Joseph Liebmann (December 20, 1831 – March 26, 1913) was a German-born American brewer and president of S. Liebmann Brewery (later
Rheingold Breweries
Rheingold Brewery was a New York state brewery which sold Rheingold Beer from 1883 to 1976. The brewery held 35% of the state's beer market at its peak. The company was sold by the founding Jewish American Liebmann family in 1963. According t ...
) in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. The brewery's main brand Rheingold Extra Dry was one of the most popular beer brands in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in the 1940s to 1960s.
Biography
Joseph Liebmann was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Aufhausen
Aufhausen is a municipality in the district of Regensburg in Bavaria in Germany.
Aufhausen Priory
Aufhausen Priory (german: Kloster Aufhausen), formerly the Aufhausen Oratory, is a Benedictine monastery located at Aufhausen near Regensburg i ...
in 1831, the son of Dara (née Selz) and
Samuel Liebmann
Samuel Liebmann (November 12, 1799 – November 21, 1872) was a German-born American brewer and founder of S. Liebmann Brewery (later Rheingold Breweries) in Brooklyn, New York. Introduced after his death, the main brand ''Rheingold Extra Dry'' ...
. His father was, at the time, the owner of the estate Schloss Schmiedelfeld. In 1840, the family moved to
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is s ...
and ran the inn "Zum Stern" and its attached brewery. His father determined to immigrate to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
for political reasons and sent Joseph in 1850 in advance to procure a home. In 1854, the remainder of the family immigrated settling in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...
. The family first leased and operated the old Maasche Brewery and later, pooling their resources, built a new brewery in Bushwick named the S. Liebmann Brewery.
In 1868, Liebmann opened the Obermeyer and Liebmann Havana Brewery with his brother-in-law David Obermeyer; the brewery was operated independent of the Liebmann brewery although in 1924, it was merged into the family brewery. After the death of his father in 1872, the three sons took over the management of the brewery and incorporated it as S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Company. The Liebmann brothers alternated with each other as
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
each year. Joseph Liebmann was primarily responsible for financial matters; Henry for brewing; and Charles for management and operations. In 1903, the Liebmann brothers retired and handed over the management of the company to six of their sons.
In 1876, Liebmann was a member of the committee that was responsible for organizing the brewery exhibition at the Centennial Exhibition. Liebmann also served as President of Bushwick Savings Bank for 27 years; as managing director of the Kings County Trust Company; and as a member of the Brooklyn Board of Education (1882–1885).
Joseph Liebmann died at his home in Manhattan on March 26, 1913.
Personal life
On January 4, 1910, Liebmann married Rosa Königsberger (January 11, 1862 – January 12, 1866); they had 4 children:
* Adolph Liebmann (born January 12, 1866)
* David Liebmann (born October 24, 1863)
* Ida Liebmann (born June 24, 1871)
* Sadie Liebmann (December 25, 1868 – May 20, 1939) married to Samuel Simon Steiner; their daughter Elinor S. Gimbel (1896–1983) married Louis S. Gimbel, Jr., grandson of