Another Piece of Hindenburg Beer History Heads to Auction
Eighty-nine years after the Hindenburg burst into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey, one more surviving bottle of Löwenbräu is coming up for sale. Wallis & Wallis in Lewes, England, is offering the fire-damaged bottle as Lot 431 in its Arms, Armour, Militaria & Collectibles auction on September 22, 2026. It’s a standard 23cm green bottle with a crown top, one of only six known to have survived the disaster — still sealed, though the label is scorched and crumbling and the foil cap disappeared long ago in the flames.
The bottle carries a modest £4,000–£6,000 estimate, well below the roughly $16,000 a sister bottle fetched back in 2009, but with these things, pre-auction estimates rarely hold once collectors start chasing a piece of aviation infamy. Somewhere out there, a handful of these bottles are still scattered in attics and family collections — each one a strange little souvenir of one of history’s most famous disasters, and proof that even a beer that’s been through a fireball can still find someone willing to pay for the story.
Website: https://www.wallisandwallis.co.uk/
A bottle of Löwenbräu beer was sold at auction back in 2009, fetching over $16,000.
A bottle of Löwenbräu beer, recovered from the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster, was auctioned for over $16,000, making it the most expensive beer bottle ever sold, according to ABC News. Found among the wreckage in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the heavily damaged bottle retained about 80% of its contents, though auctioneer Andrew Aldridge noted it would be undrinkable due to its condition.
On May 6, 1937, Fire Chief Leroy Smith discovered six intact Löwenbräu bottles and a pitcher at the crash site. To retrieve them later, he hid the items, as authorities had restricted access to the area. Smith kept one bottle and shared the others with colleagues, though most are now unaccounted for. One was later donated to the Löwenbräu company after a colleague’s passing. This rare artifact remains a prized piece for Hindenburg memorabilia collectors.
About the Hindenburg:
The Hindenburg was a German airship, renowned for its luxury and technological marvel, that operated as a transatlantic passenger transport in the 1930s. Measuring over 800 feet long, it was one of the largest airships ever built, powered by hydrogen gas and capable of carrying dozens of passengers in opulent cabins. On May 6, 1937, while attempting to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed in a catastrophic explosion, killing 36 people and marking a tragic end to the airship era. The disaster, widely covered by media, remains a significant historical event, with artifacts like a recovered Löwenbräu bottle later becoming valuable collectibles.
Fun Beer Facts, Breweries and More: Click Here