Holihan Brothers of Lawrence, Mass. began as a producer of whiskeys in 1856. They operated the Diamond Spring

Brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

from 1912 until around

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

and then opened after Prohibition in 1933. They produced beer and ales under the Holihan's and Diamond Spring labels. The company also made soda beginning in 1917. Holihan Brothers beer and whiskey ad- 1908

Holihan Brothers beer and whiskey ad- 1908

History

Roots as a whiskey distiller

The company was established in 1856 in Lawrence, Mass. by Patrick Holihan, a twenty-five year old Irish immigrant, and his brother Peter, as a grocer and liquor distiller, P&P Holihan a.k.a. Holihan Brothers. The liquor distiller was sold in about 1880 upon Patrick Holihan's death and ceased production, only to be bought by his three sons and reopened as a whiskey distiller. Their firm carried a general line of liquors, including two brands they claimed as proprietary, “Banquet Pure Rye” and “Old 56,” the latter presumably for the year their father and his brother had founded the business. Their facility was at 427 Common Street near the corner of Hampshire Street. That building was apparently torn down in 1973.

Establishment of the brewery

In 1912, the three Holihan sons, James, Joseph and Charles, opened a brewery on land purchased near the corner of Andover and Beacon Streets in South Lawrence. They called it the Diamond Spring Brewery, in reference to a spring already located on this site, formerly the Knowles farm. In 1917, they branched into

soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a ...

using the

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...

as a base.

Post-Prohibition

The brewery had a public "

tap-room Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ...

" that was available for public functions.Lawrence Massachusetts (1997) By Ken Skulski In its last years, Diamond Spring Brewery was a

contract brewer A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...

for other brands. The brewery was located at 50 Diamond Street. It closed in 1970 and was converted in 1980 into housing.

List of beers

*Diamond Spring Golden Ale 1933 - 1935 *Diamond Spring

Pale Ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Dif ...

1933 - 1935 *Beacon Ale 1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring Ale 1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring Beacon Ale 1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring

Bock Beer Bock is a strong beer in Germany, usually a dark lager. Several substyles exist, including: *Doppelbock (''Double Bock''), a stronger and maltier version *Eisbock (''Ice Bock''), a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer an ...

1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring Porter 1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring Prime Old Ale 1933 - 1936 *Diamond Spring Tiger Ale 1933 - 1936 *Holihan's Lager Beer 1933 - 1936 *Holihan's Old Time Half

Stock Ale Old ale is a form of strong ale. The term is commonly applied to dark, malty beers in England, generally above 5% ABV, and also to dark ales of any strength in Australia. It is sometimes associated with ''stock ale'' or, archaically, ''keeping a ...

1933 - 1936 *Holihan's Ale 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Beer 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Export Beer 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Half Stock Ale 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Light Ale 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Pilsener Beer 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Special Porter 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Stock Ale 1933 - 1950 *Holihan's Porter 1934 - 1958 *Beacon Ale 1937 - 1940 *Holihan's Black Horse Ale 1959 - 1968

References

{{Coord, 42.689, -71.1717, display=title Brewery buildings in the United States Distilleries in Massachusetts Companies based in Lawrence, Massachusetts Defunct brewery companies of the United States