In 1940, postcards were sent to neighbors around West Bend announcing, "On Wednesday, December 11, 1940, The Famous Lithia Xmas Brew will be ready for distribution. Best ever -- try it -- you will like it."

So went the '40s and '50s, good years for the Lithia brewery, which was one of the first in the state after the end of Prohibition in 1932.

"The original Lithia was a light or cut beer that had less alcohol content. When winter came there was the Christmas beer which simply had brown sugar added to it," said local historian Tony Geiger, who has written articles for the American Brewers Association.

"It was a holiday brew to try to increase sales."

Geiger said Lithia also tried an Easter brew and a special Fourth of July beer, but nothing succeeded like the Christmas beer.

Different labels were designed for the seasonal beer. One paper label featured a green wreath with holly berries and red bow. Inside the wreath was the familiar Lithia logo, underlined by the words "Christmas Beer" in thick German script. Other designs featured the words "Holiday Brew" above a profile of Santa, who was bordered by pine branches.

There was the red label special dark Christmas beer and the well known Xmas label with six bearded elves each working to stoke the fire under the vat of beer, or pour hops, stir the mix, tap a pint and test the product.

Lithia's Christmas beer was available nearly all year long.

"As long as supplies lasted there was Christmas beer," said Geiger, who knew a man who worked at the West Bend Company that liked the taste of the seasonal beer so much he would buy a 365-day supply.

The recipe for Lithia beer was a standard combination of malt, barley, hops and corn.

"When corn ferments and ages it has alcohol, so that's why Lithia and Old Timers had a ginger snap taste," recalled Geiger. "It had a pretty good ting to it. People grew very accustomed to that taste and they loved it."

The famed lithium in Lithia beer came from the well water in the brewery.

"Lithia made an attempt at one time to remove the lithium. Prior to realizing the health risks the brewer actually promoted it, thinking it was a good thing." Geiger noted one label specifically said, "The water used for this brew contains 4.266 parts LITHIUM CARBONATE."

"We used to get a couple cases of the Christmas brew at the Binkery," said bar owner Bink Steinbach, remembering he received the beer as late as the 1980s. "Back in the day with talk about the lithium in the beer people would say -- if we had only stayed with that we wouldn't need more than one squad car," Steinbach said referencing the sedative effect of lithium.

Lithia's Christmas beer was sold by the case at liquor stores and at taverns within the West Bend area. Berres Liquor Mart, Triangle Beverage Mart, The Oasis bar (by Gehl Company); Pat's Tavern (owned by Pat Pault), Kuhn's Liquor, Palashes Liquor and Jan's Liquormart in Barton were just some of the local distributors.

"You could only buy Christmas beer in bottles and you needed an opener to get the cap off. The beer didn't come in cans and it wasn't on tap," Geiger said, recalling the '40s and '50s when Lithia's production grew from 45,000 barrels to 77,000.

Lithia bottles came with paper labels that read: Brewed and bottled by West Bend Lithia Co. West Bend Wisconsin. An article posted in the July-August 2003 American Brewerian Journal John Smallshaw chronicled the final days of the Lithia brewery when the board of directors decided to dissolve the company on June 1, 1972:

"There were 24 employees at the time of the closing of West Bend," the story said. "It was devastating to the local economy. In the 25 years after Prohibition, Lithia had paid the city $200,000 in real estate taxes, bought a million and a half dollars worth of barley from local farmers, had a $3 million payroll, and paid nearly $9 million in state and federal taxes."

Old timers around West Bend, including Herb Tennies, fondly remember the famous Lithia Xmas Brew.

"It had a good flavor and gave you a lot of Christmas cheer," grinned Tennies remembering the days the men went to Pat's Tavern for a nip as the women went shopping at the old Bylow grocery store.

"Bylow's grocery used to be the Friday night stop for farmers that came to town," said Tennies. "Their wives would do the shopping and the men would go to Pat's and pick up supplies for the weekend."

When the Lithia brewery was in town, Tennies said, there was nothing like getting a freshly brewed beer right from the tap house. "I worked construction with my dad and we put additions on the brewing company. They brought sausage from the butcher shop at 10 o'clock for your brunch break along with fresh bread from the bakery and we'd go in the tap house and we'd have ice cold beer from the keg," said Tennies, recalling how they worked hard and we were happy working.

Carl "Cracker" Kircher, an 80-year-old resident of West Bend, remembered Christmas Lithia. "It just had a darn good flavor and you didn't get the headache you would with Old Timers," Kircher said, referencing one of Lithia's other beers. "It wasn't as heavy as their Old Timers. It was an in-between beer that was really flavorful."

Kircher felt if the brewer had marketed its specialty beer year round, the local brewery would still be operating. When Lithia went out of business in West Bend, the brand names were sold to Walter Brewing of Eau Claire.

"We drank a lot of beer," chuckled Kircher, who now settles for Dos Equis, a Mexican beer. In his heyday Kircher would buy his Christmas Lithia at several places around town including Kuhns Liquor, run by Jewel Kuhns and Staehler's Liquor, which was next to Apple Barrel and is now Schalla Jewelers in West Bend.

"Taverns sold Christmas Lithia in bottles," said Ed German of West Bend who bought his stock from Kuhn's Liquor located across from the old brewery.

"Christmas Lithia was a little heavier beer and maybe a little darker," said German, who remembered paying $2 a case about 30 years ago and driving out of town to get the best bargain. "I used to go out to Schwai's because he had a better price. I'd buy five cases at a time and I think that would last me two to three weeks," he said, remembering how he'd carry the cases out of the store and place them in the back of his station wagon.

In the coming months, a local brewer in West Bend is going to try his hand at recreating a Lithia lager. We'll post an update when the process gets underway.