an Anaheim Beer label dating from the early 1900’s, skillfully recreated by artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily. “Conrad’s Kolsch” will be available in bottles, growlers or draught.

Notice the phrase “In Pursuit of Happiness and Lager”? In 1899, the Los Angeles Turnverein (a German sports club) visited Anaheim to compete with our city’s Turnverein. The Anaheim Gazette reported that after the exhibition, the group “dispersed, and went in pursuit of happiness and lager.” The reporter then added that “they came for pleasure, and they got it.”

The Anaheim Brewery is located at 336 S. Anaheim Blvd. in Historic Downtown Anaheim.