Former Bushwick Minck Brothers & Company






Minck Brothers & Company began in Brooklyn with modest beginnings, incorporated with just $25,000 in capital split into $100 shares. Their business focused on soda, soda water equipment, and various other carbonated waters. Despite the straightforward mission, Minck quickly grew into a prominent name in Brooklyn’s beverage industry, especially in Bushwick, a neighborhood known for its breweries. They succeeded with consumer favorites like mineral waters, which were especially popular during Prohibition. But they also bottled porters, ales, and lagers, and even crafted a specialty celery and nerve tonic. Minck Brothers had ties with Consumers Park Brewery as well, selling their beer to meet local demand.




A Minck Brothers newspaper ad. 




But not all the company’s headlines were about drinks. Minck Brothers faced a few memorable lawsuits that grabbed public attention. In one such case, Mrs. Cathi Lang, a winemaker originally from Alsace, France, sued the company for $1,000. Mrs. Lang claimed this amount as payment for a “near champagne” recipe she’d sold them. Drawing from her expertise in the wine-rich Alsace region, she instructed Minck on how to make the drink, outlining the use of California Riesling wine, sugar, lemons, and raisins. However, Minck Brothers attempted to recreate her recipe without her oversight, leading to a disappointing result that didn’t live up to her standards. In court, Mrs. Lang explained her process in detail, persuading the jury that her method would have produced a high-quality drink. The jury sided with her, concluding that Minck owed her the payment they had initially agreed on.








Another lawsuit in 1931 brought even more attention to the Minck Brothers. Adeline Smith, a young woman of 20, was awarded a large settlement of $37,500 after an accident involving one of their soda bottles. On June 28, 1930, while handling a cream soda bottle at her father’s garage stand, the bottle exploded, sending a shard of glass into her eye. The accident caused her to lose sight in her right eye. Investigations revealed that a defective bottle from Peerless Glass Company, combined with an overcharged soda by Minck Brothers, had created dangerous pressure inside the bottle. Justice Davis, presiding over the case, ruled that both companies were liable for Smith’s injury, with the judgment covering her medical expenses and damages for her loss.



Despite these legal setbacks, Minck Brothers remained a fixture in the Brooklyn beverage scene, known for its mineral waters and spirited attempts to expand into creative beverages. While unfortunate, these incidents reflect a time when companies had to navigate new challenges in quality control and customer safety.




1940s NYC Tax Photo





Today, the former Minck Brothers bottling plant in Brooklyn has transformed from a bustling beverage hub into a residential building, now filled with tenants. The building changed hands in December 2015 for $900,000 and has since been renovated into housing, with the old yard area now used by a commercial business. This repurposing reflects a broader trend of Brooklyn’s industrial spaces finding new life as residential or mixed-use developments.



For collectors, a bit of Minck Brothers’ history still circulates online. Bottles from the company’s era occasionally pop up on eBay, though they tend to sell fast. The rising demand for vintage goods, from classic denim to unique collectibles, means that anything linked to this period is highly sought after. Those interested in the full story of Minck Brothers and the building’s architectural journey can check out an in-depth writeup on Brownstoner’s “Building of the Day” series, which highlights this Brooklyn landmark’s layered past.









Sources:



1. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1907, April 25). $1000 for recipe for "Near Champagne." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 5.

2. Times Union. (1911, June 9). State Capitol News. Times Union, p. 4.

3. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1907, August 25). Page 17. Retrieved from https://bklyn.newspapers.com/

4. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1931, August 4). High court gives girl $37,500; Eye lost by pop bottle blast. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 2.

5. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1930, January 30). Soda pop bottle crash expected to end today. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 15.

6. Building of the Day: 38-40 Park Street. Brownstoner.







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