Carl James remembers Renner Beer.

The descendant of George Renner Jr. – who founded Renner Brewing Co. in Youngstown in the 1880s – was a young boy in 1962, when the company closed.

But he did have small glasses of it at the dinner table that year.

“I may be the only person alive who remembers drinking Renner Beer,” James said. “And I was 10 years old!”

The taste of Renner Beer is the taste of Youngstown past, when the city was a steelmaking powerhouse.

Like a piece of history being brought back to life, Renner Beer will once again be available to drink, beginning Friday. 

Penguin City Brewing and James have recreated a version of Renner’s Old Bavaria Style Beer. It will be ceremonially tapped and then sold at the annual Happy Birthday Youngstown celebration, which will start at 5 p.m. at Penguin City Brewing’s taproom.

The beer is bursting with body and flavor. Dark in color, robust and malty, it has the character of a bold craft beer.

James gives it his seal of approval.

He is one of dozens of great-grandchildren of Renner Jr., who had nine kids of his own. His grandmother, Doris Renner James, was the founder’s youngest daughter.

James talked about his family, Renner Brewing Co. and the Penguin City product in an email.

“We had small glasses at the dinner table of the final brands [that the brewery produced before closing],” he recalled. “Mostly Gold Amber and Kings Brew, which was the final brand.”

Old Bavaria was the first label Renner produced after Prohibition ended in 1933, and it was brewed and distributed until about 1954. “Changing labels and brands was common then,” James said.

Prior to purchasing the former City Brewing Co. in Youngstown and then renaming it, George Renner Jr. was a brewery “turnaround” specialist.

“He would take on failing breweries and turn them around,” James said. He must have taken a liking to Youngstown, because he settled in the city.

“In Youngstown, he was always trying new things [at the brewery],” James said.

In its final months, Renner Brewing “was trying to be competitive in taverns with Carling and Duquesne at 10 cents a glass,” James said.

The Renner brewery was located on Pike Street, on the near South Side. Until a few years ago, the remnants of the old brick building still stood just north of Interstate 680 and near Oak Hill Renaissance Center (the former Southside Hospital). Pike Street was taken out of service and left to revert to nature after the construction of Interstate 680.

Aspasia Lyras Bernacki and Richard Bernacki, the married couple that owns Penguin City, approached James months ago about making a Renner brew. They brainstormed before settling on Old Bavaria.

“We decided to honor the tradition of the Renner Brewing Co. and George Renner Jr. by making a new beer that we liked on an old label – in the tradition of German American brewing,” James said. “I did the original recipe with an emphasis on German hops and grains. Richard [who is the brewmaster of Penguin City] perfected it. We think it is a crisp new taste with traditional Bavarian flavors. A traditional Bavarian beer with a crisp, unique American sense.”

James said he and the Penguin City owners are happy with the result.

“Youngstown is so very lucky to have Aspasia Lyras and Richard Bernacki and Penguin City,” he said. “George Renner would admire and approve of their creativity and quality. And he would like the new Old Bavaria beer!” 

Penguin City will offer the initial batch of Old Bavaria in cans and on draft. It will also be available in select retail outlets.

Penguin City plans to continue to brew the beer in the future after the initial batch is gone, Lyras Bernacki has said, and possibly other Renner brands.

“If the public wants more, we’ll brew it,” she said.

The Renner family got its start in the new world when George Renner Sr. came to America from Germany in the mid-1800s.

James said his family is proud that the Renner tradition is continuing with the Penguin City brewing team.

He sees it as more than just nostalgia.

“Penguin City, along with the additive manufacturing [companies] in the old Vindicator building downtown, and the new business ventures across our Valley, are the foundation for the best ‘new’ old city in America – Youngstown,” James said. “A city of immigrants built by immigrants, adapting to the future that is coming right at us.”

The Happy Birthday Youngstown event and the Old Bavaria beer release will run from 5-7 p.m. at Penguin City, which is at the intersection of East Federal Street and Andrews Avenue on the east end of downtown. Admission is free and the event will be family friendly.

A special commemorative pint glass that commemorates the release of Old Bavaria will be available for purchase at the event.

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