Posted 10 years ago
Breweriana…
(70 items)
Here is the newest addition to my breweriana collection. It's a pre-prohibition wooden 1/4 beer keg from the Deppen Brewing Company located in Reading, PA. The approximate age of this keg is probably from between 1901 when the brewery stated till prohibition in 1920 that closed the brewery. Operations commenced after prohibition ended from 1933 till the brewery closed for good in 1937.
This keg is in excellent original condition. I'm surprised on how good it looks for it's age especially for what it was used for. It even has the original bung collar and plug (the piece of metal that holds the bung plug in on the side of the barrel) as well as the original metal tap on the top of the keg. Even the branded lettering on the top and bottom of the keg is very legible and clean.
Kegs like this one were used to keg beer for bars, taverns, and hotels back in the old days prior to production and use of aluminum and stainless steel kegs. I have been actively looking for one of these ever since I started collecting 3 years ago. I only know of a few local collectors that have these in there collections and mine is by far in the best condition. I am very happy to have this in my collection.
Thanks for looking!
A real beauty!
Thanks blunderbuss2! It took me a while to find her and I'm happy to have it. :)
sweet find,.. wish it was full of dark rum and in my cellar ..smiling.. oh well
Very cool! How do you display this?
Fantastic.
Thanks upstatenycollector and charmsomeone! I display it on the floor next to a mantle of other old beer stuff I have in my collection. It's pretty heavy so I try not to move it a lot. I occasionally place other Deppen pieces on top of it too.
Currently I have my eye out for an old brass beer pump to attach to the coupler on top. I think that will make is display very well.
I found one of these today except it is a Blatz brewing company! Everything is intact on mine as well and nobody seems to have these! I paid $75 for it only because I wanted it for my garden and the woman gave me a discount because the top wasn't cut off. Now that I see they seem to be rare, I will preserve it or sell. Do you know what they sell for? I will post pictures shortly.
That's cool Cclarke! Blatz stuff has always been highly collectible.
I don't think I'm allowed to give estimates and values on this website. If you contact me directly through my breweriana website I'm sure I can help you out there. My website url is http://www.brewaf.com
Hey Chad and Cclarke. I am a historian/curator working on a beer exhibition for the Field Museum in Chicago. We aim to open this November and I was wondering if you might be willing to loan your barrel for the exhibit. If you're interested could you please contact me ASAP. lizgaribay@yahoo.com. Thanks!