By Robert Pavey
Staff Writer
Web-posted June 21, 1996 at 4 p.m.

In July 1888, a Kentucky businessman visited Augusta to discuss a dream: opening Georgia's first brewery. Today, his descendants hope to resurrect the tradition.

Edward W. Herman, president of the Kentucky Malting Co. of Louisville, liked the city's Southern appeal and moved south. His dream came true in February 1889, when Augusta Brewing Co. opened at 13th and Fenwick streets downtown.

Its first beer, Belle of Georgia, was an instant success. The brewery's product line grew rapidly in a market with few - if any - regional competitors. Other beers included Dixie, Extra Lager and Belle of Carolina ``export quality'' beer, as well as so da waters, colas and ginger ales.

The brewery continued to prosper into the early 20th century, adding several new buildings, a ``brew house'' and administrative space.

Prohibition came to Augusta on May 1, 1916, however, and the prosperous home of Belle of Georgia beer eased toward an uncertain fate. The company changed its name to Augusta Ice & Beverage and replaced its quality brew with nonalcoholic ``near beer'' i n hopes of staying solvent.

By March 6, 1921, the company announced its bankruptcy in The Augusta Chronicle, which noted that soft drinks ``would not yield the monetary returns as did alcoholic drinks for which the machinery was intended.''

The Augusta Brewing Co. buildings were demolished in 1964. But the company's history remains very much alive, saidcd Edward W. Herman's great-grandson, Doug Herman of Martinez.

``Then Prohibition came in and wiped out the brewery,'' he said. ``It went bankrupt, but it wasn't forgotten.''

Mr. Herman, as president of Beverage South Corp., a wholesale beer distributor, hopes to someday resurrect the family brewing tradition and bring Belle of Georgia beer back to Augusta.

``We're considering reintroducing the beer, calling it Belle of Georgia like in the early days,'' said Mr. Herman, who has re-registered the Augusta Brewing Co. name for possible future use.

``If that's successful, and there's enough interest, we may even consider opening a micro-brewery,'' he said. ``We have the authentic history, and we have the family lineage.''

Microbreweriesiw brew up to 200,000 barrels a year, compared with larger commercial operations that typically produce upwards of 45 million barrels a year, he said.

Mr. Herman collects Augusta Brewing Co. memorabilia as a family hobby.

One of his most unique remnants of the brewery is a turn-of-the-century advertising poster featuring a beautiful young woman, perhaps a model, smiling with haunting,dark eyes.

``This turned up in the back of a barn in Lincolnton,'' Mr. Herman said of the prize, now matted, framed and hanging in a family study. Beneath the young woman is the company name and logo, followed by ``Augusta, Ga.''

Other treasures include wood-handled corkscrews, aqua blue and clear bottles and a pair of white ceramic stoneware mugs, each emblazoned with the company logo. They are believed to date to the late 1800s.

``We aren't sure what they were used for,'' Mr. Herman said. ``Maybe gifts or promotions, maybe for sampling.'' Oddly enough, the mugs are slightly different in size. ``We wonder if there are more of these out there.''