History Continued..

Pt. 3:  Repeal and World War II
After the repeal of Prohibition, most breweries with strong brand recognition had no trouble gaining financial backing.  Given its success before Prohibition, Pfeiffer was no exception.  In 1933, the brewery was reincorporated and simply named Pfeiffer Brewing Co.  William G. Breitmeyer was appointed president with Alfred Epstein vice-president.  A number of new ventures by other breweries started in Detroit as well.  Yet, of the twenty Detroit-area breweries that were in business during 1934, only a dozen survived more than four years.  This was due to strong competition and the recession of 1937.

Some rumors suggest that the Post-Prohibition Pfeiffer Brewing Co. was run by elements of the Detroit Mafia including "Black Tony Toco."  While most people dispute this, it is likely that at least some breweries were unable to survive through Prohibition and World War II by "conventional means."  Alfred Epstein helped reshape Pfeiffer into one of the Midwest's most popular brands.  Rumor has it that even though Alfred Esptein was one of the younger family members, he was the only one to escape a run-in with police while moving goods over the Detroit River during Prohibition (he was very young during this incident.)  Because law states that no person with a federal criminal record can run a brewery, Alfred Epstein was chosen to control the Pfeiffer Brewing Co.  This marked one of the rare instances when a brewery was run by a Jewish family.  This is only based on oral history and was mostly likely started as a result of anti-Semitic attitudes of the day.

The City of Detroit renumbered many of its streets during the late teens and early 1920's. Because of this, the area occupied by the Pfeiffer Brewing Company was now referred to as the 3700 block of Bellevue Ave.  After extensive post-Prohibition construction and expansion, the Pfeiffer Brewing Co. now occupied nearly the entire block.  Buildings included the brewery itself, a brewhouse, office space, truck-bays and the usual brewery extras.  The architecture comprised of red brick walls reaching three stories tall with cement accents at the peaks.  In the 1940's, a bottling facility and office building were built.  The northwest corner housed the bottling facility and had large windows and walkways connected some of the separate buildings.  This structure still stands today with "Pfeiffer Brewing Company" in large yellow letters written on the side. The block has been divided into several sections with a bus repair shop and a shipping company each using sections of the former Pfeiffer Brewing Company.  The large "castle" building that has adorned the Pfeiffer Famous Beer bottles until the 1990's has been demolished.  The office building has been torn down and all that stands of the C. Pfeiffer Brewing Co. is the stables with a small adjoining office area.  That building is now used by a pallet shop.

World War II was another tough time for most breweries.  Materials and manpower were in short supply while demand was high.  Because of rationing, breweries were forced by the government to stop canning beer to save steel for the war effort.  Until the end of the war, only bottled beer was available to civilian Americans. Pfeiffer Brewing Co., however, was one of three Michigan breweries commissioned to produce canned beer FOR the government.  In fact, this period, when most breweries stopped canning beer, is when the Pfeiffer Brewery started canning beer.  In 1943, all breweries were required to contribute 15% of production for military use. The military wanted to be able to sent beer overseas for its troops. Cans were chosen because they take up less space on transport ships and can take more abuse without suffering damage. The Pfeiffer cans produced for this purpose were olive drab with black lettering. These cans are very rare because most were sent overseas. A few from various training camps in the States have resurfaced in recent years. After the war, Pfeiffer Brewing Co. made its cans available to the public. This is when the yellow Johnny Fifer cans first appeared.

What is known about Alfred Epstein is that he did an excellent job managing the company and secured funds through a stock offering allowing the company to expand.  To this day, many people admire the dedication and ethics with which he lived by.  In 1935, Alfred Epstein was appointed president of the Pfeiffer Brewing Company.  The rest of the management team contributed heavily to the success of the Pfeiffer Brewing Company.  The vice-president during this time, M. J. Boyd, was a former F.B.I. agent that served under J. Edgar Hoover and was the arresting officer of Bruno Haupmann of Lindberg kidnapping fame.  The secretary and treasurer, Gilbert "Gil" Delaney, was also a major factor in the company's financial performance.  The company became involved in an extensive marketing campaing centered around their maskot Johnny Fifer.  Johnny was designed by none other than the Walt Disney studios.  Pfeiffer had their own late night radio show as well as their own blimp and professional bowling team.  The bowling team was headed by the hall-of-famer Don Carter.  Their "home alley" was owned by Fred Wolfe of WXYZ fame, who also bowled for the team.  Advertisements could also be found on billboards, trolleys and buses.  One of the largest billboards stood for many years in Grand Circus Park in Detroit.

History, Pt. 4: The Great Shakeout