John Taylor's Sons' Albany Imperial Cream Ale by John Taylor's Sons' Brewery - 1865

1865. Advertisement. Very Good. Advertisement for John Taylor's Sons' Albany Cream Ale brewed in Albany, New York. The ad is from an 1865 New England business directory and measures approximately 5.5" x 9". It features a wood engraving of the John Taylor Brewery complex in Albany. The text notes that the brewery had transportation and storage depots in Boston and New York City and served as "Agents in all the Principal Cities of the Union." The reverse of the leaf is an advertisement for another Albany brewer, Charles A. Burt. The advertisement is in nice shape, with a small chip/tear at the lower right corner.

By the mid-1850s, Albany, due to its proximity to brewing ingredients and access to a superb canal and river transportation system, had become the brewing capital of the United States, shipping ale to the east via New York City and Boston and throughout the south all the way to New Orleans by riverboat. "Albany Ale" apparently had a unique flavor due in part to the hard well water and type of hops used by its 15 to 20 breweries. Of these breweries, John Taylor's Sons' was the largest by far.