P-51 Porter
What’s in a name? The first beer we ever brewed was the P-51 Porter. Many people ask the origin of the name. Some know the P-51 or P-51 Mustang was a plane that was flown during World War II. Why name a beer after it though?
Our grandfather was Victor Schultz. As a young lad growing up in Southwest Michigan, he once witnessed pilot Charles Lindbergh (of fly-around-the-world fame) during a flyover stop at the Benton Harbor airport. It is said that inspired grandpa’s excitement for flight. When WWII started, Victor jumped to enlist in the Army Air Corps, a precursor to the modern Air Force. Our family has flight logs from grandpa of various training flights around the country while preparing for war. He flew other planes like the P-40 Warhawk during training, but before deployment, he was trained on the P-51 Mustang. It was the premier fighter plane for the United States at the time. Upon deployment, he journeyed down to the Caribbean and then flew across the Atlantic to Africa. From there, he flew sorties over Tunisia, Sicily, and Southern Italy, taking part in reconnaissance flights during Operation Husky. 50 missions later, he completed his tour and flew back home. Grandpa would remain in the Army Air Corps, and the reserves until his retirement as a rank of Major in the 1950s.
1951 was the year grandpa bought the original 80-acre fruit farm in Mattawan, MI. He married Dorothy Leitz, after the war, who also had a family farming background from Eau Claire, MI. They started their family, and livelihood on that fruit farm in Van Buren County. The farm has grown over the past 70 years with the dedication and hard work of Victor, his son Bill, and his grandchildren. It’s because of that, our family business was allowed to grow and flourish, including the expansion into a craft brewery and farm-to-table restaurant with the opening of Texas Corners Brewing Company in 2015. Without grandpa, none of us would be having this conversation today. The P-51 Porter is an homage to him, his service during WWII, and his inspiration for the following generations to continue the family legacy!
