After 4 years at the Lion Brewery, Gustave would have joined in 1937 the Liebmann’s Brewery located in Brooklyn, producer in particular of the Rheingold Extra Dry, famous in particular for its "Miss Rheingold" contest. Beer lovers chose the prettiest girl in their neighborhood to represent it for a year. The competition lasted from 1940 to 1965.
Rheingold has become the beer of the New York working class. At its peak, it held a 35% market share in New York. Rheingold also benefited from the support of the town's minority communities. Rheingold was a sponsor of the Nat King Cole variety show, while most advertisers were hesitant.
But despite its enormous popularity, Rheingold beer began to lose market share when large mega-breweries like Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors began to market nationally, leading to the bankruptcy of many small regional beers.
The last bottle of Rheingold was sold in the New York area in 1978 ...