Busch Gardens Park At 775 Gellhorn Dr.

[northbeaumont]

Yes, both are still made, however, not in San Antonio and not by the original brewers. Both Lone Star and Pearl were sold to national brewers years ago and have changed hands multiple times since then. Both San Antonio breweries have been closed, the Pearl one just a few years ago.

Both brands are now owned by Pabst. However, Pabst doesn't brew Lone Star, they apparently farm it out to Miller, who brews it in Fort Worth under the name of Lone Star Brewing Company. But it's not a real company in the way it once was.

Lone Star hasn't been an independent brewery or brand since the mid 1970s, when Olympia bought them out. It was then sold to G. Heileman, a big Midwestern brewer. Then it was sold to Strohs (the former Schlitz) and the San Antonio brewery was closed and production moved to Stroh's plant in Longview. Then Pabst, (formerly Pearl. Pearl bought Pabst), purchased the brand and brought it back to San Antonio and started brewing it at the Pearl brewery. But now that the Pearl plant is closed, it's made in Fort Worth, as is Pearl.

I'm not sure why Pabst farms out its brewing. Talk about outsourcing!

You answered my question very well. It sounds like today's common business practice of merging/outsourcing/sub-contracting, etc.

[Firebird65]

You answered my question very well. It sounds like today's common business practice of merging/outsourcing/sub-contracting, etc.

Thanks for the compliment, but I do admit I did look at least part of that up. I knew pretty much all about Lone Star, but I was surprised to learn about Pearl. I had thought Pabst bought out Pearl. No, it was the other way around. Pearl bought out Pabst and Pearl took the Pabst name (I guess because its the more recognizable).

I was in San Antonio when the Pearl Brewery closed. It was a big deal.

It just seems odd to farm out brewing an entire brand of beer (or actually several). I can see if they did it for a particular region - that's fairly common. Cheaper to do that than build a new brewery if the local guy has some extra capacity. Remember that gawdawful Billy Beer? It was made that way. Falls City made it in Kentucky and farmed it out to Pearl for the Texas market. But to farm out the whole brand is kinda weird.

Can you tell I used to collect beer cans as a kid? LOL!

[yuan1274]

Thanks for the compliment, but I do admit I did look at least part of that up. I knew pretty much all about Lone Star, but I was surprised to learn about Pearl. I had thought Pabst bought out Pearl. No, it was the other way around. Pearl bought out Pabst and Pearl took the Pabst name (I guess because its the more recognizable).

I was in San Antonio when the Pearl Brewery closed. It was a big deal.

It just seems odd to farm out brewing an entire brand of beer (or actually several). I can see if they did it for a particular region - that's fairly common. Cheaper to do that than build a new brewery if the local guy has some extra capacity. Remember that gawdawful Billy Beer? It was made that way. Falls City made it in Kentucky and farmed it out to Pearl for the Texas market. But to farm out the whole brand is kinda weird.

Can you tell I used to collect beer cans as a kid? LOL!

I thought I saw somewhere that someone in Houston built a house made of beer cans. Was that you?

It's been many years since I've seen Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. I thought that it had bit the dust. And I was surprised that Schlitz was relegated to "generic" status years ago. I thought that 30-40 years ago Budweiser was #1 and Schlitz was #2.

Edited April 8, 2008 by yuan1274

[Firebird65]

I thought I saw somewhere that someone in Houston built a house made of beer cans. Was that you?

It's been many years since I've seen Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. I thought that it had bit the dust. And I was surprised that Schlitz was relegated to "generic" status years ago. I thought that 30-40 years ago Budweiser was #1 and Schlitz was #2.

No, that wasn't me. But I wonder if he'll want my collection next time he does some renovations? They're for sale if anyone wants 'em.

Pabst hasn't been sold in Houston for quite awhile. If you look hard you can occasionally find it in a store or two, but to my knowledge it's never been a big seller around here. If memory serves (and it's been some time since I researched this) I do believe Pabst was trying to market Blue Ribbon pretty much exclusively to blacks, but I stand to be corrected.

When I first started collecting in 1977, Bud and Schlitz were the tops. In fact, most cans along the road were Schlitz (as if roadside litter is a sales barometer. LOL!) At least in the places I looked for cans, I gauged them to be in this rough order:

Schlitz

Budweiser

Coors

Schlitz Malt Liquor

Lone Star

Lite

Pearl

Miller

Pabst

Falstaff

[plumber2]

No, that wasn't me. But I wonder if he'll want my collection next time he does some renovations? They're for sale if anyone wants 'em.

Pabst hasn't been sold in Houston for quite awhile. If you look hard you can occasionally find it in a store or two, but to my knowledge it's never been a big seller around here. If memory serves (and it's been some time since I researched this) I do believe Pabst was trying to market Blue Ribbon pretty much exclusively to blacks, but I stand to be corrected.

When I first started collecting in 1977, Bud and Schlitz were the tops. In fact, most cans along the road were Schlitz (as if roadside litter is a sales barometer. LOL!) At least in the places I looked for cans, I gauged them to be in this rough order:

Schlitz

Budweiser

Coors

Schlitz Malt Liquor

Lone Star

Lite

Pearl

Miller

Pabst

Falstaff

Falstaff was brewed in Galveston up until the mid 80's. Falstaff was the #3 beer sold in the U.S. at one time. The last Falstaff beer was sold here in 2005, brewed by somebody else under license, I was told. I went to Spec's on a friday to get my usual case and couldn't find my 'staff (Falstaff). The clerk said some guy from Pasadena bought the last cases they had and that was the last they would get. I cried, and hoped that somebody would ressurrect the brand somehow, but it never happened. I found one last cold one behind the mayonaise jar in my refrigerator a few weeks later. I kept it as long as I dared but finally drank it, toasting my dad, grandad, uncles, cousins and whoever else was raised on the 'staff.

I friend of mine took me through the old brewery a couple of years ago. It was gloomy, dark, nasty and vandalized, but you could still get that feeling of a vibrant active brewery, smells and all.

[yuan1274]

No, it's been gone a long time now. It was very nice when it existed, though. You really should come back to Houston, you seem to miss it here an awful lot...

I don't know which Busch Gardens this was at:

[Gurgis]

More information and pictures at this site as well:

http://houstorian.wordpress.com/2008/04/07...dens-1971-1973/

[MaxConcrete]

While digitizing the family collection of Super 8 films from the late 1960s and early 1970s, I found this excellent video of Busch Gardens Houston from a summer 1972 visit.

 

http://youtu.be/FWYk7t0f0Q4

 

When I searched online for other videos, I found only one which mostly showed the Clydesdale horses and parrots, with little footage of the park itself.

 

My brother and I are the kids in the video. I asked my parents why we're identically dressed, and they had no idea. (We're not twins.) I'm the taller, slimmer kid, on the left side in the train shot.

 

The boat ride is the only part of the park I remembered before seeing the video. I was very surprised to see that I rode on an elephant.

Edited January 3, 2015 by MaxConcrete

[Fringe]

Man that brings back memories. Thanks for posting. 

[FilioScotia]

Great memories, but I have to say I don't think you guys looked like you were having a good time. lolll

 

1972 was the year my wife and I took our three year old twin sons to Busch Gardens. You and your brother looked a lot like our boys.

Edited January 3, 2015 by FilioScotia

[lockmat]

Where was this located?

[brhaltx]

Inside of the east loop on/off of I-10.

[FilioScotia]

At one time, there were five Budweiser breweries with a Busch Gardens theme park on the property. Tampa, Houston, Williamsburg VA, and two parks in the Los Angeles area - Van Nuys and Pasadena. 

 

All the parks were marketing successes, but the Houston Busch Gardens was open for only for two years - 1971-1973. I've never found out why they closed it, but I'm guessing it could have been because of the location on I-10 at Gellhorn. I remember it was a little hard to get into and out of. 

 

The Busch Gardens story makes interesting reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busch_Gardens

 

[mkultra25]

Anyone know when the giant neon sign on top of the brewery was taken down? That was a significant landmark in east Houston, especially at night when it was lit up. When I was a kid I always used to look forward to seeing it when we'd head out I-10 to visit my aunt and uncle in Jacinto City. 

 

[Fringe]

I know there is another thread about attracting tourist to Houston so I won't get into it here, but it's a shame Houston has nothing like this any more. It was a great place to take out of town guests to. I didn't realize it was only around for 2 years. I remember being surprised when it closed. Always seemed so busy. 

[Montrose1100]

All the parks were marketing successes, but the Houston Busch Gardens was open for only for two years - 1971-1973. I've never found out why they closed it, but I'm guessing it could have been because of the location on I-10 at Gellhorn.

My father told me they couldn't compete with Astroworld. 

[FilioScotia]

****My father told me they couldn't compete with Astroworld.****

 

That might be true to some extent. It's worth noting however that Busch Gardens was built for adults, with a few attractions to entertain their kids. Astroworld was built for people of all ages, especially kids, with a few attractions for their parents.

 

I still think it was the location. This may sound elitist, but it is a fact that Houston's east side is not a good part of town. The Port of Houston and Denver Harbor - "Podunk" - areas have had a bad reputation for crime and gang activity for many years. A lot of people from other areas may not have wanted to drive into an area where they didn't feel completely safe. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

 

I don't remember the area around Astroworld ever having that problem.

Edited January 5, 2015 by FilioScotia

[plumber2]

I remember my father got invited to the pre grand opening at Busch Gardens because he worked for one of the major subcontractors that built the brewery. My mother wouldn't let us kids go, claiming that the invitation was just for adults. We found out later that our cousin's got to attend and of course along with a bunch of other kids. Boy were we mad. We stayed mad long enough to not ever go even when our mom apologized and offered to take us anytime. Sorry I missed out on it now.

[LindaDousay]

On 1/4/2015 at 3:10 PM, mkultra25 said:

Anyone know when the giant neon sign on top of the brewery was taken down? That was a significant landmark in east Houston, especially at night when it was lit up. When I was a kid I always used to look forward to seeing it when we'd head out I-10 to visit my aunt and uncle in Jacinto City. 

 

 

[LindaDousay]

Thank you for posting this. I would also love to know when the sign was taken down AND when it was put up. I loved seeing the sign each time we came back to Houston.  My dad worked construction in the late 60's...coming in at night from Louisiana the sign was like a beacon circling in the smog....I thought it was absolutely beautiful

[Gurgis]

Great to see the video (good quality!) and read the posted memories. I think I went two times, probably 8 or 9 years old. I remember the Oriental-looking tower, the water ride, and seeing some animals. I also remember a strange smell coming from the brewery (sort of like burn spaghetti).

 

I'm sure it was hard competing with Astroworld, which had so much more to offer. Due to the animals, there would have also been unique expenses and personnel along the lines of zoo upkeep and handling. The location was sort of strange too, in the midst of freeways and buildings. You never really could escape the city/urban atmosphere surrounding the site like you could at Astroworld. I remember enjoying it though.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Gurgis
clarity

[DWah]

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, my class from Hohl Elementary, (Yale/Tidwell) took a field trip to Busch Gardens and toured the brewery.

 

Can you imagine??!!??

 

Other field trips from elementary school:

 

Austin, (Barton Springs, Capitol, etc.) A special Saturday trip

Huntsville for the Sam Houston stuff

Opera and Symphony

Mrs. Baird's Bakery

Sea A Rama in Galveston

 

I don't think they do these any more, do they? Probably a liability issue.