Images(5)

Bottle, Beer

Object number2017.94.41

Manufacturer Fort Pitt Brewing Company (1906 - 1957)

Manufacturer Owens-Illinois Glass Company (1929 - 1965)

Date1930-1957

OriginJeannette, PA

MediumGlass; Paper; Ink; Adhesive

Credit LineGift of Robert Thomas

DescriptionGreen glass beer bottle. Cylindrical body with long tapered neck leading to circular mouth above a bulge. Two seams. One paper label adhered to neck and body, each is black with silver curvilinear corner details framing a gold-bordered white oval. Neck label has red printed beer brand name at center. Body label's white field has gold banner at top and bottom with black text, and at center is an image of a horse-drawn carriage with man and woman occupants and white horse above red beer brand name. Underside is stippled and has raised maker marks.DimensionsHeight x Diameter: 8.25 × 2.188 in. (21 × 5.6 cm)
MarksRaised text on underside "Duraglas / 5 [logo] 51 / 15"; logo is an "I" inside an "O" surmounted by a diamond.

Back of bottle at bottom edge has raised text "GX 2310".

Paper label on neck has red printed text "Old Shay / ALE".

Paper label on body has black and red printed text "De Luxe / Old Shay / ALE / ["R" inside a triangle] / FORT PITT BREWING CO. / JEANNETTE, PA. / CONTENTS 8 FLUID OUNCES / [union label possibly for International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink and Distillery Workers] / [union label possibly for Allied Printing Trades Council]".

Historical NotesOld Shay Ale beer bottle. Part of a collection of Fort Pitt Brewing Company artifacts that was collected by donor Robert Thomas to document the time his family ran the company (1930s through the 1950s). The donor’s great uncle, Michael Berardino, became president of Fort Pitt Brewing Company two years after one of the original owners and founder, Samuel Grenet, died suddenly in 1935. Grenet had started the business in 1906 with Herman Hechelman. They built a brewery in the suburb of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, survived Prohibition and were set to be the number one brewery in the state when Grenet passed. Berardino began an aggressive sales campaign to turn the company around after lagging sales the year before. The company also bought the Victor Brewing Company of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, but continued to produce their signature Old Shay beer. In the early 1950s due to local strikes and an increase in national brand popularity, Fort Pitt struggled. After Berardino died in 1957, the company stopped brewing at the Sharpsburg plant and expanded into other products and became the newly incorporated Fort Pitt Industries. The rights to the brand were sold to Gunther Brewing of Baltimore. In 2010, the Fort Pitt name was purchased by Mark Dudash who began producing Fort Pitt Ale.

Related person Michael Berardino (died 1957)

Collector Robert M. Thomas

Related institutionPossibly Allied Printing

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