Tomah (Monroe County)

• Ignatz Gondrezick (1871–1889)
• (Modern) 502 Glendale Avenue.

Ignatz Gondrezick moved from Humbird to Tomah in 1871, and started a new brewery soon after arriving. He was in operation by September, and by the end of April 1872, he had produced 120 barrels of beer. In 1874 he produced 458 barrels, but by the end of the decade he was typically making about 200 barrels per year. According to industry directories he did not have his own malt house, and never offered bottled beer. He appears to have stopped brewing around 1889, and went into the ice business.2440

Tomahawk (Lincoln County)

• LogJam Microbrewery (1999–2008)
• N10096 Kings Road

LogJam Microbrewery was founded in 1999 by father and son Jerry and Bob Cook in the former Tomahawk Power and Pulp Mill. The brewery was intended to be part of a much larger complex that would include a restaurant and dance hall. Brewer Art Turnquist produced some well-regarded beers for a few years before brewing was suspended in 2004.2441 The brewery reopened in 2010 in Unity.

Trempealeau (Trempealeau County)

• Jacob Melchoir (1859–1881)
• First Street and High Street (South of Modern Hastings Street)

Jacob Melchoir moved to Trempealeau in 1859 and immediately started work on his brewery and saloon. By the time of the 1860 industrial census, his small brewery had already produced 200 barrels of beer. The money for the business came from the family of his wife, and the property was in Wilhelmina’s name. According to the R.G Dun & Co. records of 1862, another reason Melchoir placed the property in his wife’s name was so he could avoid paying a local tax, but his wife paid it anyway. The Dun records then noted “Is shrewd and smart,” but it was not clear if this was about the husband or the wife. In 1864, the Dun evaluator observed: “Like all Germans, he takes the world and lagerbier easy.” However, the Dun Co. records also reported that the business was doing well and making money, to the point where Melchoir was able to build a new stone brewery in 1866.2442

According to local lore, both Jacob and Wilhelmina were large individuals, and she apparently liked to joke that they were each 400 pounds. However, the pair were also reputed to be good dancers despite their weight. Jacob was also known for his strength—one resident recalled Jacob lifting a beer barrel over his head and drinking from the bung.2443

In 1868 and 1869, Melchoir was part of the firm of Melchoir and Tamish, which had a saloon with a small brewery in Galesville. (See the Galesville entry.) This venture appears to have been supported by Wilhelmina’s family, with money coming from Prussia on a yearly basis.2444

Melchoir probably brewed mostly for his own tavern and a few other local accounts, but the market was still good because, as the Dun evaluator reported: “Lager flourishes here as in Milwaukee.” Jacob had three caves behind his brewery in which he could lager his beer: one thirty-six feet long, another fifty, and the longest was 110 feet long. He brewed about 350 barrels per year in the early 1870s, though this total dropped to around 150 barrels per year later in the decade. Part of this drop may have been because he had to convert his saloon into a hotel after he was refused a liquor license in 1874. The hotel started well, but even though it was a popular stop for travelers, it did not make money. Jacob died in April 1881, and Wilhelmina originally planned to convert the brewery into an addition to the hotel. However, she and her adult children soon moved to Illinois and the brewery was left vacant. In 1896 the brewery was converted to a private residence and was used for this purpose for several decades. As of 2017, the ruins of the brewery still stand on First Street.2445

Two Creeks (Manitowoc County)

• Robert Trottman & Co. (1864?–1868?)

While American Breweries II lists Trottman as a partner of Lutz in Kewaunee as early as 1864, the R. G. Dun & Co. credit reports locate the Trottman & Co. brewery in Two Creeks, about twelve miles south of Kewaunee. (Lutz may have been in Two Creeks briefly, but was clearly back in Kewaunee by 1866.) The credit evaluator listed Trottman & Co. as a safe investment in 1867, but in January 1869 reported “All I can learn is that they dissolved and broke up in a row.”2446

Two Rivers (Manitowoc County)

• City Brewery
• Edward Mueller & Valentine Kaufmann (1848–1851?)
• Edward Mueller (1851?–1871)
• Richard E. Mueller (1871–1895)
• Mueller Bros. (1895–96)
• Mueller Bros. Brewing Co. (1896–1920)
• Two Rivers Beverage Co. (1933–1966)
• 1608 Adams Street

Some local accounts claim that the brewery of Mueller & Kaufmann supplied the first beer in Manitowoc County, though it is likely that one of the breweries in the city of Manitowoc did so earlier. Because the brewery made more than the small community of Two Rivers could consume, they reportedly shipped beer to Manitowoc by rowboat in the summer and overland during the winter.2447 Mueller & Kaufmann were clearly brewing by 1848, and by 1850 they sold $3,330 worth of beer (while the volume was not given, it was likely around 750 barrels). The brewery had a saloon which was a popular gathering place, though in 1850 Mueller was assaulted by “a gang of toughs” when he refused to give them beer.2448

In the early 1850s, Kaufmann left the partnership to start his own brewery, and Mueller carried on alone. His brewery seems to have remained about the same size throughout the decade—his production in 1860 was around 600 barrels.

Edward Mueller died in 1871, and his son Richard Edward Mueller took control of the brewery. He soon began to expand and improve the brewery, and production reached 1,000 barrels in 1875. By 1882, he was producing more than 1,400 barrels, which ranked him among the largest brewers in the county outside of the city of Manitowoc.2449 R. G. Dun & Co. reported that he was making money and rated Richard “a first class man.”2450 In 1882, Richard’s brother Edward opened a bottling works, which sold the family’s bottled beer until the brewery opened their own bottling plant in 1902, after Edward died. Sales of bottled beer helped the brewery grow to nearly 4,000 barrels in 1891, and while one local history enthusiastically claimed sales would top 7,000 barrels the next year, actual production appears to have remained in the 3,000 to 4,000 range, according to the 1895 state industry census. The brewery malted much of its own barley, using the traditional floor-malting method. Richard’s sons Charles and Edwin helped their father run the brewery, and took over the business when Richard died in 1894. They changed the name to Mueller Bros. Brewing and introduced a new flagship beer, Golden Drops.2451

The Mueller brothers sold the brewery in 1914 to Frank Lieblich and his father-in-law John Eisenbeiss. According to his obituary, Eisenbeiss was a partner in the Ahnapee brewery for a few years, but “as his ability became known he received offers to affiliate himself with larger firms and he went to Chicago where he became a national figure in his profession.”2452 He sent his son Andrew, a former brewmaster at Miller, to become president and brewmaster of the company, which kept the Mueller Bros. name until brewing ceased on 28 November 1918.2453

During Prohibition, Mueller Bros. Brewing changed its name to Two Rivers Beverage. In addition to reformulating Golden Drops as a near beer, the company distributed Bellevue ice cream from Hagemeister Food Products (formerly Hagemeister Brewing). Two Rivers Beverage also sold soda waters.2454 It occasionally introduced other products such as “Old Fashioned Chocolate,” and in 1926 they became the first Coca-Cola bottler in Manitowoc County.2455 In April 1927, Two Rivers advertised “Bock, an Aged Brew,” making it one of several breweries to offer seasonal near beers.2456 In 1929, the company introduced a new near beer, with the question “Do you remember ‘way back when Wisconsin was the brewing capital of the world?” However, the brew that was supposed to bring back memories of old Wisconsin was strangely named Old Manhattan. Old Manhattan was the sponsor product for a radio program of the Meister Singers of Two Rivers on radio station WOMT in Manitowoc.2457

One interesting feature of this period was that Two Rivers Beverage was still harvesting ice for their ice house on Sixteenth Street as late as 1929—well after artificial refrigeration was the norm in the industry. Even with this historic anachronism, Two Rivers was profitable enough to install an all-new bottling plant in October 1929, which earned banner headlines in the Manitowoc Herald-Times.2458 However, most of the newspaper coverage of Two Rivers Beverage during the dry years was of the company’s baseball and bowling teams. The baseball team made headlines around the state in 1930 when pitcher Clarence Bantle struck out the first seventeen Manitowoc Judge Cigars players he faced and a total of twenty-four for the game.2459

After the election of Roosevelt, Two Rivers Beverage began immediate preparations to resume production of beer. Andrew’s younger brother George, who was now in charge of the business, directed the improvements which included new concrete floors and new tanks.2460 Two Rivers was one of more than twenty Wisconsin breweries that were able to ship beer at 12:01 a.m. on 7 April 1933. The brewery was allowed to begin bottling three days before, and to rack kegs on 6 April. Two Rivers was soon advertising the revived Golden Drops brand, with the claim “Easter will be much more cheerful with the old time hospitality.”2461

Later in 1933, Two Rivers became one of very few Wisconsin breweries to offer an ale. Bobbie Ale continued to be flagship beer for the company until the 1960s, and remained one of the few ales made in Wisconsin. The next new brew was introduced in late 1935, and Two Rivers created a contest to name the beer.2462 Eventually, White Cap displaced Golden Drops as the flagship lager. Two Rivers also brewed bock (which returned in 1936) and Holiday Brew (1937) in their seasons. The company also continued to manufacture soft drinks, including the new “Kreme-Puff” which debuted in 1938.2463

Two Rivers Beverage was in the news in 1938 when one of their salesmen, George Otis, reported that he had been kidnapped and robbed when leaving the brewery. After an investigation, it turned out that Otis had faked the kidnapping in order to take enough money to cover the amount that he was behind in his payments to the brewery.2464

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Two Rivers Beverage typically brewed between 15,000 and 24,000 barrels per year, in a brewery with a capacity for 35,000 per year. In 1948, the company used some of its excess capacity to be one of about a dozen breweries around the country that made Brewers’ Best, an attempt to create a national brand that was brewed by small local producers. (The label is pictured in chapter 8.) However, the tactic that worked with some other products like ice cream (Sealtest) was unsuccessful with beer, and the brand only lasted a few years. Two Rivers Beverage also became one of the first union shops in Two Rivers, but according to George Lieblich (son of Frank), labor peace was the general rule.2465

Sales slipped below 10,000 barrels per year in the 1960s, and even the introduction of a new flagship beer, Liebrau, could not stop the slide. While owner Harold Lieblich predicted “We look for an even better year in 1965,” it was not to be.2466 Sales continued to fall, and the brewery closed in 1966.

Forty years later, Carl and Chris Lieblich, children of Harold Lieblich, worked with John Jagemann, owner of the Courthouse Pub in Manitowoc, to bring back White Cap beer. Harry’s brother George found the original recipe, and the beer was offered at Courthouse Pub in a version modified for the Pub’s brewing system.2467

• Valentine Kaufmann & Frederic Krause (1852?–54)
• Valentine Kaufmann, Twin Rivers Brewery (1854–1863?)
• Fred Kaufmann, Twin Rivers Brewery (1863?–1873?)

Valentine Kaufmann left his partnership with Edward Mueller sometime in the early 1850s, and started a new brewery with Frederic Krause. The brewery was partially destroyed by fire in 1853 but was rebuilt.2468 In 1854 this partnership dissolved, and Kaufmann carried on the business.2469 The Panic of 1857 appears to have hit his business hard. The R. G. Dun & Co. credit reports stated that while he had always been good about paying his debts, in 1858 he could not “get money in these times from anybody in this Co[unty].”2470 The 1860 industrial census showed that Kaufmann produced about 500 barrels at his brewery, which was powered by horse and had a single employee.

Kaufmann appears to have kept brewing for at least a few more years, since R. G. Dun & Co. credit reports list him as a brewer and beer seller through 1863, with continued positive references to his good habits “except Beer drinking.”2471 After this, Kaufmann’s brewery disappears from official and industry records, but is mentioned in passing in the obituary of Fred Kaufmann. Upon his death in 1884, the Green Bay State Gazette reported, “Until eleven years ago he attended to the business of a brewery in Two Rivers, left by his deceased father.” It is possible that this business did not involve actually brewing, which was why it did not appear in production statistics or excise records.2472

• John Hullman (1871?–1872?)

John Hullman (or Huppmann) operated a brewery in Two Rivers in the early 1870s. It is not clear whether he took over the Kaufmann brewery or built his own plant. His only appearance in the excise records was in May 1872, but he had clearly been brewing for some months before then since the 1873 Brewers’ Guide reported that he had produced 138 barrels in the previous year.

Unity (Marathon County)

• LogJam Microbrewery at Monster Hall Campground (2010–12)
• B4864 County Highway F

In 2010 LogJam Microbrewery moved to Monster Hall Campground. It produced through 2012, when it suspended brewing.

Verona (Dane County)

• Gray’s Tied House (2008–2011)
• 950 Kimball Lane

While it primarily serves beer produced by Gray Brewing Co. in Janesville, Gray’s Tied House in Verona had a small brewing system and brewed seasonal and specialty beers for the restaurant. The restaurant opened in 2006, but brewing did not start until almost two years later. The brewpub hosted the Fauerbach Challenge (in cooperation with the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild) to replicate a 1940s era bock recipe from Fauerbach Brewing Co. in Madison.2473

• Wisconsin Brewing Co. (2013–present)
• 1079 American Way

Wisconsin Brewing Co. is rare among production breweries in the craft beer era—it started with a “destination brewery” rather than working its way up by scavenging equipment to put in a converted but inexpensive space. After leaving Capital Brewery (and having his bid to take over Capital rejected), Carl Nolen decided to start his own brewery. Nolen brought in his brother Mark to help raise $8 million to start Wisconsin Brewing Co. (Mark remained as chief financial officer.) Nolen explained his reasoning: “If you are undercapitalized out of the gate, you are probably going to be screwed.” Nolen sought to position Wisconsin Brewing as one of the leaders in the Wisconsin craft industry, arguing “If Wisconsin is to emerge as a powerhouse state of craft brewing, there needs to be a significant number two player [after New Glarus]. We think that slot is wide open and we intend to shoot for it.”2474 Nolen’s former brewmaster at Capital, Kirby Nelson, joined him at the new company, the brewhouse was completed on time and brewed the first batch in September 2013.2475

Unlike many start-up breweries, Wisconsin Brewing met its initial projections. Nolen hoped to produce around 14,000 barrels in the first twelve months, and was within a few barrels of that goal. The very first beer was an amber lager, but that was followed by a bold American IPA—a style Nelson avoided while at Capital. (Wisconsin Brewing beers bear the number of the recipe on the neck label, so historians and collectors know in what order the beers were initially released.) The lineup of beers now includes a range of year-round beers, the in and Out Series of seasonal beers, and the Conspiracies Series of experimental recipes. Wisconsin Brewing has also brewed beers on contract for other companies, including Old Tankard Ale for Pabst.

Perhaps the most innovative series of beers brewed at Wisconsin Brewing is the Campus Craft Brewery series. In 2014, Nelson and students at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) hatched a plan to allow teams of students to design recipes for a particular style of beer, and the winning beer would be brewed at Wisconsin Brewing to be sold on campus and statewide. Teams brew their pilot batches on a thirty-liter brewing system in Babcock Hall on campus. Students also select the name and design the packaging. The first beer, Inaugural Red from 2015, has remained in the WBC lineup. Subsequent years introduced new Campus Craft brews: S’Wheat Caroline American wheat ale (2016) and Red Arrow American pale ale (2017)—which is named after Wisconsin’s famed 32nd Infantry Division of World War I (the Red Arrow Division).2476

• Hop Haus Brewing Co. (2015–present)
• 231 South Main Street

Owners Phil and Sara Hoeschst opened the Hop Haus brewery and taproom in 2015, while both were working other jobs and while they were raising two small boys (one then three years old and the other five months old). Phil, who was born in Germany, designed Hop Haus to have the atmosphere of a German beer hall, where beer and conversation could be the focus. As the name suggests, Hop Haus Brewing Co. emphasizes hoppy beers, but also produces less hoppy but still flavorful styles such as hefeweizens, Scotch ales, and blonde ales. In fact, the Plaid Panther Scotch ale was a winner in the Grumpy Troll homebrewing contest.2477

Viroqua (Vernon County)

• Sebastian Baltz & H. D. Chapman (1866?–68)

The excise records paint a confusing picture of this brewery. H. D. Chapman appears for the first time in February 1867, with a note that he brewed four barrels of beer. The next month Chapman brewed another two barrels, but Sebastian Baltz is also listed as having brewed nine and one half barrels in March. It appears that these were not separate breweries, since there is a note on the first Chapman entry that he was “Successor to L. Battz.” Chapman does not appear ever to have brewed more than a few barrels per month. It is possible that Baltz still owned the brewery, because when the brewery burned in January 1868, it was described as the “Baltz brewery.” While the loss of $300 was insured, Baltz and Chapman apparently decided not to resume brewing, as they disappear from the records after this point.2478

Washburn (Bayfield County)

• Washburn Brewing Co. (1890–99)
• Washburn Brewing Associaion (1899–1904)
• Pure Beer Brewing Co. (1904–1913)
• Southwest Corner of Third Avenue West and Fifth Street

A family from Ashland decided to build a brewery in Washburn, a promising site a few miles to the west. John, Mary Madelaine, and George Waegerle filed standard boilerplate articles of incorporation for Washburn Brewing Co. in December 1889.2479 The new brick brewery was estimated to cost $24,000 and went into production in 1890. The next year they added an ice house, and another ice house a few years later. Perhaps the most interesting event in the history of this brewery occurred in 1892. Washburn and nearby Bayfield were locked in a battle to move the county seat to Washburn. However the injunction Bayfield had obtained could not be served on the county clerk, who “hid in the attic of the brewery until it had expired.” The Waegerles experienced financial trouble in 1893, which local historian Lars Erik Larson suggests was because of the Panic of 1893. The company went into receivership, but a long legal battle ensued and the brewery was sold in 1896.2480

The next proprietor of the brewery was Charles H. Flynn, also from Ashland. In 1899, Flynn, William H. Irish Jr. and George Waegerle changed the name of the corporation to Washburn Brewing Association, though the articles of incorporation gave no indication of anything in the corporate structure that would make the name change significant.2481 The Association added a bottling house sometime prior to 1904. However, during this period Schlitz Brewing Co. purchased the goodwill of Washburn Brewing Association (though not the property) in an apparent attempt to drive the company out of business and capture more of the Washburn market. Indeed, the annual reports of Washburn Brewing Association show that no business was conducted in 1906, and that the business of the company in 1908 was “farming.” In answer to the question of whether the company engaged in business in 1911, the secretary answered “not that I know of,” and business in 1912 consisted wrapping up affairs of the company and selling real estate.2482 There was another brewing company incorporated in Washburn in 1903, Home Brewing Company, which appears to have been an attempt by Washburn residents to save the brewery for local interests. However, the company never filed an annual report and it appears that this company never actually operated the business.2483

Yet another company was formed in December 1903, but Pure Beer Brewing Co. actually brewed for a few years. The company made a small addition to the bottle house, but fared little better than any of the previous businesses. Charles Flynn, who still owned the brewery, sold his interest to Ed Borgan, who said it was “his aim to build the brewery up to what it was in former years.”2484 Pure Beer Brewing stopped brewing in 1913, and the equipment was sold to Fitger Brewing Co. of Duluth. The building remained on the site until it was torn down in 1941, and replaced with a school.2485

• South Shore Brewing Co. Taphouse (2016–present)
• 532 West Bayfield Street

The increased demand for South Shore beers meant it was impossible to remain competitive in wholesale distribution packaging in the basement of the Ashland location. Bo Bélanger acquired a former bowling alley in nearby Washburn to expand brewery operations. The first batch of beer was brewed at the end of November 2016. The Washburn location includes a taproom and a larger brewhouse.2486

Washington Harbor (Door County)

• Peter Bridham (1856?–58?)

Peter Bridham’s small brewery is listed in the 1857 state business directory, and in Wayne Kroll’s survey of farm breweries in Wisconsin.2487

Waterford (Racine County)

• B. A. Linke (1859?–1860?)
• Waterford Brewery
• John Beck & Bro. (1866?–1880)
• John Beck (1880–1890)
• Jefferson Street

The first known report of a brewery in Waterford appears in the 1860 industrial census. The brewery of B. A. Linke was a small one, representing an investment of only $500 (though it was powered by two horses instead of the usual one). Linke brewed just over 200 barrels of beer, which appears to have been of two different grades: he sold 156 barrels of a beer that sold for $6.00 per barrel, and fifty barrels at a price of $8.00 per barrel.

Linke’s brewery disappears from the records, and the next known brewery in Waterford was that of John Beck and Brother (Paul), which appears in the excise records for the first time in 1867, but since that is the first year for which records exist, he may have started earlier. (It is also possible that he built a new brewery rather than purchasing Linke’s.) Production jumped from 172 barrels in 1871 to 315 the next year, and for the next few years production remained above 300 barrels, though it slipped back to around 200 per year by the end of the decade. Beck had his own malt house, and the R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluator in 1875 referred to the brothers’ brewery as “a good sized one.” The brothers also owned a sixty-acre farm nearby.2488 The brewery went out of business around 1890 for unknown reasons and John Beck turned to farming full time.

Waterloo (Jefferson County)

• Abendroth & Co. (1866?–1872?)
• Theodore Menk (1870)

William Abendroth was sometimes listed as a brewer at Lake Mills, though he appeared in many more records at Waterloo. He appears in the 1867 annual list of the excise records, which generally means that he was in business at least by 1866 if not before. While he does not appear in the 1870 census of industry, he was included in the 1873 Brewers’ Guide directory, with production of 320 barrels in 1871 and 404 the next year. He appears to have retired briefly from brewing, since he was listed as a farmer in the 1870 population census, and was not included in the 1870 annual excise collection. The Watertown Republican reported in April 1870 “Abendroth has sold his brewery to Theodore Menke [sic] of our place [Waterloo].”2489 But it appears that this was short-lived, since Abendroth appeared in the excise rolls again in October. Abendroth died in 1872, and his heirs did not continue the business.

• Theodore Menk (1866?–1869)
• Charlotte Menk (1870)

Theodore Menk first appeared in the R. G. Dun & Co. records in late 1866, and the evaluator considered “Menck” to be of good habits and character. However two years later the reporter noted that Menk was careless about paying his bills, and that he was out of business in March 1869.2490

Menk was listed in the 1870 industrial census, but this may represent the brief period when he operated William Abendroth’s brewery. The data indicate that he had $5,000 invested in the brewery, employed two hands, and judging by the inputs, brewed a relatively hoppy beer (though no production or revenue totals were listed). Theodore was still listed as proprietor in the 1870 industrial census and was still in the population census of that year. The brewery was in the name of his wife Charlotte starting in May 1870, but again this may have been the Abendroth brewery. The Menks disappeared from the excise records after 1870, but in August 1873 Theodore Menk started a soda factory in Watertown in which he also bottled lager and weiss beer.2491

• Andrew Handschiegl & Co. (1866?–69?)
• Schwager & Helmes (1869–1870)
• William Schwager (1870–1880)
• Monroe Street near Madison Street

Andrew Handschiegl (& Co.) was also probably brewing at least in 1866 if not before, based on excise records. In March 1869, Handscheigl sold the business to William Schwager and Mr. Helmes. The R. G. Dun & Co. records appear to claim that the firm was worth $7,000, but if so, they must have had more businesses than the brewery, or they did not use the brewery to its fullest extent.2492 The 1870 census of industry states that $3,000 had been invested in the brewery, but only employed one person. He was hardly overworked, since in the six months the brewery was in operation that year he brewed forty-two barrels of beer and seventy of “lager.” This appears to have been the high point, since Schwager only brewed twenty-two barrels in 1871 and twenty the next year, though he brewed ninety-nine in 1874. The Dun reports indicate he owned a saloon along with his brewery, and it is likely that most of his production was sold in-house.2493 He disappears from the records after 1880.

Watertown (Jefferson County)

• Watertown Brewery, William Anson (1846–1855)
• Foot of South First Street, South Side of Bailey Street

William Anson started what was probably Watertown’s first commercial brewery in 1846. He planned a large business for the winter of 1847, since he advertised his need for 10,000 bushels of barley.2494 Watertown brewing historian William F. Jannke III reported that Anson brewed ale, and cites an 1868 account that claimed that Anson’s product tasted like weak coffee and “half the town became ill from drinking it.”2495 This may have been exaggeration (and perhaps an insult of ale intended for a German audience), but the size of Anson’s brewery suggests that he must have done reasonably good business at least for a while. Anson put his brewery up for sale in 1854, but no record of a successful sale has been found. The point became moot in July 1855, when the brewery was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire. A newspaper account estimated the total loss of what was called “the brewery at the Railroad Hotel” at between $1,200 and $1,500, though this was later updated to nearly $4,000.2496

• John Jacob Hoeffner, Red Brewery (1847–1854)
• City Brewery
• Joseph Bursinger (1854–1883)
• Hartig & Manz (1884–1896)
• William Hartig (1896–1920)
• The Hartig Co. (1933–1947)
• 100 Cady Street

Watertown’s longest-lived brewery lasted for almost exactly a century. The Watertown Chronicle provided an unusually precise date (for breweries of the 1840s) for the opening of the business in November 1847. His brewery was described as “a substantial and handsome building, 24 by 34 ft, and three stories high. It is expected to turn out from eight to ten barrels of beer per week, of a quality second to none made in the territory.” In a separate ad, Hoeffner sought to buy barley “for which cash or beer will be paid, at the new red Brewery, a short distance above the bridge.” While Hoeffner apparently was not fond of Red Brewery as a name for the business, it stuck and residents referred to it as such for many years. The Red Brewery was visited by the “Red Demon” within a month of opening, but Hoeffner was able to put out the small fire himself.2497 Hoeffner appears to have had excess space at the brewery, since the Chronicle reported in 1848 that the firm of Frohne & Averbeck were making two barrels of whiskey per day at the brewery.2498 Hoeffner continued to operate the brewery until 1851, when he rented the brewery to William and Charles Bieber for about six months. Hoeffner returned for a few years, but in 1854 he sold the brewery to Joseph Bursinger.2499

Bursinger, who had a partner named Mr. Laur for a brief time, developed the brewery by 1870 into the largest in Watertown, and one of the largest in the state outside Milwaukee. He excavated a system of cellars which would provide increased lagering and storage capacity in 1860, a year in which he produced about 1,700 barrels of beer, still behind Fuermann, but growing rapidly.2500 Bursinger built an extensive new brewery in 1866 overtook Fuermann in the late 1860s, and while Fuermann edged back in front in 1872, Bursinger was still larger than any brewery outside Milwaukee except Fuermann and Gund & Heileman. The new brewery was powered by steam, and had modern safety devices. However, these were not always effective—in 1868 lighting struck the chimney, but the lightning rods did not divert all the current and some traveled down the chimney and blew apart the boiler.2501 Bursinger produced between 3,000 and 8,000 barrels during the 1870s, and in 1877 began to offer bottled beer through the bottling firm of S. M. Eaton. After using the services of Eaton for a few years, Bursinger started his own bottling plant in 1880.2502 Bursinger joined Fuermann in Chicago by opening an agency there in 1872.2503 As modern as his brewery was in many ways, the Wisconsin State Register reported in 1876 that Bursinger “was cutting peat on the marsh for his brewery,” presumably for fuel.2504

It is possible that the expansions forced Bursinger to spend beyond his means, because in November 1883 he was deep in debt and the brewery was turned over to his creditors to be sold at Sheriff’s sale in April 1884. (The R. G. Dun & Co. evaluator seems to have missed some warning signs because Bursinger was given a clean bill of financial health in 1883.) Henry Mulberger purchased the brewery at auction, and a few months later sold it to William Hartig of Schleisingerville (now Slinger) and Carl Manz of Milwaukee. Manz was well connected in the brewing world—he was a nephew of Mrs. Joseph Schlitz, who provided the money for the purchase of Bursinger’s brewery.2505

The new owners continued to make the renamed Hartig & Manz brewery a modern, competitive business. In 1888, they purchased the bottling plant of Paul Hoppe for $4,000 so they would have an in-house packaging operation. An advertisement in the 1895 Watertown city directory, listed three brands of bottled beer: Export and Loewenbrau, both available in quarts and pints, and Lager, available in pints and half-pints.2506 In 1896, Manz sold his interest in the brewery to his partner, and the new business was renamed William Hartig Brewing Co.2507 The company generally stayed out of the news during the late pre-Prohibition period—even the industry journals had few references to the brewery.

During Prohibition, the name of the business changed to the Hartig Co. and the nature of business changed to ice cream. (The company continued to make ice cream until 1936). There appear to have been no attempts to brew wildcat beer at the Hartig brewery during Prohibition, perhaps because the needs of the community were met by a wildcat brewery operated by the Ryan brothers at 317 North Montgomery Street. According to local tradition, that brewery survived for many years with minimal harassment from law enforcement because the chief of police was a regular customer. William Hartig did not live to see the return of legal beer—he died in March 1923.2508

The renamed Hartig Co. received its permit to brew beer in June 1933, and began to brew Hartig’s Select again. However, the company was faced with a very competitive market and an out-of-date brewery. Production was well under capacity and the company was losing money.

With production declining, the Hartig family decided to get out of brewing, and sold the business in June 1945 to Harvey Roscoe of Minneapolis. At this time the brewery’s capacity was reported as 40,000 barrels per year, but production had been less than 8,000 barrels per year throughout the 1940s. Almost immediately, the company was charged with selling beer above wartime ceiling prices.2509 Roscoe and company president Harold McEvoy were unable to restore the business, and the situation continued to deteriorate. In November 1946, Hartig Co. was forced to destroy over 1,700 cases of Wisconsin Premium that had become adulterated because the use of molasses in the brewing process resulted in an acid by-product. Unfortunately, because some of this beer was shipped across state lines, the issue ended up in federal court. Like many small Wisconsin breweries, Hartig was shipping beer to distant states because of the nationwide beer shortage. Molasses was used as a shortcut to meet demand, but beer distributors in Alabama and Texas sued the company for breach of contract. Matters were made worse in April 1947 when McEvoy and the company were fined $8,000 for exceeding their wartime grain quota. The company was unable to meet its obligations, and closed in later that year.2510 The building was torn down in 1953 and a grocery store was built on the site.

• Charles M. Ducasse (1848–1850?)
• Emmet Street

According to some old histories, the brewery of Charles Ducasse was the first in Watertown, but better evidence exists for other breweries. His was described as “a rude and diminutive establishment located about four miles north of the village. He made weekly trips to Watertown, with a few kegs in a cart drawn by a yoke of oxen.” The beer was described as “‘so dark you couldn’t see a frog in it.’ It is not disputed, however, that a great many persons were very fond of looking for one . . .”2511 Another recollection claimed that Ducasse’s quality control and consistency left much to be desired:

Bad as was the beer, the drinkers of that day made liberal concessions, but they balked at the worst kind, so that where it was undrinkable the brewer fed it to his hogs on the farm. When the brewer’s hogs lay on their backs pawing the air and squealing in riotous glee, the passing pioneer farmers, patiently driving their oxen to town, knew that another brew had miscarried. The brewery went bankrupt, and its principal asset, a thirty-five gallon copper kettle, came into the possession of Joe Miller, the local coppersmith. In 1861 an orchestra was formed in Watertown to assist the choral society in performing Haydn’s ‘Creation.’ Kettledrums were quite necessary but not available. So E. C. Gaebler, the conductor, commissioned Miller to build a pair. Miller utilized the old brewing kettle for the body of the larger one, and it was a success.2512

Ducasse does not appear as a brewer in either the population or the industrial census of 1850 (though much of the census for Watertown is illegible), so he may have ceased brewing by that time. Ducasse was still in Watertown until at least 1869, running a saloon and tobacco shop.2513

• August Fuermann (1848–1853)
• Empire Brewery
• August Fuermann (1853–1885)
• A. Fuermann Brewing Co. (1885–1897)
• 100 Jones Street

August Fuermann made Watertown beer famous throughout the region—to the point where his brewery was rumored to be a takeover target of British capitalists. He founded the brewery in 1848, and expanded at a rapid pace, though he apparently did not own the land under the brewery until 1853.2514 By 1860 he was producing 2,500 barrels per year, third-most in the state outside Milwaukee (behind Rodermund of Madison and Gutsch of Sheboygan). Fuermann continued to grow throughout the 1860s, but so did rival Joseph Bursinger, and Fuermann slipped to second place in the city. Both breweries were modern, steam-powered plants capable of producing several thousand barrels per year.

Fuermann Brewing built a large addition to the brewery and opened a branch office in Chicago (at 9 West Ohio Street) in 1871. The R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluator noted at one point that the “loc[al] trade there is not suff[icient] to support 2 large breweries,” and the Chicago venture helped Fuermann push back in front of Bursinger. The Watertown Republican reported in 1872: “Mr. Fuerman’s [sic] business in Chicago has become so extensive that it requires the constant supervision of his son to attend to the shipments at this point.”2515 In 1872 Fuermann sold 4,047 barrels of beer, more than any brewery outside of Milwaukee other than Gund & Heileman’s fast-growing La Crosse business. Fuermann’s expansion accelerated, and in 1874 his brewery produced over 11,000 barrels—more than any brewery outside of Milwaukee by a large margin. In 1878, Fuermann brewed just a few hundred barrels less than Fred Miller’s brewery.

In 1877, bottled beer came to Watertown. S. M. Eaton began to bottle beer for Fuermann and Bursinger, and in November, Charles Fuermann opened a bottling plant in the city. However Miller and Schlitz also established agencies in Watertown that year, which meant that the competition was stiffer than ever.2516

A. Fuermann Brewing Co. was incorporated in April 1885—one of the earliest known incorporated breweries in the state. The articles of incorporation gave the company authority to “manufacture . . . malt, lager beer, porter and ale,” though no evidence has been found so far of porter or ale for sale.2517 Shortly after, the company commenced a large addition to the brewery, estimated to cost $5,000. Not everything went smoothly for Fuermann, however—in February 1888 the ice house collapsed from the weight of snow on the structure, though fortunately no one was injured.2518 (A sign from this period is pictured in chapter 3.)

In 1889, the wave of international syndicates and mergers reached the shores of Watertown. In October, newspapers reported that A. Fuermann Brewing had “disposed of its brewery to an English brewing syndicate, the consideration being $500,000.” Milwaukee papers reported that the new owners planned to double the capacity of the plant (then at 20,000 barrels per year), which was a mild threat to Cream City brewers. The Sentinel noted: “This is the largest of the two Watertown breweries, and had had a good paying business, shipping large quantities of beer to the Chicago market.”2519 The reported purchase price was many times what the brewery was generally reported to be worth—about $100,000 in the 1870s, but may have been correct because many syndicate builders bid high to make sure of acquiring the property. However, no further indications of English ownership have been found and the Fuermann family remained in charge of the brewery, so it appears that this story was one more example of the overheated excitement over business mergers during the Gilded Age.

In the mid-1890s, Fuermann Brewing advertised Imperial $1,000 Beer, which was one of the first beers to use the $1,000 guarantee as an advertising feature. An ad in the Watertown city directory proclaimed “The Sum of $1,000! Is on deposit in the Merchants Bank of Watertown, Wis., as a guarantee that it is Strictly Pure.”2520

August Fuermann Sr. died in August 1894, less than a year after his son August Jr. passed away. Sons Albert, Gerhard, and Henry took over management of the brewery. Perhaps the sons were not up to the task, the brewery had underlying financial weaknesses, or competition from local and Milwaukee breweries finally became too much for Fuermann Brewing. Whatever the cause, A. Fuermann Brewing Co. went bankrupt in 1897 and was taken over by the bank. Because they were right across the street from his plant, William Hartig purchased the buildings at auction and used them for storage, though articles at the time of the sale suggested Hartig would also use the malt house. Albert Fuermann started a new company, Watertown Bottling Co., at 1026 North Second Street and for about three years was sole bottler for his former competitor, William Hartig, as well as for John Graf’s weiss beer from Milwaukee. Some early reports indicated that Albert Fuermann was planning to brew weiss beer in a portion of the old family brewery, but there is no indication that he ever did more than bottling. The Fuermann brewery was dismantled in 1915–1916 and the bricks were used for the new Watertown High School. In the 1920s the property was converted into Memorial Park, but in the 1960s the park was replaced by a new municipal building.2521

• William Buchheit & Charles Riedinger (1852–57)
• Charles Riedinger (1857?–1860?)
• Plank Road Brewery, Fred Schwartz & Co. (1865–67)
• West Main, near Railroad

William Buchheit and Charles Riedinger began brewing in the crowded Watertown brewing market in 1852. According to William F. Jannke III, Buchheit was hurt badly in the Panic of 1857, and left brewing.2522 Riedinger was still in the 1860 population census as a brewer, but there are few references to the Plank Road Brewery compared with the larger breweries of Watertown. An element of confusion was added when the Watertown Democrat announced in 1859 that Francis Belrose was the new proprietor of the Plank Road Brewery, though the same ad was altered a month later indicating that Belrose was with the City Brewery instead.2523 Since Joseph Bursinger was well established at City Brewery at this point, the change of brewery for Belrose is baffling. It would make more sense for him to have remained at Plank Road for a while.

In 1865, Frederick Schwartz and his partner Louis Werrbach, both of Milwaukee, began brewing weiss beer in the former Buchheit brewery. Schwartz had operated the Prairie Street Brewery in Milwaukee prior to moving to Watertown, and Werrbach would become a famous weiss beer brewer in Milwaukee after leaving Watertown. The market for weiss beer in Watertown apparently did not meet the expectations of Schwartz and Werrbach because they remained only a few years. The R. G. Dun & Co. credit reports indicate that they were in good financial condition in June 1867, but that by March 1868 they were out of business. Excise reports included Schwartz & Co. in 1867, but not in 1868 or any year thereafter, and Jannke confirms that they closed their brewery in November 1867. The buildings burned in 1871.2524

• Joseph Hussa (1851–54)
• Frederick Raasch (1854–1866?)
• Kading & Strehlow (1866?–68)
• Rock River Brewery
• Fred Strehlow (1868)
• Gottfried Thiele (1868–69)
• Thiele & Habhegger (1869–1870)
• John & Ulrich Habhegger (1870–72)
• Oconomowoc Avenue Near East Water Street

Watertown historian William F. Jannke III found that Joseph Hussa began operating his brewery “in the Bohemian section of Watertown” in 1851.2525 Hussa remained only a few years, before selling the brewery to Frederick Raasch and leaving to brew elsewhere in the state.2526

Raasch was proprietor of the brewery for several years, but according to the 1860 population census he owned no real estate, so he may have been leasing the brewery from the landowner. Little is known about the brewery during his term. At some point prior to 1867, the brewery passed to Fred Kading and Fred Strehlow. Jannke suggests that they may have been in possession by June 1866, and the fact that their first listing in the excise records is the 1867 annual list seems to confirm that they were operating the brewery before 1867. The business was also known as Kading, Strehlow & Bro. in early 1868.2527

According to some sources, Strehlow bought out Kading in 1868, but Kading remained in the excise records through January 1869, where he is listed along with Gottfried Thiele, who rented the brewery in December 1868 for a term of nine months.2528 But before Thiele’s term was over, H. P. Seibel bought Fred Strehlow’s shares in the brewery and almost immediately sold a half interest to John U. Habhegger Sr. and his son Ulrich. The next year, the Habheggers purchased the rest of the brewery from Seibel.2529 The Habheggers sold 739 barrels in 1871 and 610 the next year, which were respectable totals but a mere fraction of the much larger Bursinger and Fuermann breweries. The brewery burned in May 1872, and the Habheggers returned to other businesses.2530

• Frederick Herman (1860?)
• Sixth Ward

Frederick Herman was listed as a brewer in the 1860 population census. He owned $600 of real estate and $350 of personal property. Because he was the only brewer listed in the Sixth Ward it is at least reasonably likely that he owned his own business rather than being employed at another brewery.

• Woodward & Bro. (1864?–65?)

Woodward & Bro. were listed as brewers in the 1865 state business directory. However, this particular directory is even less reliable than most, particularly since this is the only Watertown brewery listed. More reliable sources, including Jannke and Dun, have no record of this firm, and they did not last long enough to be included in excise records. It is possible that this company briefly owned the Plank Road Brewery before Schwartz or the Rock River Brewery between Raasch and Strehlow.

• Langenberg & Kypke (1874?–76?)

The firm of Langenberg & Kypke was included in Schade’s directory of brewers, and produced 155 barrels of beer in 1875. However, this brewery was not listed in other industry or government sources.

• Bellows Brew Crew/Bellows Brewpub (2001–7)
• 201 East Main Street

The second location for John Bellows’ brewery was in one of the most historic buildings in Watertown, the J. W. Cole building, built in 1841. The new location may not technically have been a brewpub, since they did not have an associated restaurant. The brewpub continued to brew highly regarded beers and had good initial support, but lasted only a short time in Watertown.2531

Waukesha (Waukesha County)

• John M. Heisleutner (1849?–1863?)
• Mrs. Myers (1864?–66)
• Weber & Schock (1866–68)
• Matthias Schock (1868–1876)

Waukesha’s first brewery was established prior to 1850, though the execrable writing in the 1850 population and industrial censuses make it almost impossible to determine the name of the proprietor. In the population census it appears to be spelled J. M. Huplenstein, and in the industrial census it looks more like S. M. Klieptubner. It is likely that this was actually the brewery of John M. Heisleutner whose name was spelled several different ways even in newspaper ads. By whichever name, the brewery produced 200 barrels of beer in 1850 with three employees, one of whom appears to have been son John Jr., who was a clerk. In 1851, Heisleutner opened a bakery in connection with his brewery. He proclaimed:

In erecting my BREWERY, I was always desirous of producing a clean, wholesome drink, without any intoxicating substances, knowing by experience that Beer, produced in that way never can undermine the health of any body. Good Beer and Good Bread are after my opinion two articles which nobody can spare, than what can better refresh the laborer after a hard day’s work than a glass of Beer and a piece of Bread.2532

Heisleutner also dealt in ice, which he advertised for sale in any quantity at his brewery in 1855.2533 He apparently built an addition to his brewery or an all new building in 1856, since the Plaindealer reported that “Heiselhutner [sic] is going to erect a large Brewery in the rear of his Hall.”2534

Heisleutner was still brewing at least through the end of 1862. R. G. Dun & Co. reports note that he ran a saloon as well as a brewery. According to the evaluator, “He is considered a responsible man, is intemperate and trusts mostly to others in carrying on his business, is a German some advanced in life, & when sober is a very intelligent man.” Among those he counted on to run his business was Jacob Engmann, his brewer, who had been employed previously at Goetter’s brewery in West Bend.2535 However, by the beginning of 1864, he was dead, and his daughter Mrs. Myers carried on the business through 1866. At that point she sold the business to Stephen Weber and Matthias Schock (spelled Schaub in the record).2536

It is possible that this brewery is the one that Schock was running in 1867, rather than the Henry Meyer brewery and saloon that he purchased in 1866. In 1868, Weber sold his share of this property, specifically described in the notice as Heisleutner’s old brewery, to Schock for $2,500.2537 This may be the brewery that was called the Fountain Brewery as early as 1871, though there is question about the location. Schock was not listed in excise records or industry journals at any point, so it is possible that he did not actually brew until the new Fountain Brewery was built in 1876.2538

• Henry A. Meyer (1854?–59?)
• West Hill Brewery, Stephen Weber (1862?–1885)
• Bethesda Brewery
• Weber & Land (1885–86)
• Wm. A. Weber (1886–1899)
• Estate of Wm. A. Weber (1900–1904)
• Weber’s Brewery, Stephan F. Weber (1904–7)
• Weber Brewing Co. (1907–1920)
• Weber Waukesha Brewing Co. (1934–1958)
• 220 East North Street

While the precise date that Henry A. Meyer started to brew in Waukesha is open to debate, at least one piece of circumstantial evidence places it as early as 1854. In an article on how well the local economy was doing, the Waukesha Plaindealer listed as evidence “Our breweries are using up all the barley they can find.” The use of the plural implies that there was another brewery other than that of Heisleutner. Additional evidence that this second business was Meyer’s comes from his application in May 1855 to sell beer at his brewery.2539

Meyer may have stopped brewing and left the vicinity in the late 1850s, since he was not listed in the 1860 population or industrial censuses. The property was not sold until 1862, when Stephen Weber, until then a partner in West Hill Brewery of Milwaukee, purchased the old Meyer property. Weber retained the West Hill name from the Cream City business, and applied it to his new brewery.2540

Weber began putting the brewery back in order, and began to develop his local market. He was successful enough to be able to build a large dwelling on the north side of the brewery in 1869.2541 By 1870 he was producing 900 barrels with three employees, which appears to have been the capacity of the brewery since he brewed just under 900 barrels the next two years as well. In 1873 Weber decided to build an all-new brewery to meet the increasing demand. Weber drew on his Milwaukee connections to hire an architect to draw up the plans but contracted with local builders to erect the structure. The new plant appears to have more than doubled his capacity, since in 1875 he topped 2,100 barrels. Though production declined the next few years, it still was well over 1,000 barrels per year. To deliver the beer to his customers, Weber purchased a new brewery wagon “’of the latest pattern.’”2542

Patrons in Waukesha had previous access to bottled beer, and the breweries in nearby Milwaukee were embracing the bottle as a way to conquer new markets. As a forward-looking brewer, Weber introduced his own bottled product in 1878, calling his customers’ attention to his use of bottles “with patent Lightning Stoppers, which require no corkscrew to draw them. . . .” He continued to expand his plant as well, building a new ice house in December 1878 which could hold 175 tons of ice. The bottled beer was quite popular: in 1881 the Waukesha Freeman reported that “Mr. Weber is receiving orders for West Hill Brewery beer in such quantities that he is unable to obtain bottles fast enough to supply the demand.”2543

In 1883, Stephen Weber transferred the brewery to his son William and his son-in-law John Land. William had already been foreman (brewmaster) at the family business for about five years, and Land was a photographer who had married Stephen’s daughter Barbara in 1881. The Freeman described the transfer thus:

Wm. Weber and John Land received a present on Thanksgiving day that must have made their mouths water. It was nothing less than the West Hill Brewery, one of the most flourishing institutions here. They will begin their partnership business January 1st. Mr. Stephen Weber was the donor. He has grown old and rich in the brewery business and is willing to giver the ‘boys’ a chance now. Waukesha beer is excelled by none.2544

A few months later, the new owners renamed the business “Bethesda Brewery,” in recognition of Waukesha’s growing importance as a resort for those seeking health at the local mineral springs. Reports of the change made the usual claim that the new owners “expect to make some notable improvements in the general management of the business.” The brewery was capable of producing 3,000 barrels per year, but the “improvements” included plans to double the capacity.2545

The Weber and Land partnership lasted only three years, most likely because the two did not get along. On 22 August 1887, the Waukesha Republican reported that Land had purchased Weber’s interest in the brewery for $21,500. However the next day the Republican was forced to run a correction:

Yesterday it was mentioned that Mr. J. C. Land had purchased Mr. Weber’s interest in the Bethesda Brewery, which, at the time, was a correct statement. But within the past twenty-four hours an understanding was reached whereby Mr. Weber became the purchaser of Mr. Land’s interest in the property, and the papers were prepared to-day. The price agreed upon is about $21,000 for the half interest.

It made much more sense for Weber to keep the brewery, since he had trained as a brewer, whereas Land had not. Land appears to have kept some share in the brewery until 1900, and was briefly appointed guardian of the brewery during the late 1890s while William and Stephen were incapacitated.2546

It appears that one of the first things Weber did after becoming sole proprietor was to convert the brewery from horsepower to steam. This change is indicated on the Sanborn insurance maps, and in September 1887 Weber offered “A horse power for sale . . . cheap.” In 1889, he commissioned a new barn and new brick smokestack. Weber brewed three regular brews: Standard, Pilsner, and Export, as well as a regular bock beer. The Waukesha Journal exulted: “If Bethesda beer keeps growing in popularity it will not be long before it will attain the reputation of that already had by Bethesda water.”2547 Weber was sometimes forced to protect his brand—in 1893 he published a notice that two local bottlers, Charles Minick Sr. and his son Lewis, “have no connection whatever with the Bethesda Brewery . . . the beer they are bottling is manufactured in some brewery outside Waukesha. . . .”2548 (A receipt from this era is pictured in chapter 6.)

All went well for the brewery until the end of the 1890s, when William Weber contracted pneumonia in 1897. His health appeared to be permanently damaged, and he died in 1900. A year later, founder Stephen Weber died, leaving the brewery in the hands of William’s widow Julia Weber and her sons Killian and Stephan. According to family tradition, Julia was very much in charge of the business, and the sons cleared all decisions with her. Stephan F. Weber became manager of the brewery (and of the estate) and Killian eventually became the brewmaster. The company made some name changes that had little impact on the business.2549

Weber Brewing Co. introduced two new beers in 1912: Weber’s Old Fashion Beer and Weber’s Superb Beer. These two served as the flagship brands until the advent of Prohibition.

With the advent of Prohibition, the Webers attempted to market a near beer version of Old Fashion Beer as New Fashion Brew, but this product was unsuccessful. Killian converted the brewery into Waukesha Dairy Company with the help of local dairyman Howard T. Green. They continued in this business throughout the dry years, but abandoned it as soon as it was clear that real beer would be returning.2550

In 1933, the Webers remodeled the brewery with the financial assistance of Hawley W. Wilbur, owner of a lumber company in Waukesha. They purchased an all-new stainless steel brew kettle (said to be the first of its type ever built in America), new bottling equipment, and hired a new brewmaster, William Neumann. Neumann had worked for Hamm Brewing in St. Paul and Birk Brothers of Chicago, so was an able superintendent. Production at the renamed Weber Waukesha brewery did not start again until June 1934, but the opportunity for work was welcomed by the forty employees and the return of Old Fashion Beer was welcomed by the community.2551 (A lighted sign is pictured in chapter 8.)

The early 1940s brought sad changes. Julia Weber died in August 1941, and Killian died in November 1942. Stephan F. Weber assumed the presidency of the company, and along with new brewmaster Andy Schnell (another St. Paul veteran, though this time from Jacob Schmidt Brewing), the new leadership boosted production from about 30,000 barrels in 1942 to 75,000 barrels in 1948. Much of this increase probably came from increased demand during the war and the beer shortage after the war, but Weber and Schnell were able to capitalize on the conditions where other brewers were not able to do so. While many of Wisconsin’s smaller breweries sought to increase production by shipping to distant markets, Weber Waukesha products were sold only in southern Wisconsin during the late 1940s. In addition, Weber Waukesha gained no advantage from the Milwaukee brewers’ strike of 1948 since they were only able to supply existing customers. The continued strong business led the company in 1948 to convert the Weber home into offices for the company.2552

In the early 1950s production started to drop drastically. Part of this may have been due to the failing health of Stephan Weber, but members of the Weber family were uninterested in maintaining the business. Elliott Johnson of Milwaukee purchased a large block of Weber stock in 1950, and by the end of 1951 he completed the sale and took over as president of the company. After Stephan F. Weber died in 1952, Johnson purchased the rest of the family’s stock, ending ninety years of family ownership. While Johnson was an experienced brewery executive, and Weber Waukesha was regarded as “one of the strongest and soundest small breweries in the United States,” industry conditions were against him. Even so, Johnson made several changes that gave Weber Waukesha a fighting chance. In 1952, he hired designer William Johnson of Milwaukee to redesign all the brewery’s packaging and advertising. The large red W was credited with giving the brand increased visibility and won a design award. The company also introduced flat-top cans that year.2553

Not every move was as successful. In 1953, Weber Distributing Co., a subsidiary of the brewery, attempted to fill the gap during the Milwaukee brewery strike of 1953 by bringing in beer from Mitchell Brewing Co. in El Paso, Texas. Unfortunately, the beer sold poorly, and Elliott Johnson explained: “the Mitchell beer is a good beer but nobody here ever heard of it.” In 1954, Weber Waukesha purchased the former Van Merritt brewery in Burlington to produce the first canned soft drinks in Wisconsin. However, after initial success the cans proved unsuited to the acids produced by some flavors, and customers complained of leaky cans, so the project was abandoned. (Weber Waukesha also acquired two brands from Van Merritt: Wisconsin Premium and Paul Bunyan, which they brewed for a few years.) In 1955, Johnson formed a separate company to produce Sassy—perhaps the first in a line of what later would be called “malternatives” or “malt beverages.” Sassy debuted in 1957, and while it poured with a head and was 6 percent alcohol, it didn’t taste like beer and did not leave “beer breath.” Sassy’s short life was probably caused by poor consumer acceptance and resistance from other brewers, as well as consumer activists who perceived Sassy as an attempt to sell alcohol to youth.2554 (A four pack of Sassy is pictured in chapter 8.)

Though adept management, Elliott Johnson had managed not only to help Weber Waukesha to survive, but even to thrive. By the mid-1950s, the brewery was producing over 100,000 barrels per year, though this was still only about half of what crosstown rival Fox Head was selling. But in 1957, Elliott Johnson died of a heart attack. The loss of Johnson’s leadership, cost-cutting that resulted in unacceptable changes in the flavor of the beer, and a one-week brewery workers strike in September 1958 spelled doom for Weber Waukesha. Two weeks later, the two Waukesha breweries began merger talks, and the deal was closed in October. Weber management was in charge of the company, which used the Fox Head plant and name. The Weber brewery was shut down in November 1958.2555

• H. A. Meyer, Waukesha Brewery (1864–66?)
• Matthias Schock (1866?–1870?)
• Main Street near Broadway

H. A. Meyer returned to Waukesha in 1864 and began brewing again, his time at a new location on Main Street. The announcement of his return to business in the Waukesha Freeman proclaimed: “The undersigned, having again commenced to Brew, is ready to fill all orders for Beer with promptness and despatch [sic], at the market price. Bottle Beer constantly on hand.”2556 Stoneware bottles marked H.A.W. confirm that his beer was packaged at this early date.2557 (An article accompanying the advertisement referred to “Capt. Meyer”—the only officer that appears to fit this description is Herman A. Meyer of the 28th Wisconsin Infantry. This creates a problem, however, because the earlier brewer in Waukesha was Henry A. Meyer. Previous brewing by Herman is not recorded.2558)

In April 1866, Meyer sold his saloon to Matthias Schock, but held on to the brewery for at least a few months. Meyer announced:

Having disposed of my property and given possession of the saloon to M. Schock, I take this opportunity of returning my thanks to the public for the very liberal patronage bestowed upon me, hoping the same will be extended to my successor. I shall continue, as heretofore to sell Beer by the Keg.

In June, Meyer lost his dog and asked that information about its whereabouts be given to him at the Waukesha Brewery, so he was apparently there at least that long.2559 He does not appear in the excise records which start in 1867, so he appears to have ceased brewing in late 1886.

While Matthias Schock is not in the excise records either, he is included in the R. G. Dun & Co. records in 1867 as the operator of a brewery and saloon, so it appears that he had by that point acquired the rest of the property.2560 He brewed at the saloon for a few more years, until he built the Fountain Brewery in the 1870s.

• Uhl & Kreiner (1868–1871)
• Kreiner & Pappenheimer (1871–73)
• Plate & Pappenheimer (1873–74)
• East Main Street and Hartwell Avenue

Leonard Uhl and Christoph Kreiner purchased part of Hickory Grove, a picnic area on the edge of the city, in 1867, and proposed to “erect on it immediately an extensive brewery, with a garden, etc. connected with it.”2561 They had the brewery in operation by January 1868, and produced between 175 and 200 barrels in each of the years for which figures are available.

In September 1871, Uhl sold his share of the property to John L. Pappenheimer for $2,100, a change confirmed in the excise records.2562 Kreiner sold his share to John J. Plate in 1873, but new ownership did not bring new fortune to the business. The R. G. Dun & Co. evaluator reported the brewery was out of business in June 1874, though they may have stopped brewing prior to that time.2563 Hickory Grove remained a popular resort for many more years.2564

• Fountain Brewery, Matthias Schock (1876?–78)
• Fountain Brewery, John M. Schock (1878–1887)
• North Street

In addition to the family saloon on Main Street, Matthias Schock had a separate brewery in Waukesha. However, accounts differ on when he acquired it and which brewery site it was. Some evidence suggests that for a while he brewed in the former Heisleutner brewery. In addition, Waukesha brewery historians John Schoenknecht and David Kapsos found an advertisement for the Fountain Brewery (and its bottled and keg beer) in the Waukesha Democrat in 1871.2565 (It is also possible that he only brewed at the saloon, or possibly not at all, since he does not appear in excise records or industry directories during the early and mid-1870s.)

What is clear is that Schock built a new brewery in 1876 at the Almanris mineral spring and called it Fountain Brewery. Matthias Schock died in 1878, but his family continued the brewery for several years. John M. Schock, brother of Matthias, appears to have operated both the brewery and saloon for much of the time. The brewery made bock beer (which in 1877 was released on New Year’s Day—much earlier than usual), and reintroduced bottled beer in 1882. The Fountain Brewery Grove was a popular setting for picnics and concerts, especially after a bridge was built across the Fox River near the brewery. (The bridge was not absolutely necessary, since there were reports of revelers rowing boats across to get to the brewery.) John Schock closed the brewery in 1887 and returned to operating saloons downtown.2566

• Waukesha Spring Brewing Co. (1893–96)
• Waukesha Imperial Spring Brewing Co. (1896–99)
• Milwaukee-Waukesha Brewing Co. (1899–1920)
• Fox Head Beverage Co. (1920–1933)
• Fox Head Waukesha Corp. (1933–1947)
• Fox Head Brewing Co. (1947–1962)
• 227 Maple Avenue

With health-giving water and only one brewery, as well as its proximity to Milwaukee and Chicago, Waukesha was a tempting market for potential brewers. Indeed, rumors of a new brewery started in late 1890, with vauge references to “Chicago parties.”2567 In March 1891, the current rumor was that Mitchell Brewing Co. of Chicago was to buy property on Arcadian Heights in Waukesha, provided Arcadian Spring was large enough to supply their needs.2568 A year later, the brewery was to be built by White Rock Mineral Spring Co. with plans drawn by eminent brewery architect August Martizen. This company also proposed to make ice from the White Rock Spring for “table use.” The Milwaukee Journal claimed that this business started with $1 million in capital and “the brewery will be one of the largest in the country”—which was claimed by nearly every similar project at the time.2569 Despite numerous and occasionally breathless updates on the project, construction did not start until June 1893. The cornerstone was laid in August, with lots of Chicagoans on hand to witness the event and to present at least the appearance of significant financial support.2570

Finally, in April 1894, brewing operations commenced, with the grand opening scheduled for 15 May. The first barrel of beer was auctioned for charity, and realized $75, to which the company pledged to add $25 to the (unnamed) charity. The opening of what was called Waukesha Spring Brewing Co. did not stop rumors of additional breweries in the area—another was proposed for Acme Spring, and other groups of Chicago and St. Louis investors were still looking at sites or trying to buy Weber’s Bethesda Brewery. Elk Spring Brewing Co. went so far as to file articles of incorporation, but never actually built a brewery.2571

Waukesha Spring Brewing Co. was founded by a consortium of Chicago saloonkeepers who hoped a cooperative brewery would help them obtain beer at a lower price. Matthew Thome was head of this group, and became the first president. The company was focused on the Chicago trade and advertised heavily there, proclaiming in one 1895 ad that its beer was available “at 500 resorts in Chicago.” Waukesha Spring owned thirty-two saloons in Milwaukee including the saloon at Milwaukee Garden. It also owned property in Dubuque, Rockford, and South Bend. The Maritzen-designed, 100,000-barrel capacity brewery had an imposing brick tower with a cupola, and had a unique spring house in front shaped like a twenty-foot tall beer bottle. Located near the Northwestern Railroad Depot, it was ideally placed to attract visiting tourists. However, the company ran into financial problems almost immediately, perhaps because of the effects of making a major investment during the Panic of 1893. The company’s saloons were reportedly sold in August 1895 to Peter Schoenhoefen Brewing of Chicago, and the brewery itself went into receivership in November. The extent of the company’s spending on advertising is indicated by the fact that American Fine Art Co. of Milwaukee sued Waukesha Spring for unpaid lithography work in the amount of $249,538.38—more than the assets of the company. The Milwaukee Journal editorialized: “The fate of the Waukesha brewery is another proof of the fact that a successful business has to be started on a small scale and expanded with the growth of years.”2572

After several disputes over reorganization, a new company, Waukesha Imperial Spring Brewing Co., was formed in June 1896. (The articles of incorporation had unusual provisions allowing the company to purchase devices to produce electrical power and to “furnish and supply the same to consumers.”2573) The new brewery continued to seek distant markets, and established a branch office in the already crowded Minneapolis market in 1897. However, the new owners were not successful in reducing the debt, and in 1899 yet another company formed, Milwaukee-Waukesha Brewing Co. This concern was headed by Milwaukee brewing supplies merchant Charles Manegold (one of the principal creditors of the previous businesses) and his son-in-law August Lindemann.

Throughout the pre-Prohibition era, whatever entity was operating the brewery focused on the health-giving properties of their beers, and used the Health Beer brand on several products. The brewery produced a variety of lagers and ales, and while some of these may have been well suited to the water supply, few drinkers outside Chicago were interested in porter or old stock ale, and perhaps not even enough Chicagoans to make the brands profitable. Waukesha Imperial Spring letterhead listed three different bottled beers, three draught beers and a malt tonic. Milwaukee-Waukesha increased the number of ales, but decided to replace the German two-headed eagle on the label with the fox head used on the original Waukesha Spring labels. The fox head would provide the company with an identity for the next six decades.

The company continued to expand its plant and its market during the pre-Prohibition era. They built a new bottling plant in 1902, but had to expand it further in 1905. An ad placed by Frank Fenolio, Milwaukee-Waukesha’s agent in Fort Smith, Arkansas, advertised the company’s Club House Beer, Health Beers, Stock Ale, Porter, Malt Tonic, Ginger Ale and Club Lithia Water—giving an idea both of the scope of the product line and its distribution range.2574

When Prohibition arrived, Milwaukee-Waukesha was in a good position to make alternative beverages. It had several on the market already, and could trade on the fame of Waukesha water. During the early years of Prohibition, the company reorganized as Fox Head Spring Beverage Co., and then changed its name again to Fox Head Waukesha Corp by 1929.2575 Fox Head had a variety of sodas and malt products for sale during Prohibition, and the ability to keep the brewery functioning during the dry years made it easy to return to brewing in 1933.

In 1928, Charles Manegold died, and his daughter, Emilie Lindemann, became president of the company—one of the few female brewery heads in the country. Lindemann was the subject of an article in the Chicago Tribune in 1937 when she was the only woman at the convention of the American Brewers’ Association. The article pointed out that she was particularly interested in laboratory testing. Because she had been raised in the brewery supply business it was not surprising that she would be an expert rather than a figurehead.2576

Fox Head Waukesha was among the breweries ready to deliver beer on 7 April, and was already advertising in Chicago suburbs that day.2577 Soon, Fox Head beers were advertised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Indiana and Nebraska as well. When the 21st amendment was passed, Fox Head returned to brewing ale, and at the 6 to 7 percent strength used prior to Prohibition.2578 The company’s most popular beer, Fox Head 400, was introduced in September 1936. By 1940, Fox Head Lager, 400, and Ale were on sale in New Jersey.2579 Fox Head routinely produced over 100,000 barrels per year and was in the top six breweries in Wisconsin: exceeded only by the four Milwaukee giants and Heileman (and sometimes Kingsbury, but the latter had two breweries).

During World War II, Fox Head increased production each year, despite a fire in January 1944 that destroyed the bottling works and shipping depot, along with a large stock of labels and crowns. Fox Head was also among the breweries fined by the Office of Price Administration for selling beer above ceiling prices.2580 Just after the war, Fox Head was involved in a four-man carpenters’ strike that had national implications for jurisdictional disputes between unions. (The four wanted to work as members of the carpenters’ union rather than the brewery workers’ union.)2581

In 1947, the company changed its name to Fox Head Brewing Co., a name change that made little difference in marketing. A change which did make a difference in marketing was their move into television advertising and program sponsorship from 1953–1955—a venture that indicated Fox Head was more than a local or regional brewer, as only larger breweries could afford even limited television advertising.2582 Another indication that Fox Head was no longer a family brewery was the fact that its stock was traded on the American Stock Exchange.

In 1955, Fox de Luxe Brewing Co. of Chicago acquired a “’substantial interest’” in Fox Head Brewing—a logical merger based on the company names. (Canadian Ace Brewery of Chicago also was interested in acquiring Fox Head.) Production of Fox de Luxe beer was moved to Waukesha, which helped the Fox Head plant exceed 200,000 barrels for the first time in 1956.2583 However the new management resulted in bitter infighting, and in late 1957, Arthur Feicht and Frank Huber were ousted as officers by a group of directors headed by Joseph Antonow and Alexander Morse. An indication of how little connection the directors had to the local community was that none of the directors was from Waukesha, and Morse was from New York. Sales declined from $5.4 million in 1956 to $5 million in 1957 (though the Chicago Tribune erroneously wrote that they had declined by $5 million).2584 Just after the leadership fight, the two Waukesha breweries combined, pushing the production at the Fox Head facility over 200,000 barrels again.

However the leadership fight turned out to be related to another, more serious problem. In 1958, it was revealed by a U.S. Senate committee that Fox Head had paid reputed Chicago gangster Tony Accardo almost $43,000 through a distributor for no apparent work. Investigations showed that Accardo was using this business to avoid taxation. During testimony, Accardo cited the Fifth Amendment 172 times to avoid answering questions about ties to Chicago’s crime syndicates. In July 1959, one of the distributors involved in the case was gunned down in a gangland-style assassination. Fox Head cut its ties with Premium Beer Sales, but the case had become national news and Fox Head’s reputation was tarnished.2585

Fox Head also tried to capture part of the nonalcoholic malt beverage market, shipping its new Fox Brew to Saudi Arabia in 1961 to attempt to create a market in a hostile environment. Early sales were promising, and president Howard Hartman claimed that a freighter picked up 2,000 cases for an “emergency order” for Saudi Arabia that winter, but the expected production of 300,000 barrels per year of the new beverage never materialized.2586

During the early 1960s, Fox Head Brewing attempted to diversify its interests. In November 1960, it acquired a share in a new brewery in Managua, Nicaragua. Executive vice president (and former Weber Waukesha brewmaster) Andrew Schnell went there to supervise the beginning of production. In November 1961, the company acquired the Marrakesh hotel in Jamaica, at that time the largest on the island. While both of these acquisitions could be tied to the company’s core business, the purchase of Illinois Felt Corp. was less logical.2587 To reflect the more diverse nature of the company, in January 1962 stockholders agreed to change the name of the business to Noramco, Inc. (short for North American Consolidated).2588

The end of Noramco’s brewing business came in June 1962, when G. Heileman Brewing Co. of La Crosse acquired the brewery and its brands. While Heileman president Roy Kumm initially said that the purchase of Fox Head would provide the company with additional capacity, production of Fox Head brands was soon moved to Sheboygan and La Crosse and the brewery was shut down in late 1962.2589 Much of the building was demolished, but part of the complex still stands and has housed various light industries and artists’ studios, and during the late 1990s was home to RWS Brewing/Watson Brewing Co.

• Supreme Bottling Co. (1904–1920)
• 237 Delafield

While weiss beer bottles from Supreme Bottling Co. exist, none of the city directory entries or advertisements located so far give any indication that this business actually brewed weiss beer. Several Wisconsin bottlers packaged weiss beer of other producers like John Graf of Milwaukee, and that may have been the case with Supreme. Since weiss beer production was not complicated and required relatively little equipment, it is possible that Supreme could have brewed at some point, but they do not appear in any industry directories or publications during the pre-Prohibition era.

• RWS Brewing (1994–99)
• Watson Brewing Co. (1999–2000)
• 223 Maple Avenue

Brewing returned to the former Fox Head Brewing complex in 1994, when three homebrewers: Brett Remington, Scott Watson, and Steve Smith, opened Remington-Watson-Smith Brewing. A six-month search for a site led them to the building at 223 Maple, which had the advantage of good insulation and a floor suited for drainage. However the old building required almost entirely new gas, electricity, plumbing and drains. The three, along with their wives and girlfriends, did much of the rehabilitation along with the mountains of required paperwork. While expenditures ballooned past expectations, Remington explained their reason for perseverance in a 1994 Milwaukee Journal article: “‘We’re all young. If we didn’t do this now, we would say we should have tried it. You have to be an optimist about any small business, especially this one.’”2590

RWS Brewing specialized in English-style ales, offered on draught and in 16-ounce bottles. Several of the beers earned good reviews, but the brewery was not financially stable and was probably a bit before its time. When owned by Dick and Vaune Cooper, they introduced the Barrelmaker Brewing Company line of beers, as a reference to their name. After several ownership changes it closed in December 2000.2591

• Fixture Brewing Co. (2013–16)
• 716 Clinton Street

Fixture Brewing Co. began brewing in Waukesha in 2013. Owner Steve Fix planned to have its own beers on tap in 2012, but parts for the boiler were delayed because Hurricane Sandy destroyed one of the warehouses of the supplier. The name was partially inspired by the owner’s last name, and by hopes that the establishment would become a “fixture” in downtown Waukesha, which it was for a few years. Fixture closed in 2016 after state revenue agents seized the brewery assets for failing to have a valid brewpub permit and failing to pay malt beverage taxes.2592

• Raised Grain Brewing Co. (2015–present)
• 2244 West Bluemound Road

Two local doctors and homebrewing enthusiasts, Scott Kelley and Jimmy Gosset, had an argument over which nation made better beer, Scotland or Belgium. The compromise beer they made inspired them and two other founders to start the brewery (and as Paradocs Red IIPA the beer became a gold medal winner at Great American Beer Festival in 2016). The name was inspired by co-founder Nick Reistad, who grew up helping in his father’s woodworking shop, where “raising the grain” is an essential step to finishing the surface—and which evokes the idea of raising the grain in beer to a high level of craft. (The other founder was area entrepreneur Kevin Brandenburg.) The taproom was finished with rustic wood details to emphasize the theme.2593

Raised Grain describes its products as “Boldly Brewed Beers,” which is an apt description. Most of the beers tend toward the higher end of the alcohol scale for each style, and there are some bold experiments as well. The most noteworthy of these is Les Trois Docteurs, a barrel-aged Belgian quadruple brewed with grapes from a fellow doctor’s vineyard in Oregon. Several of the regular beers and some additional specialties were available in 22-ounce bottles. Within a year, Raised Grain went from having one employee to nineteen, jumped from one local draught account to fifty, began bottling, and built their own food truck. The rapid growth of interest in Raised Grain beers made it necessary to consider significant expansion almost immediately, and in 2017, Raised Grain announced plans to establish a production brewery with a canning line at 1725 Dolphin Drive in Waukesha. The original brewery and taproom would remain, and would serve as a pilot brewhouse for testing new recipes.2594

Waunakee (Dane County)

• Bellows Brew Company/Whistle Stop Tavern (1999–2001)
• 101 East Main Street

John Bellows established a small brewery inside the Whistle Stop Tavern in Waunakee. He brewed his first beers in December 1999 and had them on tap a month later. Business grew steadily for more than a year, but an ownership change at the Whistle Stop encouraged him to close shut down his brewery there and move it to a new location closer to his home in Watertown. His Irish Stout brewed at this location won Silver at the Great American Beer Festival in 2001.2595

• Octopi Brewing Co. (Third Sign Beers) (2015–present)
• 1131 Uniek Drive

Octopi Brewing Co. was formed with a different business plan than any other brewery in Wisconsin’s history—to brew beers for other labels. Founder Isaac Showaki, who was also co-founder of the innovative 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Chicago, designed a state-of-the-art 65,000 barrel per year brewery to brew high end beers for other breweries with insufficient capacity in their existing breweries or whose breweries were not yet in production. Octopi also provides a range of services to its clients, including consultation, recipe formulation, merchandising and design, and equipment and supply selection. The name Octopi was chosen because the shape-shifting character of an octopus was a metaphor for the ability of the company to take multiple forms to provide different beers and services for its clients.

In addition to the contract brews, Octopi also produced a range of beers under its own label, 3rd Sign Brewery. The third sign of the zodiac is Gemini, the twins, and the 3rd Sign beers were released in pairs to show off differences in ingredients, such as Castor and Pollux (the original Gemini twins)—a hoppy wheat and a Belgian wit, respectively. One purpose of these beers was to demonstrate the capabilities of the brewhouse and brewing team to potential contract clients. The 3rd Sign beers were discontinued in May 2017 due to distribution difficulties.2596

• Lone Girl Brewing (2016–present)
• 114 East Main Street, Suite 101

Co-owners Kevin and Kerry Abercrombie and Paul and Tammi Kozlowski had a total of seven children between the ages of four and ten, but only one was a girl. The lone girl inspired the name of their brewpub in a new building between Main Street and the railroad tracks in downtown Waunakee. The couples owned the bar Matilda in Chicago, and wanted to bring a “brewery with food, not a restaurant with good beer,” to their adopted (and much quieter) home of Waunakee. Brewer John Russell, whose full-time job is scientist at UW-Madison School of Medicine, has created a mix of classic and experimental beers. Among the latter is Harry’s Coconut IPA, inspired by a song by Harry Nillson, which combines lime flavor from the hops with coconut. The Double Trubbel series of Belgian Dubbels features the malty base beer used as a platform to introduce other ingredients, ranging from pumpkin spice to apricots.2597

Waupaca (Waupaca County)

• Waupaca Brewery
• Leonard Arnold (1860?–1889)
• Arnold Bros. (1889–1892)
• Mrs. Amelia Padgham (1892?–95?)
• Waupaca River at Modern Intersection of Elm Street and State Highway 49

Leonard Arnold was trained as a brewer and cooper in Bavaria. Upon arrival in the United States, he moved from Boston to Milwaukee and “thence to Oshkosh, where he followed his trade for five years.” He then went to Weyauwega to work in Jacob Konrad’s brewery for two years before starting his brewery in Waupaca. While local tradition holds that he started his brewery in 1858, the years he spent at each location as reported by the 1881 History of Northern Wisconsin mean he can not have moved to Waupaca until 1860 at the earliest, and the 1860 population census places him in Weyauwega living next door to Konrad.2598

The 1881 history provided a vivid account of his pioneer brewing:

. . . he cleared the trees and grubs away so that the building could be erected, and put up a small building 20x40, and opened his brewery; he made all his kegs and casks and ground his malt by hand. It was a hard and feeble beginning, but he has prospered and now owns twenty-four acres of land, and his brewery is 20x100, with an addition 14x40 for machinery and cooling rooms.

While this book described his brewery as “good sized,” it was in fact a small brewery.2599 It was not included in the 1870 industrial census, and the largest known production figures show 300 barrels brewed in 1885. He brewed much less in other years—fifty-three barrels in 1878 and thirty-nine in 1879. The Sanborn insurance map of 1885 shows the brewery as a small horse-powered operation, with the family dwelling right in the middle of the building. In many ways the operation was a true farm brewery: A pig pen, feed mill and summer kitchen either shared the brewery building or were a few steps away.

Arnold’s ability to brew was limited by an accident he suffered around 1868, when his left hand was blown off by the premature discharge of a cannon during a political celebration. Like many German brewers, he enjoyed his own product, but never to an extent that would harm his business, at least according to the R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluators. While he was apparently not a first-class businessman, his eldest daughter Frances was quite accomplished and was admitted to the bar in 1880 as “the third lady lawyer in the state.”2600

Leonard Arnold died in 1889 and his two sons Leonard Jr. and Albert ran the brewery for a few years as Arnold Bros. The 1895 state business directory lists a Mrs. Amelia Padgham as a brewer in Waupaca. Since Amelia was the daughter of Leonard Arnold Sr., it is possible that she operated the brewery for a short period. However, the Sanborn map of June 1895 shows the building as Arnold Bros. Beer Depot, which was the local agency for Schlitz Brewing Co.

Waupun (Fond du Lac County)

• John M. Schroeck (Schroeck & Reinhard) (1855?–1859?)
• August Hauf (Valentine Konrad, lessee) (1859?–1863?)
• Philip Binzel (1863–66)
• August Hauf (1867–69)
• Bucher & Seifert (1870–71)
• Wisconsin Brewery, Peter Seifert (1871–1894)
• John Skala (1894–96)
• Augusta Skala (1896–1902)
• Waupun Brewery, John Skala (1902–1911)
• Waupun Brewing Co. (1911–17)
• Franklin Street at Brewery Street (Modern Zimmerman Street)

Just before Christmas 1856, a visitor from Beaver Dam traveled to Waupun and

. . . took the opportunity to call on our German friends, J. M. Schroeck and Reinhard, and to visit their extensive beer establishment, and test by actual trial the virtue of their sparkling Lager beverage. They have a very large brewery, and are prepared to do a heavy business, and to manufacture as good an article of beer as can be found east or west. The large cellar is 28 feet underground, and will hold one thousand barrels. They have two other cellars that will hold five hundred barrels apiece. They have a well sixty feet deep, and a cistern that will hold five hundred barrels of soft water. Their malt floor is 60 by 20 for growing the malt.2601

The report does not make it clear how long the brewery had been in operation, though articles of this sort during the era typically mentioned if a business or structure was new.

It is also not clear how long Schroeck & Reinhart remained at the brewery, though a passing reference in a newspaper article indicates that Schroeck was still brewing there in May 1859.2602 By the 1860 industrial census the brewery was under the name of August Hauf. While the cellars may have been capacious, the output in 1860 was not worthy of the space—a mere fifty barrels. Hauf appears to have owned the property but was not a brewer. The only brewer listed in Waupun in the 1860 population census was Valentine Konrad, but since he owned no property it is quite likely that he rented the brewery and operated it. (Actually, Konrad was not the only brewer living in Waupun that year, but he was the only one at liberty to work—since fellow brewer Franz Berire was confined to the nearby state prison.) Konrad is also listed on an 1862 map of Fond du Lac County as a brewer in Waupun.

Hauf’s status as a landlord rather than brewer seems to be confirmed by an account of the brewery fire in 1866, which referred to the business as “Heniff’s [Hauf’s] brewery, occupied by [John] Phillip Bensell [Binzel].” The brewery was destroyed, and two employees escaped, though one was burned. There was no insurance to cover the estimated $5,000 loss.2603 Hauf rebuilt, but Phillip Binzel and his brother Peter left for Beaver Dam, and Peter then moved to Oconomowoc to start his own brewery. Hauf appears to have been fire-prone, since in 1868 he and “a girl living in his family were arrested for arson for trying to burn down his house for the insurance money.”2604 Hauf’s financial problems extended to the brewery, which appears to have been idle during early 1870 and was auctioned at a sheriff’s sale in June. The winning bidder, J. Leary, soon sold the brewery to Bucher & Seifert. Peter Seifert soon bought out his partner, and brought much needed stability to the Waupun brewery.

Seifert ramped production up quickly, from 299 barrels in 1871 to 677 the following year. Unfortunately, Seifert’s production is missing from most listings, but Wing’s 1887 directory listed his capacity as between 500 and 1,000 barrels per year. In 1894, Seifert sold the brewery to John Skala, who continued the same production level. The 1895 Wisconsin industrial census placed output around 1,000 barrels. (For a few years, the brewery was in the name of Skala’s wife Augusta.) Around 1903, Skala built an all-new brewery, this time powered by steam and built of brick and stone. The new facility also had a modern bottling plant and an old-fashioned hog pen.

The Skala era ended in June 1911, when he sold the brewery to Henry Storm and George Kueneth. They changed the name of the company to Waupun Brewing Co. and incorporated the business that June with a mix of local and Milwaukee investors. The brewery continued to operate until early 1917, when it closed for good.2605 After the brewery closed, the property still known locally as Brewery Hill passed to Anna Skala, who sold it to the First Reformed Church of Waupun four decades later.2606

Wausau (Marathon County)

• George Vetter (1856?)
• Crowley & Brothers (1856?–1859?)
• 623 Forest Street

According to a county history from 1913, the first brewery in Wausau was built by George Vetter sometime in the 1850s, “and the place was long known as the Vetter Cellars.” He was apparently a part-time brewer who spent the rest of the time at his farm.2607 Unfortunately, there is no other known documentation of Vetter as a brewer. The only brewers listed in the Wisconsin state business directory of 1857 are Crowley & Brothers, who may have purchased or leased the brewery from Vetter. (It is also possible they built their own brewery.) The Wausau Central Wisconsin included a brewery in the list of Wausau’s businesses in February 1859, so either Vetter or the Crowley brothers appear still to have been in operation at that date.2608

• George Ruder (1860–1888)
• George Ruder Brewery (1888–1892)
• Geo. Ruder Brewing Co. (1892–1920)
• American Brewing Co. (1920–25)
• American Products Co. (1933–34)
• Mathie-Ruder Brewing Co. (1934–1955)
• 504–516 Grand Avenue

After leaving his partnership with Henry Wahle in Stevens Point, George Ruder moved to Wausau and started work on his new brewery in 1860. By October, he was ready to announce

to the inhabitants of Marathon and surrounding counties, that his New and Extensive Establishment has just been completed, and is now in operation for the Manufacture of Beer and Ale. He will keep constantly on hand a large supply of Beer of All Kinds, and will also deal extensively in Malt, Hops, and Yeast. Grain and Feed for Cattle and Hogs always on hand. . . . the superior facilities of fitting up, and the supply of pure water, and excellence of stock on hand warrants Mr. Ruder in saying that he will furnish a better article of Beer than ever before manufactured in the Central part of the State.2609

An article accompanying the ad proclaimed “All who have tasted Ruder’s beer unite in pronouncing the best they ever drank in the West” and added, “Mr R. is an experienced brewer, having been, as he says ‘born in a brewery’ and has been his whole life engaged in the business. . . .”2610

While little is known about his operations in the 1860s, by 1870 he was brewing around 600 barrels per year. His brewery represented an investment of $14,000, which was one of the largest in northern Wisconsin. Production dropped in 1871 and early 1872, perhaps as a result of Ruder’s decision to leave brewing and go into the lumber business. Ruder sold the brewery to Zastrow & Loeffler, who took possession in early 1872. The Central Wisconsin reported “the Brewery pleasure grounds is [sic] being fixed up by the lessee, A. Zastrow, who intends to make it a first-class place of amusement.” But this arrangement lasted only a few months, and in July the Central Wisconsin reassured readers (with several references that were presumably local jokes): “The great beer trouble is ended, and Mr. Geo. Ruder is back in possession. Mr. Loeffler retired yesterday from the business. We presume both thought it unprofitable to leave the business in the hands of the Sheriff, as that gentleman’s capacity for using up the profits is questionable—we doubt not he is a Greeley man.”2611 With Ruder back in charge, production returned to around 800 barrels per year by the end of the decade. When Ruder first offered bottled beer, it was packaged by George Forster, located two blocks away at Grand and Plummer Streets, and later at Star Bottling Works, rather than at the brewery.

In 1881, Ruder decided to take advantage of the brewing talents of his sons and open a second brewery in Merrill. This made a relatively small business in Wausau one of the very first Wisconsin brewers to build a new branch brewery from the ground up rather than buying an existing business. George sold this plant to his son Emil in 1886, and retired from active involvement in the Wausau brewery in 1887. (See the Merrill section for more on this brewery.) Another building project became necessary in Wausau when the Ruder Brewery was destroyed by fire in 1892. The fire originated in the “sleeping rooms” of the brewery and spread “with alarming rapidity.” All the structures, including the brewhouse, malt house, engine house, three ice houses, the office and the Ruder residence burned to the ground—with a total loss estimated at $90,000. The fire was one of the most disastrous in Wausau history, and several other buildings were destroyed and others damaged, including Frank Mathie’s brewery next door.2612 The structure and contents were woefully underinsured and Ruder considered merging with Frank Mathie after the fire, but instead started construction on a larger and more modern brewery. The new brewery was all-brick, as were several of the other buildings. The business was also incorporated as the new brewery was built. Unfortunately, George Ruder died in December 1893, before he could enjoy the results of his new brewery.2613

Geo. Ruder Brewing built a solid business, and was seldom in the news during the pre-Prohibition years. The only noteworthy event prior to the dry years was the merger in 1918 of the Ruder and Mathie breweries under the name American Brewing Company. A resolution passed by stockholders of Frank Mathie Brewing Co. cited the need to conserve fuel and other inputs due to wartime restrictions. Production moved to the Ruder plant, and the company continued to brew beer until Prohibition. American Brewing attempted to brew a near beer for a few years, but it was unsuccessful and the company shut down brewing operations in 1925.2614

When beer returned, the company was reorganized and renamed American Products Co.—an unusual decision as this was the type of name usually used during Prohibition, not after. In February 1933, Pure Food Products Company of La Crosse attempted to buy American Products and make it one of the fifteen breweries it planned to control (they already had nine at this point). However this sale did not go through and the company led by Louis Silverschmidt was forced to look elsewhere. Because substantial remodeling was necessary, the brewery was not ready immediately, and American Products advertised in the Wausau Daily Herald its desire to borrow $30,000 to rehabilitate the buildings and buy new equipment. In August, American Products launched its flagship Red Ribbon beer on draught, and bottled beer followed a few weeks later.2615 In April 1934, American Products began selling Old Lager in both light and bock versions in half-gallon picnic bottles. Even at this point, the ads contained the clarifying note “(Mathie-Ruder Breweries),” and soon the company decided to make the common name the official one. In May, the company provided official notice of the name change. The leadership of the new company included members of both the Mathie and Ruder families.2616

Mathie-Ruder Brewing followed the path of most other medium-sized Wisconsin breweries in the years after Prohibition. They introduced a wide range of brands and package sizes. In 1952 the company introduced Red Ribbon in cone-top cans, but in 1955 moved to a modern flat-top canning line. In one interesting way, the company revived a nineteenth-century practice: advertising for local farmers to sell their barley directly to the brewery. They urged farmers to “bring your barley samples to our office. We operate the only malting plant in Central Wisconsin, and we wish, if possible, to buy all our requirements locally.” Also as in previous years, Mathie-Ruder sold spent grain and malt sprouts to local farmers, who were advised to “bring your own sacks.”2617

The crowded Wisconsin beer market encouraged Mathie-Ruder to offer special promotional items for customers. In 1934, they offered a choice of a solid copper mug or a set of six platinum banded crystal glasses to anyone bringing in a coupon from a case of beer “with a small cash consideration.”2618 The company’s solid sales enabled them to invest in improved equipment, including a new filter and an electric refrigeration system along with several new storage tanks in 1935. Later that year, they expanded the malt house so the company could manufacture all the malt needed for brewing as well as some extra for sale. To encourage improved barley culture, the brewery sponsored a prize for the best barley at the Wisconsin Valley Fair and Exposition.2619 Mathie-Ruder also signed a contract with Local 226 of the International Union of United Breweries, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America, and thereafter proudly advertised that their beer was union made.2620

Like many other smaller Wisconsin breweries, Mathie-Ruder enjoyed a surge in production immediately after World War II, but sales dropped precipitously from an average of over 32,000 barrels from 1944 to 1947 to 20,000 in 1948 then to 10,000 barrels in 1949 and only 6,000 in 1950. This may have been due in part to the departure of longtime brewmaster Peter Etzweiler and the last family officer, Otto Mathie, in 1948. The brewery began to have quality-control problems, and several bad batches of beer were shipped to customers. Sales never recovered, and the company ceased brewing in August 1955. The property was offered for sale that month, and the remaining beer was shipped out over the remainder of the year. Most of the brewery structures were torn down during the 1960s and 1970s.2621

• Mathie & Huebner (1869)
• Frank Mathie (1869–1888)
• Frank Mathie Brewing Co. (1888–1892)
• Mathie Brewing Co. (1892–1918)
• 408–416 Grand Avenue

Frank Mathie came to Wausau as a blacksmith, and later started a brickyard. In 1869 he decided that the city had room for two substantial lager breweries. He and partner Frank Huebner selected a site just to the north of George Ruder’s established brewery. Since access to pure water, rail and road transportation and hillsides in which to excavate caves was so important, it was common for brewers to cluster together rather than to spread out in an attempt to serve different markets. To meet the inevitable competition from his neighbor, Mathie had to start big. As a brickmaker, he was able to make many of the bricks for his own brewery.2622 The 1870 industrial census indicated that Mathie had invested $14,000 in the brewery, $6,000 more than Ruder. Mathie also had horse power rather than hand power, and took advantage of these to produce about 600 barrels during his first full year of production (almost twice as much as Ruder). Mathie was in operation by May 1869, when he sent a keg of beer to the staff of the Wausau Central Wisconsin who “tried it and pronounce[d] it excellent both in taste and flavor. That success attend his business and industry, is the wish of the whole force of the Central.”2623

While Mathie started with a seven-barrel brew kettle, over time he built his capacity (though not up to 40,000 barrels per year in “a few years” as one later account claimed).2624 He brewed 916 barrels in 1879, which put him about one hundred barrels ahead of Ruder.

In June 1892, a fire that started at the Ruder brewery spread to Mathie’s brewery. The three-foot thick brick wall of the ice house helped slow down the fire. The cupola on top of the brewery caught fire and threatened the brewhouse until the cupola was cut down. While the Ruder brewery was destroyed, the Mathie plant was only damaged, but the damage was severe. The original estimate of $75,000 was later raised to $100,000. In the aftermath of the fire, the two companies considered combining. The Milwaukee Journal reported that the two facilities were to be “connected and rebuilt, . . . making one of the largest brewing plants in the state, outside Milwaukee.” However, by late July they had decided not to combine, and both were rebuilt separately.2625

During the rebuilding process, Frank Mathie Sr. retired and sold the brewery to his sons Otto, Frank Jr. and John. The new owners incorporated the business as Mathie Brewing Co.2626 They continued to improve the brewery with new equipment and expanded facilities. In 1896 they installed two new “refrigerating machines,” which they proudly announced were “the same as used at the Pabst brewery in Milwaukee.”2627 Many smaller breweries were able to buy the same equipment and use the same supplies as the Milwaukee giants, which suggests that common economic theories claiming that large, successful companies reached that status because they could afford more modern equipment are flawed. Mathie built a bottling house in 1893, but offered bottled beer even before that year through Daniel Boehm Bottling Works. They built an expansion to the bottling house in 1902 to meet the demand for their flagship Weisensteiner beer. In 1906, the company introduced a new label, Red Ribbon Beer. Red Ribbon was also the flagship brand of the Mathie Brewing Co. of Los Angeles, which was owned by another of Frank’s sons, Edward.2628

In 1918, the Mathie and Ruder breweries finally merged, driven by decreasing availability of raw materials during the war and increasing costs and prohibitionist sentiment. (The story of the merger is covered in more detail in the Ruder Brewing Co. section.) After the merger the Mathie plant was closed down and later used for light industrial purposes until the last remaining sections were torn down in 1977.2629

• John Williams (1883–1884?)

In October 1883, Western Brewer reported that John Williams had opened a new brewery in Wausau. Wing’s directory of 1884 listed him (spelled Willems) as a brewer and bottler of weiss beer. His business was apparently short lived, and does not appear in other records.

• Wausau Brewing Co. (1913–1923)
• Chief Wausau Co. (1925–26)
• West End Malt Co. (1933)
• Wausau Brewing Co. (1933–1961)
• 622–644 Seventh and Porter Streets

Wausau Brewing Co. was one of several new plants built during the brewery building boom of the pre-Prohibition era. Nicholas Veeser of Wausau had toured a new brewery in Pennsylvania (which one is lost to history) and decided that a modern brewery in Wausau could help supply a growing market which was buying more beer from out of town with Mathie and Ruder no longer expanding.2630 In February 1913, a meeting was held to propose the project and fifty-four prospective stockholders turned out “and it was announced that there had already been a gratifying demand for the stock.” The stockholders appointed a site committee which included Fred W. Krause, a local politician and president of Wausau Iron Works. Krause served as general contractor, had the staff at the Iron Works draw the plans for the brewery, and his company supplied the steel for the frame of the building. The directors filed articles of incorporation in March 1913, and building started within a few months.2631 While the 1914 annual report stated that production began 1 May 1914, Wausau Brewing Co. had bock beer for sale in May 1914, which suggests that they had been brewing for at least a few months prior to this—no self-respecting brewer would release bock beer that had lagered less than a month.2632 By the next year, Wausau had a lineup of three regular beers: Old Settlers’ Brew, Cloverbelt, and West Side Brew.2633

Wausau Brewing had to cope with a variety of problems during its few years of production before Prohibition, some caused by internal strife, and others by world conflict. The breweries that were formed by a collection of unrelated stockholders were sometimes less stable than family businesses, and Wausau was plagued by corporate infighting for several years.2634 U.S. entry into World War I forced breweries to make due with fewer quantities of inputs of all kinds. In addition to restrictions on the use of grain, the breweries of Marathon County were faced with a bottle shortage. The four county breweries placed a notice in newspapers in May 1917, announcing “Owing to the fact that the bottle factories have sold their entire output for 1917, we cannot buy any new bottles and must conserve those we have.” The four breweries implemented a policy requiring a deposit on each case of bottles and charged 5¢ for each missing bottle.2635

As Prohibition approached, Wausau Brewing converted to producing near beer. The 1920 annual report indicated that the nature of the company’s business in 1920 was “Brewing of Beer + Dealcoholizing same.” Wausau offered a Special Christmas Brew in 1920, but apparently it was not worth repeating. By the next year they had added root beer to the line up, but by 1923 the company was merely acting as a jobber for the cereal beverages and soft drinks of other manufacturers. In 1923 the company changed its name to Wausau Produce and Storage Co., which better reflected the nature of its business.2636

In 1925, the company tried again, this time as Chief Wausau Co., but fared little better. The company had two problems that forced its closure in 1926. One was simply not doing enough business to pay the bills. Another was suspected Chicago mob involvement with the brewery. A shipment of three carloads of real beer arrived in Chicago from Kelly, a small station east of Wausau. While it is not certain that Chief Wausau Co. was involved, they were the only brewery in the area with the facilities to produce that much beer. The regional chief of Prohibition agents, Edward C. Yellowley, suspected Joe Saltis of being behind the Wausau brewery, especially since Saltis had a resort at nearby Winter. When he became the District Permit Supervisor for the Great Lakes region after Prohibition ended, he made sure through careful investigation that no brewery associated with Joe Saltis could get a permit.2637

James Fernock purchased the Chief Wausau property in 1926 at a sheriff’s sale, but did little with the property until 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt’s election made Repeal seem certain. He reopened the company as West End Malt Co., though he quickly readopted the Wausau Brewing name, and prepared to make real beer again. Given Yellowley’s concerns about Saltis, and the fact that Fernock was from Chicago, the brewery was subject to frequent inspections by agents. Fernock reintroduced the brewery to Wausau residents in June with Adel Brau, which customers could have delivered to their home for $2.25 per case or could pick up at the brewery for $2.00. The ads noted in parentheses under Wausau Brewing that this was the former West End company.2638 Wausau Brewing made an unusual move in December 1933, when full-strength beer became legal after the passage of the 21st amendment. It advertised that it would continue “old Adel Brau” for people who “prefer a lighter beer with a much lower percentage” but for those who wanted “a full bodied, rich, creamy beer, with that old-fashioned flavor and strength of the ‘before the war days” they produced “New Adel Brau” at “Pre-War Strength.”2639

In 1934, Fernock brought two experienced beer people in to give the business additional credibility: distributor George D. Wolff and brewmaster Louis Schoen. Schoen left G. Heileman Brewing of La Crosse in 1934 over a dispute over lagering times. Schoen insisted that all his beer be lagered for nine weeks, and Heileman was trying to speed up production to meet the post-Prohibition demand. Schoen introduced the brewing techniques he used at Heileman to Wausau, most importantly kreusening.2640 Wausau continued to brew Adel Brau for a while and the brewery released its bock beer under the Adel Brau name. In 1936, the advertisements began to announce that Wausau beers were union made. The brewery introduced Rib Mountain Lager in 1938 to give the company three regular beers. Wausau Brewing shipped beer to Chicago and as far west as Portland, Oregon, though a claim by the Daily Record-Herald that the beer was sold “throughout the United States” was more boast than reality.2641

During World War II, Wausau Brewing added a Pepsi bottling business to the company, though the operation was not moved to Wausau until 1947. The brewery also faced a suit by Heileman over the label for Schoen’s Old Lager. In 1943, Wausau agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to Heileman and to alter the label.2642

The 1950s were difficult years for Wausau Brewing, as they were for many other smaller breweries. While the brewery introduced Schoen’s Old Lager in cans in 1953, this was a small victory. Louis Schoen retired in 1950, and his son Henry took over. However, Henry attempted to cut the cost of the beer by using more corn and rice, and quality suffered. When two bad batches of beer were allowed to leave the brewery, Schoen left the company. James Fernock died in 1956, and George Wolff passed away in 1960. George Wolff Jr. decided the brewery was getting in the way of the family trucking business and Pepsi bottling. Furthermore, the brewery union wanted wage increases more appropriate to a large Milwaukee brewery than to a struggling small brewery. Production slipped from a postwar high of around 48,000 barrels in 1948 to about one-third that total in the late 1950s—an unsustainable level in a brewery with 50,000 barrels capacity. In early 1961, Wolff closed the brewery. Newspapers at first reported that the shut down was temporary, but the brewery never reopened. The labels were sold to Rhinelander Brewing Co. where they were brewed for a few more years. The boiler house was later sold to University of Wisconsin Marathon County and used to heat buildings on the campus.2643

• Hereford & Hops (2000–2008)
• Great Dane Pub & Brewing—Wausau (2009–present)
• 2201 East Center Street

Hereford & Hops was a small brewpub chain that had restaurants near Pittsburgh and in Escanaba and Bay City, Michigan in addition to their location in Wausau. The Wausau restaurant was the third to be established, after the two in Michigan. (As of 2017, only the Escanaba location remains in business.) An unusual feature of the restaurant was the opportunity for patrons to select and grill their own steaks. Kevin Eichelberger moved from Great Dane to become the brewmaster in Wausau. Eichelberger stayed for more than six years before leaving to start Red Eye Brewing Co.

In 2008, Hereford and Hops filed for bankruptcy, but the restaurant remained empty for only a few months before Great Dane opened their first location outside of the Madison area. The Great Dane management and brewing staff made a few changes to the restaurant and brewhouse and brewed a few beers specific to the Wausau location. Great Dane’s Rob LoBreglio noted that Wausau had soft city water which was particularly well suited to brewing lagers.

Production at the Wausau Great Dane is typically just over 1,000 barrels per year. Some of the Great Dane bottled beers have been packaged at the Wausau location.2644

• Bull Falls Brewing Co. (2007–present)
• 901 East Thomas Street

Mike Zamzow got started in brewing when his wife, Mary, gave him a homebrew kit for Christmas in 1998. His passion eventually took him to Siebel Institute in Chicago for training, and in 2007 he established Bull Falls Brewing Co. with his father, Don. The name of the brewery is derived from the original name of the city, Big Bull Falls. (Zamzow was threatened with legal action by the producer of Red Bull energy drink, but they were able to come to an agreement.) Bull Falls demonstrates the early dependence of the craft brewing business on hand-me-down brewing equipment: while still in the early planning stages they bought the system from the old Loaf & Stein brewery in Eagle River (which they never actually used), and the ten-barrel system they actually used when the brewery opened came from the defunct Isadore Street Brewery/The Keg in Stevens Point.

When Zamzow released his Oktoberfest in 2007, it met with an enthusiastic reception. Bull Falls beers were so popular that the taproom was often out of beer, inspiring the mayor of Wausau to remark that the most popular beer in the taproom was “Available Soon Beer.” Bull Falls sold growlers in stores and had more than eighty regular draught accounts in a few years. The brewery built an expansion with a larger brewhouse and a canning line in 2013, and the cans became available around northern Wisconsin. Production jumped from just under 1,000 barrels in 2012 to nearly 3,000 in 2014. (The inaugural brew in the new thirty-barrel brewhouse was also Oktoberfest.)

Bull Falls Brewing focuses on German beer styles, though they brew some English and Irish styles as well. Most of the beers are named after the beers’ styles with a few exceptions, such as Five Star Ale, an English-style amber ale named after Mike Zamzow’s five daughters. Among the beers available is Marathon Lager, which is based on a 1954 recipe from Marathon Brewing Co. Bull Falls beers are solid examples of classic beer styles, rather than experiments with unusual ingredients or processes (except for Crossroads Coffee Lager introduced in 2017, but by that point coffee was not an unusual beer ingredient). A few special editions, such as Ubernacht doppelbock, were released in large, swing-top bottles. Bull Falls sponsors a variety of events and hosts live music at the taproom, including an annual Jazz Fest.2645

• Red Eye Brewing Co. (2008–present)
• 612 Washington Street

Kevin Eichelberger left Hereford and Hops in 2006, and a year later began working on his own brewpub, Red Eye Brewing Co. Eichelberger’s inaugural beers were bolder than many being brewed at the time in Central Wisconsin, including Thrust! IPA and Scarlet 7, a Belgian Dubbel. He has also experimented with ingredients such as lemongrass, cranberries, and caramelized figs (the latter in Scarlet 7). In addition to these varieties, he has many beers designed to refresh cyclists after a long ride. (Bicycles and bike parts adorn the walls and hang from the ceiling at Red Eye.)

Among the more noteworthy beers was Green Sky wheat—which was the first brewed using energy from Red Eye’s solar panels. Red Eye received a federal grant to install additional solar panels in 2013, which were installed over the parking lot like a carport due to a lack of space elsewhere.2646

Wauwatosa (Milwaukee County)

• Big Head Brewing Co. (2013–present)
• 6204 West State Street

Just a few miles west of Miller Brewing Co. is a brewery making less beer than Miller did before the Civil War. Big Head Brewing was founded by Andrew Dillard, who took the name from the fact that many people said he had a big head, but which also described a characteristic of a well-made beer. Dillard planned to brew diabetic-friendly beer and gluten-free beer. These beers were never brewed, and Dillard moved away within a year of starting the business. The brewery was purchased by four area beer lovers, led by head brewer Steve Parkhill. Big Head beers often represent experiments with flavors and ingredients, as Parkhill noted, “Our mission is to bring unnoticed and untasted styles out to the public.”2647

Wayne Township (Wayne and Kewaskum P. O.’s) (Washington County)

• Philip Pies (1859?–1876?)
• Philip Pies & Sons (1876–79)
• Kreutzer & Groeschl (1879–1880)
• John Bertram (1880–82)
• Wenzel Beisbier & Co. (1882–84)
• Wenzel Beisbier (1884–1887?)

Philip Pies appeared as a brewer in the 1860 industrial census, and since his production was 500 barrels for the previous year, it is likely that he was in operation in 1859 if not earlier. (He was in Wisconsin around 1850, though not necessarily in Wayne.) This seems to have been the peak of his production, since the known production figures from the 1870s were all less than 200 barrels per year. Pies also was a farmer, and his real estate was valued at $8,000 in the 1870 census. It may be that he devoted less time to brewing and more to farming as he aged. In the mid-1870s he brought his sons into the business (though the records do not indicate if all four sons [Adam, Louis, Philip Jr., and Peter] or just some of them took up brewing).

Pies rented the brewery in 1879 to Ambrose Kreutzer and John Groeschl, who operated it for about a year. Pies took the brewery back briefly, and then rented it to John Bertram in 1882. Wenzel Beisbier was the next proprietor, and he operated the brewery through 1887, after which it disappears from the records.2648

Wequiot (Brown County)

• John Mason (1856?–58?)
• Joseph Marchant & Joseph Brys (1868?)

John Mason appeared as a brewer in the 1857 state business directory, but was not listed in the 1860 census. Wayne Kroll also lists the firm of Joseph Marchant & Joseph Brys at this location, but very little is known about this brewery.2649 Joseph Brys appeared in the excise records once, in February 1868, but never again (he was listed in Scott Township for that entry).

West Allis (Milwaukee County)

• Westallion Brewing Co. (2017–present)
• 1825 South 72nd Street

Erik and Kim Dorfner opened West Allis’ first brewery in 2017. Most beers have names that evoke local history, though the references are subtle. Lillehammer Gold honors Olympic champion speed skater Dan Jansen, and Mustang American Pale Ale honors the mascot of the now-closed West Milwaukee High School.2650

West Bend (Washington County)

• Balthasar Goetter (1847?–1850?)
• Christopher Eckstein (1850–51)
• Mayer Bros. (Mayer & Bro.), West Bend Brewery (1851–1875)
• Stephen F. Mayer & Co., West Bend Brewery (1875–1882)
• East Side of River Street (Modern Main Street) between Ash and Beech

A traveler to West Bend reported in 1847 that there was a brewery in the village, which was most likely the brewery of Balthasar Goetter, though this is earlier than the date traditionally given for its founding.2651 Goetter, who had trained as a cooper and brewer in Germany, worked at Levi Blossom’s brewery in Milwaukee when he first came to Wisconsin. He operated his brewery for a few years, though old accounts differ on what happened next. Goetter was injured when a wood splinter struck his eye, and around 1850 he leased the brewery to Christopher Eckstein. Eckstein ran the brewery for a year, but in 1851 Goetter sold the brewery. However, one account claims he sold it to his brothers-in-law, Charles (or Carl) and Stephen Mayer, and another claims that Stephen Mayer bought the brewery and invited Eckstein to be a partner in the business for three years. In this version, Charles Mayer bought Eckstein’s share in 1854, and the business became known as Mayer Brothers.2652

The Mayer brothers’ brewery grew quickly. By 1860 they were producing 1,400 barrels with a team of six men and one horsepower. While production figures are not available for the mid-1860s, the R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluator reported at different times that the Mayers were “thriving” and “This firm is wealthy.”2653 In 1868, Charles Mayer rebuilt and expanded the brewery, but without his brother—Stephen died in 1867 at age forty-seven. The new brewery was still powered by horse, but produced 1,800 barrels in 1870. Charles managed the brewery until 1871, when he died at the young age of forty-five.2654 For the next four years the family continued the business “under the old style [name]” with the widows of the Mayer brothers in charge. The 1873 American Brewers’ Guide listed Marie Mayer (widow of Stephen) and Susan Mayer (of Charles) as the proprietors—probably the only brewery in the nation at the time to be run by two women. They managed it well and increased production to nearly 2,500 barrels by 1872. Marie and Susan (or Susanna) were assisted by their sons and, according to the R. G. Dun & Co. report, “the young men manage well.”2655

In 1875, the company was reorganized and Charles’ eldest son Stephen F., a student at Notre Dame, made the trip north from South Bend to West Bend to take over the family business. The new S. F. Mayer & Company inhabited a steam-powered brewery with a capacity of 3,500 barrels that employed seven men. The brewery also operated a malt house and in 1876 began an ice business that shipped ice to Chicago and elsewhere.2656 Both the Mayer brewery and the Eagle brewery across the street were doing good business: The West Bend Democrat reported in 1875: “West Bend ‘amber juice’ is in high flavor. The breweries here are making extra exertions to furnish a superior quality.” The reputation of West Bend beer apparently reached the East Coast: The Democrat alerted readers in March 1876 that “The West Bend Brewing Co., S. F. Mayer & Co., have contracted to furnish 1,000 barrels of lager beer to quench the thirst of centennial visitor [sic] to Philadelphia.”2657

Eventually, the West Bend and Eagle breweries decided that it would be more efficient to merge their operations. In 1882, the companies combined and became West Bend Brewing Co., with S. F. Mayer as president and Adam Kuehlthau as treasurer. To make the best use of their properties, they decided to build a new brewery on the east side of what was then River Street (modern Main Street) on the old Eagle Brewery site. The Mayer plant was converted into a malt house. The business was incorporated under the same name in 1889.2658

The former Mayer plant continued as a malting business until Prohibition, first under the S. F. Mayer name, and later as West Bend Malting Co. The building burned in 1921 and the remnants were razed in 1937.2659

• Christoph Eckstein (1856–1860)
• Rudolph E. Kotien (1860?)
• Adolph Arzbacher, Eagle Brewery (1860–1874)
• Kuehlthau & Janssen (1874–1880)
• Adam Kuehlthau (1880–82)
• West Bend Brewing Co. (1882–1911)
• West Bend Lithia Brewing Co. (1911–1920)
• West Bend Lithia Co. (1933–1972)
• 415–459 North Main

After leaving Mayer’s West Bend Brewery, Christoph Eckstein moved across the street to start his own brewery in 1856. His brewery did well right from the start, and the R. G. Dun & Co. examiner reported he was “doing [a] large bus[iness].”2660 He advertised in January 1860 that he brewed “Lager, Bock, and Winter Beer,” (as did Mayer & Bro. across the street). Eckstein continued to brew until May 1860, when he traded the brewery to Adolph Arzbacher for a share in the West Bend Mills.2661 The 1860 industrial census adds a bit of confusion to this transfer, because it lists the proprietor of the business as Rudolph E. Kotien (who is not listed as a brewer in the population census). This clearly refers to the Eagle Brewery and not another firm, since it produced 2,000 barrels in the previous year, and no other brewery of that size existed in West Bend at the time.

Arzbacher got off to a shaky start, despite having acquired the larger of West Bend’s breweries. The Dun examiner reported in 1860 that he did “not understand the brewery bus[iness] and has but little cap’l [capital]. . . .” (This suggests that Kotien may have been a brewer hired by Arzbacher.) Two years later the report stated he “Makes g[oo]d lager, but is hard up” and was heavily mortgaged. However, by 1865 he had improved the business and was stable through the mid-1870s.2662 Despite this, the Mayer brothers passed Arzbacher to become the largest brewery in the city. The Eagle Brewery produced a still-respectable 600 barrels in 1870, and increased to over 1,000 barrels by 1872. The fact that Arzbacher “[made] good lager” was borne out by a stunt pulled by a Milwaukee beer hall in 1873. They ordered several kegs of Eagle Brewery beer and for a week passed the beer off as imported from Erlangen. The customers all fell for the ruse until they were shown the empty kegs.2663

In 1874, Arzbacher rented the brewery to Adam Kuehlthau and Peter Janssen. Kuehlthau had worked in the brewery since 1870 (it is not clear what Janssen’s background was).2664 The new proprietors did not act like mere renters, and immediately installed a steam engine and made other improvements in the plant. In September 1875, the West Bend Democrat compared the neighboring breweries:

West Bend has two large breweries where “amber juice” is manufactured that cannot be excelled. The not only supply a large home trade, but ship to every section of the state. The largest buildings for the manufacture of beer are those of S. F. Mayer & Co., while the Eagle brewery has the largest vat. The Eagle brewery is operated by Kuehlthau & Janssen, and their vat has a brewing capacity of 45 barrels per day. The vat at Mayer & Co. is of a capacity of 35 barrels. Each brewery is supplied with steam apparatus, the Eagle having just introduced the same.2665

Like the West Bend Brewery, the Eagle Brewery provided beer for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.2666 Kuehlthau & Janssen purchased the brewery from the bankrupt Adolph Arzbacher in 1879, but Janssen left the business in 1880 and Kuehlthau continued alone, though not for long.2667 While both breweries on River Street were doing well, inefficiencies of the businesses were clear to both Stephan Mayer and Adam Kuehlthau, so they merged in 1882. Because the Eagle Brewery plant was smaller, the new West Bend Brewing Co. decided to build an all-new brewery on that site. The new brick brewery had an initial capacity of 6,000 barrels per year. The company bottled beer at the bottling house located across the road at the old Mayer brewery (which strongly suggests that Mayer was bottling prior to the merger, since the location of the bottle house was not convenient for the new brewery). Eventually the company built a new bottling house on the east side of the street.

In 1893, a massive electrical storm caused a lightning strike on one of the company’s barns, which destroyed the barn and seven horses and spread to the brewery. The fire department and other citizens were able to save the brewery, though the damages still amounted to about $4,000.2668 Adam Kuehlthau sold his share in the company in 1900 to Andrew Pick, husband of Stephen Mayer’s sister Emma. West Bend Brewing continued to upgrade their equipment throughout the early 1900s, and bought a delivery truck in 1910. However, the management of the company was struck by the same early deaths that the Mayer brewery had suffered. Andrew Pick, who was also mayor of West Bend, died in August 1910 of complications from typhoid at age fifty, and Stephen Mayer became ill, so the owners put the company up for sale. Martin Walter, son of George Walter of Appleton, purchased the business. Martin and his brother Charles moved from Appleton to take over management of the plant in West Bend (making it the fourth Walter-owned brewery in the state).

With the approach of Prohibition, West Bend Brewing began to prepare for the worst. They put their two Kissel delivery trucks up for sale, adding that they were “Going out of business.”2669 That notice was premature, since the company reformed as West Bend Lithia and attempted to survive Prohibition by manufacturing beverages that featured the local water with its high lithium content. (The composition of the water had been used to promote the beer in the pre-Prohibition era.)

While none of the dry-era products became particularly popular, they enabled the brewery to stay in operation, which made it much easier to convert back to beer when Roosevelt’s election heralded an end to Prohibition. Lithia also managed to avoid being raided for violations of the Prohibition Act, so they were one of the first Wisconsin breweries to obtain their federal license. The West Bend News detailed the preparations at the brewery:

Last fall, following the election when the return of beer seemed assured the manufacture of beer was started and instead of once a week brewing, two and three times a week became a habit, until at the present time the cellars of the company are filled with good aged beer, ready to serve the customers of this well established brewery. . . . the brewery is at present working 18 hours a day, and bottling of the beer will begin next Friday, March 30, so that it is expected that about 10,000 cases will be on hand by April 7th. Between 4,000 and 5,000 barrels of well aged beer is on hand for the early comers.2670

When the first deliveries were made on 7 April, the honor of receiving the first case went to Stephen F. Mayer, who had survived his earlier illness and became one of the founders of West Bend Aluminum Co., (now West Bend Corporation, makers of kitchen appliances).2671 As one of the few breweries in operation in the early days of real beer, Lithia was swamped with orders—which came from as far away as Puerto Rico.2672

The years after repeal were generally uneventful, but profitable for the company. Production in the late 1930s was around 30,000 barrels per year, but during the late 1940s and early 1950s Lithia expanded both capacity and production. The brewery had an estimated capacity of up to 75,000 barrels per year, and by 1948 reached an impressive 58,000 barrels. Old Timer’s Lager beer was popular throughout the region, and the company seemed to be well positioned to survive increased competition.

Sales began to slip in the mid-1950s, and 1954 saw a precipitous drop to 38,000 barrels from 49,000 the year before. In 1955 Lithia introduced canned beer, but this did little to improve sales. The last time Lithia exceeded 30,000 barrels was in 1963, and while they were producing more than many other small breweries, they were also producing less as a percentage of capacity than most of their rivals. In 1969 the company reached an agreement to brew Black Pride Beer for a company headed by NAACP leader Edward J. McClellan. This product did not meet expectations, and was not sufficient to save the brewery. (More about Black Pride Inc. is found in chapter 8.)

In 1972, the directors voted to dissolve West Bend Lithia Co. The labels were sold to Walter Brewing Co. of Eau Claire, so they at least stayed in the Walter family. Most of the brewery still stands as of 2017, and is used for a variety of business and light industrial purposes.

• Andreas Fetsch (1860?)

Andreas Fetsch was listed as a brewer in the 1860 census. He owned a mere $100 of real estate and (a very precise) $53 of personal property. He is not listed particularly near the other breweries, but it is possible that he worked for one of the other breweries in West Bend.

• Riverside Brewery (2005–present)
• 255 South Main Street

Wayne and Dana Kainz founded Riverside Brewery hoping to provide an “upper casual” dining experience. From the original three house beers, the menu has expanded to seven house beers and two house sodas. Under several different brewers, the beer menu has focused on classic beer styles for both the year-round and seasonal beers. Riverside is just a few blocks south of the former West Bend Lithia brewery.2673

Westport (Dane County)

• Parched Eagle Brewpub (2015–present)
• 5440 Willow Road #112

The Parched Eagle Brewpub was originally going to be located in the Sauk City area and called Driftless Brewpub. However, owner Jim Goronson discovered the Driftless name was already taken, and also decided to locate closer to Madison in the community of Westport. However he decided to retain the second name devised for a Sauk City location—Parched Eagle, derived from the area’s popularity with eagle watchers. Goronson liked the business model of a brewpub better than a production brewery with a taproom, so with business partner Tom Christie, Parched Eagle opened in April 2015. In May 2017, Parched Eagle opened a taproom in Madison at 1444 East Washington.

Goronson’s approach to beer is to be creative within the classic styles using the highest quality ingredients. The brewery featured a one-barrel brewing system, but additional beer was brewed under contract at House of Brews, where Goronson had interned after completing his brewing course at Siebel Institute in Chicago.2674

Weyauwega (Waupaca County)

• Jacob Konrad (1855–1865)
• Consalus & Crocker (1865–67)
• Kissinger & Schneider (1867–68)
• Kissinger & Schaetzel (1868–1874)
• Kissinger & Laisy (1874)
• Walter & Laisy (1874–75)
• Louis Herzinger (1875–79)
• George Griel (1879–1883)
• Louis Herzinger (1883–84)

Jacob Konrad left Oshkosh for Weyauwega in 1854, and soon established another brewery in his new home. His brewery was destroyed by fire in 1857, but Konrad had insurance for about two-thirds of the $1,500 loss, and was able to rebuild.2675 According to the 1860 industrial census (which lists him in Dayton), he brewed 1,500 barrels of beer the previous year with the help of two men in one of the few breweries in the state powered by water.

After Konrad sold the brewery, it went through a confusing series of proprietors. The research of local historian Kevin Knitt has been essential in untangling the sequence of brewers and separating the two Weyauwega breweries. William Consalus and Jerome Crocker operated this brewery for two years before Kissinger and Schneider took over. The credit evaluators of R. G. Dun & Co. reported them to be of good character and habits, honest and prompt.2676 This partnership dissolved in 1868, and Kissinger and Schaetzel became the new owners. Unfortunately, the Weyauwega breweries were not included in the 1870 industrial census or the early 1870s brewery directories, so little is known about the scope of their business.

In 1874, John Laisy purchased a share in the brewery. The Dun report noted that he had “but little exp[erien]ce + will be in competition with an active energ[etic] man.” Laisy apparently attempted to remedy this by bringing in H. Walter from Milwaukee. The Dun evaluator claimed in May 1875 that “they make g[oo]d beer and will likely do well.” However, by the end of the year they had encountered financial difficulties and were out of business.2677

Louis Herziger purchased the brewery in 1875 and restored some stability. The Dun reports indicate he was an “active and alert man.” In 1879 he sold the brewery to George Griel and focused his energy on his farm. Griel started well, was “energetic and doing fair bus[iness],” (570 barrels in his first year) but the brewery suffered a fire in late 1881. Griel apparently had more debt than he could afford, and the fire made matters worse. In 1883, Herziger took the property back, but Griel continued to run the brewery.2678 The brewery was struck by fire again in March 1884 and was not reopened.2679

• Jacob Konrad (1870–74)
• Joseph A. Duerr (1874–1891)
• Loos & Quade (1891–93)
• Quade & Schoenick (1893–1900)
• Northeast Corner of North and East Streets (North Street no longer extant)

Jacob Konrad returned to brewing in Weyauwega in 1870, when he built a new brewery at the end of East Street near the Waupaca River.2680 In 1874 he sold the brewery to Joseph A. Duerr, who owned it for longer than any of any of Weyauwega’s brewers. The R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluator called him a “V[er]y thrifty German, [making] money all the time. . . .”2681 He produced 338 barrels in 1878 and 415 the following year, and the brewing directories of the 1880s generally listed his capacity around 500 barrels per year. (Wing’s 1884 directory listed the capacity over 500 barrels, but the 1885 state industrial census reported that Duerr had brewed 800 barrels.) His plant was modest in size, and did not have its own malt house or bottling plant. The research of Kevin Knitt has shown that in 1891 Duerr sold the brewery to Loos and Quade, who operated it for two years before William Quade and Gustav Schoenick took over in 1893. The 1894 Sanborn map shows a small horse powered brewery with a small malting room, but still no bottling house. The 1895 state industrial census reported that Quade & Schoenick brewed 480 barrels in the previous year, so they clearly had not done much to expand the brewery since Duerr’s tenure. The brewery burned in January 1900, and the estimated loss of $6,000 to $8,000 was much more than the $1,000 insurance covered and the brewery was not rebuilt.2682

Wheatland (Kenosha County)

• Frederick Spencer (1860?)

The 1860 population census listed Frederick Spencer as a brewer. Since he owned $1,500 of real estate and $600 of personal property, it was unlikely that he was employed by another brewery, and at age forty-two it was unlikely he was retired.

Whitewater (Walworth County)

• William Marshall (& Co.) (1855?–1858?)
• George Streng (1859–1861?)
• Marshall & Rundle (1861?–62?)
• William Marshall (1862–64)
• Nicholas Klinger (1864–1905)
• Finke-Hoheisel Brewing Co. (1905–6)
• Whitewater Brewing Co. (1906–1916)
• Whitewater Brewing Co. (1933–1942)
• Southwest Corner 200 Jefferson and East North Street.

In April 1856, the Whitewater Gazette reported that Marshall’s brewery employed five persons and made 1,500 barrels of beer a year, which indicates that it was open well before the 1860 date given in the 1882 county history.2683 However maps of Whitewater prior to 1860 show no structure at the Jefferson and North location, so it is possible that Marshall’s first brewery was the one in Cold Spring Township which was later operated by Edward Roethe (and which burned in 1860). Some sources including 100 Years of Brewing connect George Streng (or Strang) with this brewery around 1860, but that year’s census has him listed as a saloonkeeper (though this does not rule out a connection with the brewery).2684 The only brewer residing in Whitewater at the time of the census was John Wildersman, who was boarding in the city, though not with Streng. By 1861, Marshall had taken on a partner, one Mr. Rundle, and the two operated the brewery together for a year or so. The Whitewater Register in 1861 claimed this brewery had been built two years ago, which may have represented a new brewery building rather than a new business, and would fit with the county history account.2685 William Marshall resumed sole proprietorship shortly thereafter, and in 1864 sold the business to Nicholas Klinger.

Nic Klinger had refined his brewing skills at Charles Melms’ South Side Brewery in Milwaukee and had the ability to make the Whitewater brewery an important area brewery. His 1870 production was 800 barrels, which he increased over the course of the decade to nearly 1,500 barrels. His production was apparently not impaired significantly by a disaster in 1877 when his brewery and ice house collapsed.2686 While most of his production was lager, he made some ale as well, and by the early 1880s was bottling some of his beer (though the 1884 Sanborn map does not show a bottling house on the premises). Klinger was popular in Whitewater, and so was his brewery, which in 1877 featured a “full orchestra” each night in the beer hall. Klinger’s hospitality occasionally got him in trouble with the law. Around Christmastime in 1878, Klinger found himself without sufficient stamps to sell beer, however he did so anyway in the holiday spirit and was arrested for his cordiality.2687 The R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluator reported that Klinger was “indust[rious] but drinks a good deal of beer. . . .”2688 In 1879 Klinger acquired a brewery in Fort Atkinson, but that enterprise was not profitable so he returned his attention to his Whitewater plant. (See Fort Atkinson)

While Klinger rebuilt his brewery in the late 1880s, it remained horse-powered and dependent on ice for cooling. In 1891, Klinger shared a tramway to bring ice from Cravath Lake with a produce company. There was some irony in this: “The wags of the town are exhausting their wit on the subject as the senior member of the Produce company is a Prohibitionist and has been one of Klinger’s liveliest antagonists in times past.”2689 Klinger built yet another new brewery in 1893, increasing capacity from 1,800 to 2,400 barrels per year and this time adding a boiler house for steam power, though he still used ice for cooling. The bottling house remained across North Street from the brewery.2690

In 1905 Klinger retired after a long career in brewing and sold the brewery to William Finke and J. Hoheisel. Finke had been part of Finke-Uhen Brewing Co. in Burlington, and Hoheisel came from Arcadia Brewing Co.2691 This new firm controlled the brewery for just over a year before they sold it to a group led by William Klann Sr., who incorporated it as Whitewater Brewing Co. This group operated the brewery until sometime in 1917, when it closed in advance of Prohibition. The company dissolved in July 1918 and did not operate during the dry years.2692

A group led by Olaf Martens, Emil Logemann and William Hesselman incorporated a new version of Whitewater Brewing Co. in September 1933. After refurbishing the plant, the company started brewing in October of that year.2693 However, there was much more to the story. This group was at first refused a license because Martens, George Howlett and others involved with the brewery were “all former bootleggers and wild-cat brewery operators.” An agent for the Wisconsin Beverage Tax Division reported in 1937 that the company spent between $70,000 and $80,000 remodeling the brewery, which was an extraordinary amount for a brewery of that size. The money came from Chicago, through “a man named McQuin” who was “the brains of the corporation” and was known a representative of racketeers who paid off officials for protection. The same company also owned Manhattan Brewing Co. of Chicago, which was also suspected of mob connections. Whitewater Brewing was actually making spirits as well as beer, and distributing it to wildcat operations in the countryside.2694

The brewery’s primary market was the Chicago area, and about two thirds of the product was shipped there. This led to additional problems with taxes and permits. The brewery shut down briefly in October 1937 and again in October and November 1938, at least in part because of pressure from government agents.2695 To make matters worse, the company was charged with misrepresenting the nature of one of its products, Badger Beer. Many of the labels featured a badger and an outline of the State of Wisconsin, but the beer was actually made in Chicago at Manhattan Brewing.2696 The brewery officially closed in October 1942.2697

• H. R. Melster (1899?–1900?)

H. R. Melster had a short-lived weiss beer brewery in Whitewater for a few years around 1900.

• Randy’s Restaurant & Fun Hunters Brewery (1994–present)
• 841 Brewhouse (2015–present)
• 841 East Milwaukee

In 1972, Randy and Pat Cruse purchased a popular Whitewater supper club location that had been in business since the 1930s. After a full remodeling in the late 1980s, the restaurant was burned down by the owner of a competing supper club. While rebuilding, Randy decided to install a brewing system to make their restaurant stand out. By the early 1990s, he was able to find brewing equipment that would fit in the restaurant, and he brought in legendary brewing consultant Karl Strauss to help set up the brewhouse and recipes.

When the Cruses retired after more than forty years, the new owners changed the name to 841 Brewhouse. They kept the brewing system in place and maintained the same approach to brewing—make solid examples of basic styles that go well with food.2698

• Second Salem Brewing Co. (2014–present)
• 111 West Whitewater Street

The city of Whitewater acquired the nickname Second Salem early in the twentieth century because of the alleged presence of witches and demons in the area. (The legend probably grew out of the presence in town of the Morris Pratt Institute, a spiritualist organization, but was renewed through the years by other curious phenomona.) Many of the beers are named after local legends, and its Beast of Bray Road earned Bronze in the 2016 World Beer Cup.2699 Christ G. Christon grew up washing dishes in his father’s restaurant, which he purchased in 2010, and began converting the restaurant into a brewpub. Unlike Christon, a first-generation immigrant, business manager Thayer Coburn is a fourth-generation Whitewater native. The first beer from the brewpub was sold in 2014.

Wilson (St. Croix County)

• Dave’s BrewFarm (2009–present)
• 2470 Wilson Street

Dave Anderson didn’t start brewing on a farm, he bought the farm so that he and partner Pam Dixon could have a true farm brewery that used crops grown on the land for his brews. While there are a few beers that make regular appearances on the tap list like Mocha Diablo (a sweet stout with peppers), AuBeXXX (a golden strong ale with spices) and Matacabras, many beers on the “Labrewatory” list represent one-time experiments with spices, botanicals, and other ingredients. Honey used in some of the beers came from an apiary on the farm.

The first tap room was in the brewery (and the lower floor of the farmhouse), but an expanded tap room was completed in 2014. Energy to run the brewery is provided by a twenty-kilowatt windmill, giving rise to the slogan “Wisconsin’s Wind-Brewed Beer.” A geothermal heating system provides much of the heat for the building.2700 Production at the BrewFarm is typically between 100 and 200 barrels per year.

Windsor (Dane County)

• Archelaus Hobbs (c. 1857)

The brewery of Archelaus Hobbs is recorded in the 1857 state business directory, and Wayne Kroll includes him in his list of farm breweries.2701

Winneconne (Winnebago County)

• Theodore Yager (1866?–1882)
• Mrs. Katherina Yager (1882–84)
• On East Bank of Wolf River near end of Water Street (Modern 500 Block of South First Avenue)

The research of Lee Reiherzer has added considerable detail to the story of the Yaeger brewery. Theodore Yaeger was trained as a brewer in his native Baden, and left Germany following the turmoil of the late 1840s. In 1860, he and his wife Katharina moved to Winneconne, where Theodore worked as a cooper before enlisting in the 19th Wisconsin Infantry. After returning from the war, Yager purchased a lot along the Wolf River in 1866, and soon began building a brewery.2702 The R. G. Dun & Co. credit evaluators noted in 1875 that Yager had been in business for ten years, and while technically possible, these figures were sometimes approximate. The evaluators praised his character and habits, but cautioned that he was beginning to have financial problems and owned little other than the brewery.2703

Yager’s brewery was never a large one. The 1870 industrial census reported that he had produced 350 barrels of beer during the previous year, but since his revenue of $1,280 works out to only $3.66 per barrel, it is more likely that these were smaller kegs since the prevailing area price per barrel at the time was between $8 and $10. A newspaper ad from 1871 proclaimed that he offered “Lager Beer, Ale, and everything in the line made in the best manner, and furnished to customers at living rates.” He also offered to perform “All kinds of tight barrel work,” which indicates he was still working as a cooper.2704 He was not listed in the 1873 American Brewer’s Guide directory, nor Schade’s 1876 listing, but according to Salem, Yager produced a mere seventy-eight barrels in 1878 and eighty-three the next year. A history of Northern Wisconsin published in 1881 claimed that Yager brewed 400 barrels of beer annually, but this is much more likely to have been his capacity rather than his production.2705

Reiherzer has argued that the decline in Yager’s fortunes paralleled those of Winneconne, which was losing population after the end of the lumber boom. Yager was still listed in industry directories through 1884, and the R. G. Dun & Co. reports in 1883 suggest that his prospects were better but a year later tempered this by noting he was still hard pressed.2706 Yager appears to have ceased brewing around 1884, and by 1885 he had disappeared from the records. (American Breweries II lists the brewery under Katherina’s name from 1882–1884, though local sources do not support this change. It is possible that the brewery was put in her name for financial reasons.) The brewery building burned in 1893, and had been “idle for years.”2707

Wiota (Lafayette County)

• Peter Ede (1866?–1884)
• Next to the Mayne Hotel2708

After brewing for a few years at Cadiz, Peter Ede moved to Wiota and started another brewery. He first appears in the excise records in June 1867, though the R. G. Dun & Co. first evaluated his creditworthiness in May 1866.

Ede’s brewery was a small operation—the only known production figures are ninety barrels in 1878 and seventy-four in 1879. The Dun examiner reported that he was making money and his “wants are small.” These evaluations remained consistent through the end of the reports in 1883.2709 Tovey’s and Wing’s brewery directories listed Ede as a brewer of ale, and Wing’s 1884 directory noted that Ede offered bottled beer, which was less remarkable for a small ale brewery than it would have been for a lager brewery of that size.

• John Glicker (ca. 1876)

John Bluker is listed as a brewer in the 1876 state business directory, but Wayne Kroll corrects the spelling to Glicker.2710 Since Peter Ede does not appear ever to have leased or rented his brewery, this seems to be a separate brewery, albeit one about which nearly nothing is known.

Wisconsin Dells (Kilbourn City) (Columbia County)

• Mechler & Leute (1858–1861)
• Leute Bros. (1861–67?)
• C. A. Leute & Co./Julius Leute, City Brewery (1867?–1891)
• Julius Leute Sons (1891–1895?)
• Paul Keller (1898–99)
• Broadway and Oak Streets

According to the 1880 History of Columbia County, W. Mechler and Andrew Leute started their brewery in 1858. (The 1860 population census listed the Magler [sic] family and their boarder Leute as living in Newport, but since they were recorded in Columbia County, this indicates they were on the Kilbourn City side of the river.) When Andrew Leute died in 1861, his brothers Julius, Charles and Thaddeus purchased the brewery from Mechler and Andrew’s heirs. They appear to have adopted the name C. A. Leute & Co. around 1867, though for most of the period after 1870 Julius was sole proprietor because Charles died in 1872 and Thaddeus sold his share to Julius in 1874.2711

The Leute brewery was modest in size—about 400 barrels per year in 1870 was about right for its home market but dwarfed by Haertel’s much larger Columbia County brewery in Portage. Like many breweries in the immediate post-Civil War era, he did not brew all year long: the 1870 census indicated he was only in production for eight months during the previous year. Production remained over 300 barrels for most of the 1870s, but dropped under 200 barrels per year by the end of the decade. Industry directory listings for Leute’s brewery showed that capacity was less than 500 barrels per year, and that he did not have his own malt house. Leute died in 1891, after which the estate ran the brewery. (References listing Philip Klenk as proprietor of the City Brewery from 1891 to 1893 do not appear to be supported by local sources. He may have been a brewer employed by the Leute family.) The brewery still appeared in the 1895 state business directory under Julius Leute, though these volumes had a tendency to be a year or two behind. In 1898, Paul Kellar acquired the brewery, though he only owned it for a few months before it was destroyed by fire in October 1899.2712 While some source report Keller was still in business through 1904, he sold the property in 1900 to Milwaukee brewery supply dealer Charles Kiewert. The state industrial and labor reports of 1901 and after do not include the City Brewery among the industries of Kilbourn City, confirming that Kiewert did not restart production.2713

• Theobald Hoffman (1865?–1870)
• Broadway between Eddy and Superior Streets

Theobald Hoffman appears to have hedged his bets on the race between Newport and Kilbourn City to become the principal port on that stretch of the Wisconsin River. Though he already had a brewery in Newport, in 1860 he purchased land across the river on which he would eventually build a brewery. Brewery historian Richard D. Rossin Jr. has found a mortgage that Hoffman took out in 1862, which may have been to raise money to start building his Kilbourn brewery.2714 While little documentation exists, it seems that that he was brewing in this location by 1865, when he was listed in the 1865 state business directory. It appears that he was expanding his brewery in 1867, but this did not go well because when workers were blasting in his cellar a charge misfired and four German laborers who were excavating the cave were injured.2715

Hoffman’s brewery was modest in size—producing an average of about twelve barrels per month in 1869. While he was listed as a brewer in the 1870 census, he did not produce enough to be listed in the industrial census that year. It also appears that Hoffman quit brewing sometime in late 1870, since he stopped advertising his saloon in August and sold his saloon to his brother-in-law Frederick Bauer. The R. G. Dun & Co. records suggest that Hoffman was still in business in early 1871, though these records were occasionally several months behind.2716 Hoffman died in 1872 at age forty-seven, and his brewery was converted into a machine shop in 1878. The building still stands as of this writing, and is part of a much larger building in the middle of the Wisconsin Dells downtown tourist district.2717

• Dells Brewing Co./Moosejaw Pizza (2002–2012)
• Wisconsin Dells Brewing Co. (2012–present)
• 110 Wisconsin Dells Parkway South

Dells Brewing Co. is the official name of the brewpub located within the giant Moosejaw Pizza restaurant in Wisconsin Dells. Moosejaw (named after the city in southern Saskatchewan) was the first in a series of restaurants opened by Mark Schmitz and his partners (others include Buffalo Phil’s and Kickers).

Dells Brewing is known in the brewing world for hiring Wisconsin’s first female brewmaster, Jamie Baertsch (Jamie Martin when she was hired in 2005). She studied biotechnology in college, and became hooked on brewing after a class project involving brewing and yeast manipulation. She has been active in the Pink Boots Society (a group of women in the brewing industry) and has presented at brewing conferences.

Running a brewery in a restaurant catering mostly to tourists means that most of the beers need to be accessible to a broad audience. There are typically ten different beers on tap and since 2012 some beers have been available in bottles and cans, beginning with Rustic Red. Baertsch has developed some more adventurous beers, such as the two she brewed to celebrate the births of her children: Betty’s Breakfast Stout and Wyatt’s Barleywine.2718

• Port Huron Brewing Co. (2011–present)
• 805 Business Park Road

Port Huron Brewing Co. became the first production brewery in Columbia county in more than fifty years. The name is not from the city in Michigan, but rather from a 1917 Port Huron tractor that Tanner Brethorst’s family worked on restoring for many years (the tractor was made in the Michigan city). Brethorst studied brewing in Chicago and Munich and worked at several breweries in Wisconsin prior to following his dream of starting his own brewery. Brethorst began brewing pilot batches in late 2011 and sold the first kegs in April 2012.

Port Huron Brewing offers a mix of German and English-inspired beers, with seasonals like Million Dollar Smoked Maibock, a collaboration beer with One Barrel Brewing Co. of Madison.2719

Grand Rapids (Wisconsin Rapids) (Wood County)

• Apfel & Smith (Schmidt) (1859?–1862?)
• Nicholas Schmidt (1866?–1880)
• Jacob Lutz & Brother (1880–1891)
• North First Street

The 1860 industrial census includes a listing for the brewery of Adam Apfel and Smith. This is the earliest reference to the brewery of Nicholas Schmidt. In 1860 the partners produced 150 barrels of beer, a fair total considering how remote their location was at that time. They began to advertise in the Wood County Reporter in 1861, touting “the very best quality of BEER and ALE—none better in the state.”2720

Schmidt appears to have made some modest expansions to the brewery during the 1860s, since he reported producing 350 barrels of beer in the 1870 industrial census. Schmidt’s production fluctuated significantly throughout the 1870s, jumping from 171 barrels in 1872 to 618 in 1874 and back below 200 barrels a year at the end of the decade. While the reason for the increase is not clear, the R. G. Dun & Co. credit reports indicate the reason for the decline at the end of the decade was extreme intemperance. In 1880 Schmidt found capable buyers for the brewery and sold out.2721

Jacob and David Lutz moved from their family’s brewery in Stevens Point to take over the Schmidt brewery in 1880, and immediately began to improve the plant. Throughout the 1880s they made continual improvements, though they do not appear to have added malting or bottling capacity.2722 The 1885 Wisconsin industrial census reported their production at 1,400 barrels, which sold for $8.00 per barrel.

The Lutz brewery came to a disastrous end in July 1891 when it was destroyed by fire. The Centralia Enterprise & Tribune reported: “The structure was composed of wood, was in a dry condition, and consisted of wings and additions extending over an area of ground at least one hundred feet long and eighty feet wide. It was an extremely difficult place in which to fight fire. . . .” Even after the fire appeared to be put out, it broke out again the next day. The Enterprise & Tribune lamented:

The destruction of this property is a serious loss not only to the owners, but to the city as well. It occurs at a time when business is at its best, and as the stock on hand was all consumed, they are unable to supply their customers. J. Lutz & Bro are regarded in commercial circles as men of the strictest integrity, and in business as enterprising and wide awake. It is not in the best interest of any city to see such people crippled in business, even though the fire should result in the building of a much better plant than the old one. The origin of the fire remains a mystery. . . . It can hardly be the work of an incendiary, for the gentlemen have but few if any enemies in town.2723

While this brewery was not rebuilt, Jacob Lutz would eventually become manager of Twin City Brewing Co., which was built nearby.

• Schenck & Eberle (1863–)
• Jackel & Winkel (1866?–1867)
• Michael Eberle (1867–1875)
• Water Street

The Centralia Enterprise & Tribune, eulogizing local pioneer Ulrich Schenck in 1899, claimed:

Mr. Schenck’s first undertaking, when he came to this country about forty-five years ago, was in partnership with the late M. Able, who established a small brewery at the upper eddy and tried to supply the local trade with a little beer. There was no railroad within a hundred miles of here at that time. Some years afterward he sold his interest to his partner and moved onto a wild piece of land . . .2724

If the dates are accurate, this creates a much earlier start for the brewery of Michael Eberle than is usually given. However, the Wood County Reporter noted the near completion of Schenck’s brewery in November 1863, much later than the above account.2725

Very little is known so far about the early years of the brewery. The excise records also include the firm of Jackel & Winkel from January to May 1867, which suggests that this partnership leased the brewery for a period. (It is also possible that they leased Nicholas Schmidt’s brewery, but the production levels in the excise records seem to fit Eberle’s smaller brewery. It is unlikely Jackel & Winkel had a third brewery in Grand Rapids.)

Eberle does not appear in the R. G. Dun & Co. records, which often clarify transfers in ownership as well as the prosperity of a business. Eberle is first listed in the excise records in June 1867, after Jackel & Winkel’s term. Eberle’s brewery was destroyed by fire in April 1869, but he rebuilt soon after.2726 The 1870 industrial census reported that Eberle had produced sixty barrels in the previous year, though he was only in operation for eight months. Production does not seem to have been hampered by the fire, since Eberle only brewed fifty-seven barrels in 1871 and sixty-one the next year. In the mid-1870s he boosted production above one hundred barrels for a few years, but does not appear in the records after 1875. A delinquent tax notice in the Wood County Reporter in 1880 indicated that the buildings on the property were still being occupied as a dwelling and a brewery, but do not indicate whether Eberle was actually still brewing.2727

• Twin City Brewing Co. (1892–95)
• First Street North

Frank Stahl and Richard Sheibe organized a new brewery in Grand Rapids in 1892. They operated it for about a year before going bankrupt and “its interests were assigned to other parties.”2728 (Former sheriff Stahl’s reward for this money-losing venture was to be elected to seven consecutive terms as city treasurer.2729) These other parties turned out to be a who’s who of Wisconsin brewing. Brewer Jacob Lutz was specifically designated in the articles of incorporation of the new company as the general manager—the other incorporators included maltster William Froedert, brewing supply specialist Charles. L. Kiewert, and New London brewer Theodore Knapstein. The Centralia Enterprise & Tribune had hoped

to see Mr. Knapstein move here and take an active part in the management of the brewery, but we have learned since the sale that he simply represented some of the heaviest creditors of the firm, and that it was their purpose to form a stock company, put in enough money to place the concern on its feet and run it for all there is in it. We understand further that the Lutz Bros. are to have the management of its affairs, which means that the undertaking will be a success beyond peradventure.2730

However, before the brewery could fulfill its promise it was destroyed in 1895 by a fire that was caused by a fire in the boiler room which “blew out that side of the addition.” In the aftermath of the fire, the federal revenue agent was called to Grand Rapids to deal with complaints of residents

who state that free access has been afforded the boys of the city to the stale and damaged beer at the recent burned [sic] Twin City brewery, and that full advantage of this access was being taken by the boys from 8 to 15 years of age. Groups of boys and young men have been seen to wander in the direction of the brewery at about dusk ever since the fire, and to return soon after in an intoxicated and hilarious condition.

The revenue agent concluded this was a local problem, not a federal case.2731

Jacob Lutz, having now lost two breweries to fire, decided not to rebuild. Lutz died in May 1901, but his son Jacob Jr. would soon help start a brewery of his own.2732

• Grand Rapids Brewing Co. (1905–1920)
• West Side of North First Street at Lavigne

After the turn of the twentieth century, Grand Rapids residents heard rumors that another brewery was proposed for the city. At first, Stevens Point brewer Gustav Kuenzel was supposed to be interested in taking over the former Lutz brewery site, but later reports indicated that Jacob Lutz Jr. and Kuenzel were looking at another property on High Street. Apparently the arrangements were not attractive enough for Kuenzel, since he purchased a brewery in Hastings, Minnesota instead.2733

In 1904, Jacob Lutz partnered with Frank Boyanowski to locate a brewery in Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Tribune believed a brewery “would be a paying institution in this city,” and argued that money spent on beer “might as well remain here at home and be distributed to a certain extent among our local tradesmen.”2734 The site of the building was referred to as “the old court house site” (which was right next to the former Lutz brewery), and construction began during the summer of 1904.2735 The brewery officially opened on 17 March 1905, “at which time the public [was] extended an invitation to visit the place and sample the product.”2736 The brewery promoted their beer in surrounding communities and offered bock beer during their first year of operation. Like most breweries, Grand Rapids had trouble getting their cooperage back, and regularly offered a reward of a keg of beer “to the farmer bringing in the largest number of our empty kegs. . . .”2737 A few years after founding the company, Boyanowski left to help start Polish Brewing Co. in Stevens Point, and sued Grand Rapids Brewing for $2,235 that he claimed was “due him for services rendered in promoting and superintending the buildings of the company.”2738

Within a few years, Grand Rapids Brewing Co. became an important part of the local business community. A rather effusive sketch of the company in 1914 proclaimed:

The firm sells thousands of bottles of their ‘Grand Rapids Special’ bottled beer every week. They also sell large quantities barreled.

Their big auto trucks can be seen daily delivering their goods. Practically every bar in the city sells their beer. . . .

They have one of the best brewmasters in the state, and their plant covers two acres of ground. Their brewery is up-to-date in every respect, and they have an annual capacity of 16,000 barrels, while 20 skilled men are employed. They use pure spring water only. They also manufacture soft drinks and carbonated waters.

The account closed with praise for the integrity of the company and its “good business basis.”2739

Grand Rapids Brewing continued to operate until the arrival of Prohibition, after which it continued to manufacture soft drinks and began canning beans. The manufacture of drinks only lasted a few years, and in 1923 the business changed its name to Wisconsin Rapids Canning Co. No attempt was made to restart brewing after legal beer returned.2740

Woodman (Grant County)

• Woodman Brewery (Whistle Stop) (2010–16)
• 401 Main Street

The small Whistle Stop Restaurant and Woodman Brewery shared a building with a deer registration station and the local post office—restaurant co-owner Leslie Erb served as postmaster. Leslie’s son Dennis started making beer in 2010 to add some distinctiveness to the establishment. He was a self-taught brewer, who constructed his own half-barrel system in the basement.

Erb liked to say that his brewery was like “Dogfish Head on a smaller scale,” claiming kinship with the famous experimental brewery in Delaware. Erb experimented with nearly any ingredient that inspired him—nuts, fruit, peppers and one of his more noteworthy creations, Arctic IPA infused with mint. He noted in a 2012 interview “Most people do it [brewing] to make a living and make money. I just want to make crazy stuff and have fun.” Starting in 2011, Erb bottled some of his brews and had them on sale in a limited number of stores from Janesville to Wisconsin Dells. At its peak, production reached about 570 barrels per year.2741

Woodruff (Oneida County)

• Rocky Reef Brewing Co. (2015–present)
• 1101 First Avenue

Rocky Reef Brewing Co. was named after the street address of owner Christie Forrer’s grandparents cabin in the north country. She and her husband Tyler Smith opened the brewery and taproom in June 2015. They began brewing on a half-barrel system, but after a year were able to upgrade to a ten-barrel system. As of 2017, their beer was distributed in a limited area in northern Wisconsin, as well as a few select locations in counties north of Milwaukee. Rocky Reef offers a selection of barrel-aged and sour beers in addition to their regular lineup and seasonal beers.2742

Wrightstown (Brown County)

• Fox River Brewery
• Gutbier & Mueller (1868–69)
• Gutbier & Mangold (1869–1870)
• Gutbier & Mueller (1873–79)
• Henry Kaufman (1882–1884?)
• E. N. Seifert (1887?–1889)
• West Side of Fox River, near Modern Hickory Street

Otto Gutbier and Carl G. Mueller built the first brewery in Wrightstown during the summer of 1868. Gutbier was an experienced cooper and brewer—which was only appropriate since his name translates as “good beer”—and Mueller was an important local businessman.2743 While Mueller apparently helped start the brewery, by 1870 the firm was Gutbier and Mangold. According to the 1870 population census this was John Mangold, who owned $3,000 of real estate (compared to Gutbier’s $4,000). One newspaper account from 1870 credits Mangold with being a founding partner of the brewery:

Gutbier and Mangold, who started a brewery on the west side of the river, about two years since, have grown into an extensive business and the past summer could have disposed of double the quantity of beer they have sold had their facilities been greater. They are now making additions to their establishment.

However other reports specifically mention Mueller as a partner in the brewery in 1869, so Mangold must have taken his place later that year.2744

Unfortunately, Gutbier & Mangold’s promising business was destroyed by fire in October 1870. The fire started in the malt house, and spread to the rest of the brewery. The partners had insurance for only a fraction of the loss, and decided against rebuilding, at least for the moment. Gutbier moved to Kaukauna where he operated a hotel for a few years, but soon returned to Wrightstown and built a new brewery on the spot of the previous structure. Carl Mueller again provided financial support for the new business, which was operational no later than 1873. The business was sometimes referred to as Mueller & Co., but Gutbier was still in charge of brewing operations.2745 Gutbier produced 203 barrels in 1878 but only sixty-four in 1879—probably indicating that he retired from brewing that year to build another hotel. Gutbier was “a devoted follower of the dog and gun, and stands prominent in the State as a crack shot on woodcock.” He was also an amateur painter, specializing in local landmarks.2746

The brewery appears to have been vacant for about three years until Henry Kaufman of Milwaukee (listed as George in some records) purchased the brewery from Charles Redeman of Green Bay for $2,500. Kaufman put the brewery back into production, purchased a new delivery wagon in Green Bay, and operated the brewery for a few years. While the precise ending date is not clear, he was still listed in the Bradstreet credit report guide of 1884.2747 At some point Redeman purchased the brewery again, and leased it to E. N. Seifert of Milwaukee. In December 1889, the brewery burned again, and was not rebuilt.2748

In 1912, a group headed by Len Valk and Hugh Freeman proposed a $50,000 brewery for Wrightstown, but these plans never came to pass.2749

Yuba (Greenwood) (Vernon County)

• Ludwig & Stovey (1889?–1890?)
• Ludwig & Norz (1890?–1897)
• Joseph Bulin (1897–1902?)

Carl Ludwig, who had been brewing in Wisconsin since the 1850s, started another brewery when he was in his late 50s. This one was located a few miles south of his home in Hillsboro. The first time it appeared in the news was in 1890, when the brewery ran into trouble:

Carl Ludwig, one of the most prominent residents of Hillsboro, and his partner, Frank Stovey, were arrested yesterday for selling beer in unstamped kegs. They ran a brewery at Yuba, Richland County. They waived examination and gave bail at $300 each. The case will be passed upon in the fall by a grand jury. It is the general belief that Ludwig was simply careless. He is regarded as thoroughly honest by all who know him.2750

The tone of this article suggests that the brewery was not a new one, but it is not clear when it was established.

Sometime in the 1890s Frank Stovey left the brewery and Mr. Norz took over. The 1895 Wisconsin census of industry did not report the volume produced in Yuba (listed as Greenwood) but included the revenue total of $700, which appears to represent production of around 150 barrels.

Carl Ludwig retired from brewing sometime prior to 1897. The next reference (found so far) to the brewery was a note in the Hillsboro Sentry that longtime local saloonkeeper Joseph Bulin had “purchased an icebox of Frank Travernick which he will use in his brewery.” Bulin’s “Greenwood Beer” was available on tap in several locations near Hillsboro, but his market was strictly local.2751 He was included in a 1900 industry directory, but little is known about when he ceased production.