Haffenreffer Private Stock

In 1870, Rudolf Haffenreffer, Sr., a German immigrant, began brewing at the newly-acquired Peter's Brewery of Boston, Massachusetts. Haffenreffer Brewing was renamed The New England Brewing Company in 1890. Mr. Haffenreffer passed away in 1929, and the business was turned over to his sons, Rudolf, Jr. and Theodore. Prohibition had shut down brewing operations in 1919.

Beer production resumed in 1933, and a merger with Boston Beer Company was affected in 1956. Frederick Haffenreffer introduced the Private Stock malt liquor brand to compete with the other mainline malt liquors (extra-strong beers), which had grown in popularity in the 1960s. The company also produced a Haffenreffer Lager, Pickwick Ale, and Pickwick Bock Beer. In 1965, the business shut down, and the brands were sold off to Narragansett Brewing of Rhode Island, which itself was picked up by Falstaff Brewing Company that same year. Paul Kalmanowitz acquired Falstaff in 1974, and his family sold all of their brands (which had come under the Pabst umbrella by 1996) to the Metropoulos family in 2010. Interestingly, although production of Falstaff beer was discontinued in 2005, Haffenreffer Private Stock continued to be brewed and distributed on the United States East Coast.

In 2010, the Haffenreffer brand was sold by Pabst back to the Haffenreffer family. The beer enjoys only very limited distribution, however. The website provides no information, but one can view interesting old photos of the breweries, cans, bottles, and advertisements.


I have tried Haffenreffer Private Stock once, in 2009, having bought a 16 oz. can of it at a liquor store in Washington, D.C. The label proclaims that it is "Malt Liquor...with the imported taste." I'm not sure what that means, but I did find the beer to be pleasant and tasty.

http://www.privatestockbrewing.com