TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 • 30 An ‘Honest’ Look At One Of Ridgewood’s Lost Beers With things hopping across the five boroughs as the city enjoy’s Beer Week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at a part of Ridgewood’s brewing history. One of the many breweries that popped up across Ridgewood at the turn of the 20th century was the Diogenes Brewing Company. It was officially incorporated on Sept. 20, 1898 among local businessmen John Badenhoop, William Weimann, Max Gleissner, Charles W. Pietz, Henry Bottmann, Richard L. Schultheis and August Gleissner. It’s unclear why these businessmen decided to name their new brewery after a mythical Greek philosopher pictured as an old man with a lantern searching for an honest man. Perhaps the connection was that these brewers intended to deliver an “honest” product for the drinking public. Diogenes developed its brewery on the west side of Wyckoff Avenue north of Van Voorhis (present day Decatur) Street. This land was previously a part of the Norman Van Nostrand farm. The company developed a brick brewery along Wyckoff Avenue and an office building along Van Voorhis Street. Financial problems plagued Diogenes at the start. Though the investors initially put up $25,000 in capital, they soon realized it needed more to complete the project. The company raised another $25,000 during construction from original stockholders and two new investors. Diogenes finally opened its doors on Sept. 19, 1899 in grand style. Three horse-drawn wagons were brought in to haul the first kegs of Diogenes extra lager beer to customers around the area. The new beverage was well received, and in 1900, the company expanded its plant capacity and constructed a cooperage to produce its own beer barrels, raising another $75,000 in capital toward both endeavors. Demand for Diogenes soared over the next three years, and the Ridgewood plant soon found itself unable to keep up. The beer was a hit with one local saloon, the Hofmann House Hotel at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Lafayette Avenue (present-day 69th Place), where it was exclusively served. The company expanded a second time in 1903; investors raised another $150,000 in capital and brought in four new investors to replace two who had dropped out. In a May 1908 report, the company had reported a working profit of $168,000 and more than $562,000 in assets. Diogenes continued to establish itself as one of the community’s premier brewers and by 1913 was producing not only lager but also a sparkling ale. In spite of the early financial challenges, it appeared Diogenes had a bright future ahead. But Prohibition took effect across the U.S. in January 1920, and as the country went dry, breweries, wineries and other alcohol-producers had to either close up shop or convert their businesses for other Employees and their families enjoyed the Diogenes Brewing Company’s 10th anniversary party in this 1908 photo. The company, which operated until Prohibition was enacted, was located at the corner of Wyckoff Avenue and Van Voorhis (present-day Decatur) Street in Ridgewood. The Hofmann House Hotel, once located at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Lafayette Avenue (present-day 69th Place) in Glendale, exclusively served Diogenes’ lager beer and ale, produced in nearby Ridgewood. purposes. Diogenes ceased operations once Prohibition took effect, but the company tried to rebrand itself the Malt-Diataste Company. It produced malt syrup for homebrewers, as the Falstead Act permitted such practice. But Diogenes never got a second chance even after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. By then, prospective investors ruled out reopening the brewery, as it needed a large amount of capital to modernize operations. If you have any stories or photographs of Our Neighborhood that you would like to share with our readers, please write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386, or send an email to neighborhood@timesnewsweekly.com. Any print photographs mailed to us will be carefully returned to you. Times Newsweekly Photo Flashback This photo shows the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border. The exact date of the picture is not known, but we believe it was taken well before 1915, as it shows an at-grade railroad crossing for the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch. A bridge over the tracks was constructed and opened in 1915.
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