Missouri Breweries History: Van Dyke Brewing
Nick Van Dyke II purchased the Fishbach Brewing Company in
1965 from John and Mary Fishbach. With the help of his brewmeister Joe
Weinzerl they began running batches of the new Van Dyke Beer. They had
a lager and export beer. Nick tested it at the St. Charles County fair
in a draft beer trailer he built for the Elks Club in which he was a member.
The beer was well received so he hired the Savan Agency and "Sid Savan"
developed a ground breaking ad campaign "Land of the Giants" pitting this small
family run brewery against the giants like Budweiser. Van Dyke became a
local celebrity and the beer became very popular.
Like the vast majority of the local and regional brewers of the 60,s and 70,s
the Van Dyke Brewery could not ultimately compete against the large national
breweries and when they started having union troubles they had to close. The
union seemed to be the finally straw that broke the backs of most of the old
regional breweries.
Thanks to Nick Van Dyke III for letting us know some of the history of the Van Dyke
Brewing Company. He worked in the brewery as a kid washing bottles, sweeping trucks and
sending out information about the brewery while getting to listen to the great stories of the old
German guys who worked there.
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