Coop's Loop

Henry Bartholomay, founder of the Bartholomay Brewery company, and perhaps the best known brewer in America, was born in Frankfort, Germany, December 5, 1829, and was more than just a genius brewer. He was a brilliant business man and marketing guru for his time.
 
He understood the importance of having an identifiable visual graphic associated with his product before there was "shelf presence" or "package design". He had enough foresight to know that the Genesee river would bring a slew of breweries to the area and he wanted his products to stand out in the public eye. Very early in its existence, the Bartholomay Brewing Co. went from the typical all type bottle to embossing the iconic wheel with wings into its glass.
 
Without even realizing it, Bartholomay was living up to his brand and breathing corporate culture into his brewing establishment. The brewery itself was a monument to its founder; 450 feet of brick buildings situated on the east bank of the Genesee river overlooking the upper falls. It was the largest in Rochester for its time, and had no superior in equipment in any part of the world in its heyday. The first beer from their brewery was sold December 7, 1852. The product of the plant that year was 300 barrels. By the prohibition in 1919, there were at least two dozen brewers in Rochester and the Bartholomay Brewing Co. was the largest with 150 men producing 300,000 barrels of beer a year delivered by a team of 75 large handsome grey horses. The beer business ended in 1920 when the facilities were converted for dairy production.
 
Henry Bartholomay's success in business has been most marked and even though the brewery no longer brews, he is still one of the best known brewers in America... in no small part due to his intelligent branding.
 
 
SOURCES:
http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v54_1992/v54i2.pdf
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nymonroe/bios/biographies028.htm

BOTTLES:
http://brucemobley.com/beerbottlelibrary/ny/rochester/bartholomay.htm