#492 Brewery Lane #492

by William Lum

Title

#492 Brewery Lane #492

Artist

William Lum

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

My watercolor painting of Brewery Lane in Auburn, California According to Bill Wilson, the first brewery in Auburn was built “near what is now the railroad overpass on Interstate 80 in the area known as ‘Irish Alley,’” a small operation that lasted only a year or two. Because barrels of beer where expensive to ship from San Francisco, it only made economic sense for small breweries to go into business in Gold Country. At the Kaiser plant, high-quality water was tapped from a nearby spring and finished products were virtually rolled to the saloons in Auburn. Ultimately, the street leading into what is now Old Town would be named “Brewery Lane.”

The brewery exchanged hands a number of times during its 52 years. Most notably, it operated as the Auburn Brewery and Broadway Brewery. When the brewery finally closed in 1909, it was owned by Ferdinand Rechenmacher, who purchased it from Julius Weber at the end of 1895. While he was brewer, Rechenmacher’s “steam beer” was highly regarded and, according to Wilson, won a “world prize” at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Ultimately, the brewery failed because cheaper lager beer could be shipped inexpensively to Auburn from Sacramento and beyond. In the end, it didn’t make much difference because Prohibition would begin in just 10 years.

This 15” X 22” watercolor was done on Arches, 140 lb, rough paper.

Uploaded

November 6th, 2020

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