National Bohemian - History

History

For a time, National's president Jerold Hoffberger also owned the Baltimore Orioles; Natty Boh was served at Memorial Stadium and became the "official" beer of Baltimore in the late 1960s. The "Land of Pleasant Living" slogan reached its peak during the mid-late 1960s when National acquired a Chesapeake Bay skipjack (local sailing vessel) and named it the "Chesterpeake" after a seagull who appeared in their ads. The Chesterpeake travelled throughout the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay visiting various local festivals, regattas, yacht clubs, etc. and was also seen in television commercials.

After a 1973 merger with Canadian brewer Carling, the Baltimore brewery located at the intersection of O'Donnell and Conkling streets was closed in 1978 and production moved to the company's facility in Halethorpe, Maryland (Halethorpe is a Baltimore suburb in Baltimore County). "Carling-National" was itself bought out by the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1979. Heileman added Tuborg to the list of beers brewed in Halethorpe.

In 1996, Heileman was sold to Stroh Brewery Company and, eventually, to Pabst Brewing Company. Brewing stopped at the Halethorpe facility by 2000. The facility was sold to a local interest. The Halethorpe brewing facility was demolished by 2006, while the original Baltimore brewing facility was redeveloped as the Brewer's Hill complex by Obrecht Commercial Real Estate, Inc.

In May 2010, Pabst Brewing was sold to C. Dean Metropoulos, a private investor, for $250 million.

For over 15 years, the famous Baltimore beer was not available on draft, only bottles and cans, but in February 2011, local taverns in the Baltimore area celebrated the ability to serve National Bohemian from a keg. National Bohemian draft also became available at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the home season opener in 2011.