An overview of the Viennese brewing industry in the 1890's was one. It highlighted a point often misunderstood. That the brewery which transformed the industry in Austria-Hungary wasn't Burgerbräu in Pilsen, but Dreher's brewery in Klein Schwechat on the outskirts of Vienna.
In a report on the World Exhibition I found this lovely table of beer tax receipts in various countries. Take a look:
Receipts form Beer Tax in 1867 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| country | in Austrian guilders | in original currency | currency unit |
UK | 58,781,305 | 5,309,112 | pounds Sterling |
Austria | 16,098,918 | 16,098,918 | Austrian guilders |
France | 6,400,000 | 16,000,000 | Francs |
Belgium | 5,822,035 | 14,535,000 | Francs |
Bavaria | 2,620,450 | 8,500,000 | southern guilders |
Prussia | 7,310,000 | 1,746,967 | Thalers |
Saxony | 375,000 | 150,000 | Thalers |
USA | 3,045,000 | 1,600,000 | US dollars |
Württemberg | 1,290,000 | 1,500,000 | southern guilders |
Hannover | 66,000 | 44,000 | Thalers |
Holland | 433,500 | 510,000 | Dutch guilders |
Source: “Bericht über der Welt_Ausstellung zu Paris im Jahre 1867, volume 7”, 1868, page 112. | |||
That was educational. At least for me. I'd never realised that Württemberg and Bavaria used the same currency before unification. Or that a dollar was worth almost two Austrian guilders. Information that will be dead handy when I finally get my time machine fired up.
Unsurprisingly, it was Britain that generated the most tax income from beer. It had the biggest and most modern brewing industry in the world. And a large, relatively well-off, population of thirsty workers.
Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, Württemberg and Hannover. That's five Germanies I've covered today. I'm really maintaining my theme this month. Hurray fior me.
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6 comments:
To add a second source (on the U.S.), according to the "History of the Brewing Industry and Brewing Science in America" (Arnold and Penman) U.S. tax receipts were $6,057,506 in 1867. A lot more than $1.6 million, and enough - seems like a surprise to me - to already make it No. 3 on the list.
This summer when the wife and I are in Budapest we'll be going to the old Dreher library and looking at the old logs. They are all in Hungarian so I had to bribe her to help out! SHould be sweet though.
Stan, that's interesting. These figures might not be for 1867. That's sort of a guess, because the original document doesn't date the figures. It was published in 1868, so I plumped for 1867.
Even if I'm a couple of years out, that's a big discrepancy in the amount of tax.
The Dreher empire, including the Trieste brewery, IIRC, and, of course, the original Michelob, was the largest privately owned brewing firm in Europe.
A propos of nothing, it always amuses me that Anton Dreher translates into "Tony Turner".
The figures only go back to 1863, and the U.S. was just starting to grow. In fact, revenue is listed as $1,628,933 in 1863.
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