Baderbräu was a Czech-style pilsener beer brewed in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Illinois from 1988 to 2002, first by the Pavichevich Brewing Company (1988 to 1997) and then by Goose Island Brewery (1997 to 2002). At its height, Pavichevich Brewing brewed over 14,000 barrels of Baderbräu annually. Baderbräu contained only malted barley, hops, yeast and water in accordance with Reinheitsgebot,[1] the German purity law of 1516 which permits only those ingredients in beer—no additives or preservatives.
Kenneth Pavichevich was a Chicago police officer turned oil company sales executive[2]. While traveling Europe for the oil company, Pavichevich came to appreciate the finer beers of Europe and believed that Chicago needed a world class beer of its own. To that end, he returned to the United States and started the Pavichevich Brewing Company in Elmhurst, Illinois.
In 1988, Mr. Pavichevich wanted to craft a Czech-style pilsener in the tradition of his Eastern European ancestry. However, due to the Cold War, he worried that giving the beer a name reminiscent of a communist-backed country like Czechoslovakia would hurt beer sales. Instead, Mr. Pavichevich gave his beer the German-sounding name Baderbräu, after a German friend whose last name was “Bader.” With Chicago having large German and Czech populations (Chicago was once the third largest Czech city in the world), the name was considered a good hybrid for beer drinking Chicagoans.
In its early years, Baderbräu won acclaim, and was called by the late beer reviewer Michael Jackson “the best pilsener I’ve ever tasted in America.”[3] Baderbräu was the only American beer served by the German consulate in Chicago, and cases of the beer were reportedly ordered to the White House by then President George H. W. Bush. The beer was served in Oprah Winfrey's high-profile restaurant The Eccentric, and it was prominently featured by Chicago comedian Bobcat Goldthwait in his movie "Shakes the Clown."[4]
The Pavichevich Brewing Company went on to brew other beers.[5] These included Baderbräu Bock and Winterfest beer[6], but none ever achieved the acclaim that the original Czech-style pilsener did.
Mr. Pavichevich made several novel business moves in starting his company. He took his company public on an idea alone, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol “BRAU.” The company used the funds to build a state-of-the-art brewery in Elmherst, Illinois. Convinced that his beer should only be consumed on tap, Mr. Pavichevich sought out taps at bars and restaurants where his beer would be served, he had special glassware made for his beer to be poured in, and he personally trained bartenders on the proper method of pouring Baderbräu. This was one of Baderbräu’s unique selling points: the traditional “pilsener pour,” which produced a thick, malty head of foam when poured slowly from the tap[7]. By 1990, more than 200 bars in the Chicago area carried Baderbräu on tap.
The Pavichevich Brewing discovered that retail establishments wouldn’t stock kegs of a beer not available in bottles. Therefore, in 1990 the company added a bottling line to and began selling in bottles. Then brewmaster Douglass Babcook, who developed Signature beer line for Stroh Brewing Company’s in bottles, oversaw the transition from tap to bottle sales to ensure the beer maintained its flavor even in the bottle.
After 1990, in an attempt to ramp up sales, the company started making medical claims about Baderbräu, which were soon dropped after an investigation by the FDA. Additionally, the company attempted distribution into Washington state, a region that already had many microbrews, which further depleted the company’s focus and resources.
However, Pavichevich Brewing was cash strapped. Despite considerable demand for the high-quality product, the company didn’t have enough cash to for the high-cost ingredients, labor, and the significant debt payments on the sophisticated facility.
Boston Beer Company/Sam Adams founder, Jim Koch, toured the company in 1990, saying, “He (Pavichevich) could take away all my customers in Chicago and still go bankrupt in two years.” In 1997, the Pavichevich Brewing Company filed for bankruptcy[8] and was liquidated at auction in bankruptcy court.[9] An investment company called Prairie Associates acquired the Baderbräu trademark and formula then promptly sold this intellectual property to rival Goose Island for an undisclosed sum that is purported to be more than $100,000 US.[10]
Goose Island Beer Company's acquisition of Baderbräu purportedly locked up the craft market in Chicago. This deal gave Goose Island control of all the remaining craft beer brands in town, as all the other regional breweries had closed. Additionally, Goose Island used Baderbräu as their “conversion beer” in their product lineup to help bridge light lager and pilsener drinkers to less familiar ales.
In 1998, Goose Island won a silver medal with Baderbräu Pilsner for the Bohemian pilsner category in the Great American Beer Festival. Goose Island continued to brew Baderbräu until 2002, at which point in time they substituted it for “Golden Goose Pils” and then “Goose Island PIls” which had less success as conversion products.
Taking a play from the Pavichevich playbook, Goose Island launched “312 Urban Wheat Ale” beer on draft only to build initial demand, then later launched the beer in bottles through retail establishments. Today, 312 Urban Wheat Ale remains Goose Island’s conversion beer and is ubiquitous in bars and retail establishments throughout Chicago.