Maryland Brewery History National Brewing Company

In 1872 National Brewery was built in Baltimore, MD. Over the past 131 years this franchise has been through many changes. There history is rich and varied and includes a Brewing syndicates in 1901 and several mergers and acquisition.

In 1963 in an effort to create a national brand, National Brewing introduced Colt 45 Malt Liquor. The official story is that the beer was not named after the firearm, but after #45, a running back for he Baltimore Colts, which National owned. In addition to the NFL Colts, National Brewing also purchased the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

In 1976 Carling merged with National Brewing in an attempt to save both companies. In 1979 Carling-National ceases to exist and is sold to G. Heileman Brewing Company of LaCrosse. In 1980 the former National Brewing facility (Conkling & O'Donnell Streets in Highlandtown) in Baltimore was closed. In 1996 Heileman was sold to Stroh' of Detroit.

Today National Bohemian Beer is produced by Pabst Brewing Co. Baltimore is proud of their traditions, the O's, Colts, and Natty Boh Beer. Maryland, Lacrosse and National Bohemian Beer (Natty BOH) are traditions that are hard to beat. The MR. BOH Masters and Grandmasters Lacrosse teams are proud to be sponsored by National Bohemian Beer. We drink responsibly but we do drink.