"Rep" Beer - Made in Texas?

Jim Sigmund of the Cypress Historical Society dropped me an email wondering about a pre-Prohibition brand of beer. He has a picture of a saloon advertisement taken in 1907 at Juergens Saloon in Cypress. Here's a photo of the ad:

He also has an unusual item we both believe would have been in a bar. I haven't seen then item, but theorized it was a can opener. Jim said it looked more like a cork remover or cap remover.

Currently, the sign hangs on the wall of 1907 saloon in Cypress, Texas (northwest of Houston). Cypress was a major stop on the Houston and Central Texas Railway, which had major branches west to Austin, and north to Denison. In fact, one of their major liquor suppliers was L. Eppstein & Sons in Denison, Texas, since Cypress and Denison were daily stops on the railroad. It is owned by Harris County Precinct 3, and on display at their newly opened Cypress Top Historic Park. "Your brewery friends would love this place . . . it is a time capsule of old bar stuff and brands from 1897 to 2002," Jim added."

But, he wondered, who made "Rep" Beer?

So I checked the most authoritative site I know: TexasBreweries.com. And according to the author, me, there were only two breweries open in Houston around 1907: The American Brewing Association, owned by Adolphus Busch, made American Perfect Beer; and Houston Ice and Brewing Company, whose Magnolia brand was so popular the brewery was also known as Magnolia Brewery. But I don't know what other brands they made.

Since their supplier was in Denison, northeast of Dallas, perhaps "Rep" Beer came from there. Dallas Brewery, Inc. (also known as Home Brewery) operated form 1880 to 1918, but I don't have a brand list. Texas Brewing Company in Fort Worth operated from 1890 to 1918, and, again, I don't have a brand list.

I don't believe the beer came from San Antonio, Pearl and Lone Star were selling their eponymous brands. And the Degen brewery was at best a regional brewery. The Aschbacher Brewery, the Beck's Muenchner Weiss Beer Company, Peter Brothers Brewery, Schober Ice and Brewing Company, and Jospeh Wesp were also active at the time, but I doubt they were distributed much beyond San Antonio. Only the big companies could afford that.

So now I call on you. Does anyone have any idea who made "Rep" Beer? Contact me at jeff@texasbreweries.com.