Rediscovering 's historic breweries Part I: Milwaukee's downtown breweries Kevin M Cullen

When you mention Milwaukee, one asso- congregate in solidarity as we investigate ciation in particular comes to mind, . ancient and traditional alcoholic bever- This is because Milwaukee, ages around the world. Hence, it was a once boasted the largest production of logical and easy leap to get this eager beer than any other city in America and public on board to rediscover their own indeed the world. As an agricultural and city's legacy. industrial hub on Lake for more than a century and a half with a thirsty Therefore, the first of what will be four population of ethnically proud beer ‘Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing’ tours lovers, Milwaukee was well poised to took place on 17 April 2010. It was decid- conquer the American brewing industry. ed given the breadth and scope of this What many people do not know however, city's brewing heritage, that we would is that this city has seen more than 100 focus our first tour on the historic and brewing companies come and go over contemporary breweries of downtown the past 170 years and unfortunately the Milwaukee. With Kalvin at the helm of a original breweries as well. full motor coach bus, Leonard Jurgensen as the Milwaukee brewery historian and I Therefore, as part of the Distant Mirror as the archaeological tour guide, we Archaeology Program at Discovery World made our way to one of Milwaukee's first (a science and technology museum in brewery sites at the end of Clybourn Milwaukee, Wisconsin) I am attempting Street (formerly Huron Street) and Lincoln to rediscover this brewing legacy through Memorial Drive (formerly the Lake urban archaeological expeditions. My Michigan shoreline) at 10am. Known as forays into Milwaukee's brewing heritage the Milwaukee Brewery and later the Lake began as an outgrowth from an ongoing Brewery, it was started by three Welsh- brewing seminar I teach called ‘Ale men, Richard G Owens, William Pawlett through the Ages: The Anthropology and and John Davis in 1841; although most Archaeology of Brewing’. As one can sources erroneously attribute it as start- imagine, these programs have proven to ing in 1840. The brewery first began be a popular way for an enthusiastic and brewing ales, porters and whisky in a five proud community of beer aficionados to barrel wooden box lined with copper. By

Brewery History Number 140 71 Figures 1. Location map showing the position of Wisconsin and Milwaukee.

1845, Owens bought out his partners and The second stop on this downtown renamed the brewery, the Lake Brewery, Milwaukee brewing heritage tour though it was often referred to as the brought us to the Milwaukee Grain Owens Brewery. By 1864 the business Exchange building on Michigan St. was sold to MW Powell & Co of designed by the esteemed architect where they continued brewing until 1880. Edward Townsend Mix in 1879. For By 1881 the brewery was demolished for more than 50 years preceding WWII, an expanding railroad yard. Presently the this building with its ornately decorated site consists of the Milwaukee County Victorian interior was where the global Transit bus garage with a rooftop garden. price of wheat was established inside an It was on this rooftop garden with a com- octagonal trading pit. This trading pit set manding view of where the precedence for other trading pits we sampled a special brew I made in throughout North America. Today, the commemoration of the occasion called restored opulent three-story trading ‘Old World Welsh Ale’. This all-grain room is a testament to Milwaukee's strong ale with hints of smoked barley is industrial and agricultural wealth during in the style of a Scotch Ale meets a this period and how the brewing industry British Bitter, a fitting beverage to toast to as a result benefited from this global Milwuaukee's pioneer brewers. commodity exchange.

72 Journal of the Brewery History Society s downtown breweries. Figure 2. Location map showing the positions of Milwaukee’ Figure 2. Location map showing the positions

Brewery History Number 140 73 of the brewery's output bottled, and soon 2,000 bottles a day were being distrib- uted. In fact, Blatz was the first brewery to establish, own and operate their own bottling department in the city. The Blatz brewing interests were incorporated in 1889 as the Val Blatz Brewing Company with a capitalization of $2,000,000. The next year (1890) Blatz took the top award at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Blatz historically celebrated includ- ed: ‘Tivoli,’ ‘Wiener,’ ‘,’ ‘’ and ‘Muenchener. In 1891, sold his interests to a group of London finan- ciers known in brewing circles as ‘the Figure 3. The Lake Brewery (shaded) as English Syndicate.’ Three years later pictured in the mid 19th century. Valentin Blatz died and was buried in one of North America's largest above ground mausoleums in the Forrest Home Moving along Broadway Street, we paid a Cemetery in Milwaukee. The end of the visit to the Blatz Brewery complex, which Blatz Brewing legacy came in 1959 when has since been converted into condo- the brewery was bought by the Pabst miniums. We disembarked from the bus Brewing Co Today however, the Blatz and walked the perimeter of the complex beer label is still being produced by the to get a sense of the exterior features Miller Brewing Co in Milwaukee, WI. of the former brewery. While the original brew house is now gone, we stood on the Our next stop was at the contemporary spot of where the massive kettles once Lakefront Brewery located on Commerce stood and marvelled at the immense size Street where Jim Klisch (former owner of this former brewery. The origins of the and co-founder of Lakefront Brewery) Blatz brewery can be traced to 1846 welcomed us in while Russ Klisch (presi- when Johann Braun opened the City dent and co-founder of the brewery) Brewery on Main and Division Streets (N poured each participant a fine micro- Broadway and E Juneau Avenue). After brewed beer of their choice. After a brief Braun died his former Bavarian brau- history of the brewery, Jim led the group meister, Valentin Blatz - who had by then on one of Milwaukee's highest rated established his own brewery on Market brewery tours, ripe with colourful com- Street in 1850 - married his late boss' mentary on the brewing process and widow and merged the two businesses in insights into their ‘Frankenstein’ brewing 1851. In 1875 he contracted to have part equipment.

74 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 4. A 19th advertisement for Blatz’s brewery.

Brewery History Number 140 75 By this time it was getting on towards Blatz, Pabst and Schlitz breweries down- 11:45am and we had lunch to get to at town. Most of the original rail corridor has the Best Place in the historic Pabst since been converted for pedestrian use. Brewery. This was not before we had a chance to see the remnants of the old As the motor coach rolled west along beer rail line outside Lakefront Brewery. Juneau Ave. we passed the site of the This wooden rail trestle is all that remains former Gipfel Brewery on the SW corner of the original ‘beer line’, which between of 4th Street and Juneau Avenue (for- the 1870s and 1960s was considered one merly Chestnut Street). In 1843 David of the busiest railroad spurs in the world, Gipfel purchased the lot and likely began carrying thousands of wooden ‘reefer’ brewing on this site by 1844. By 1849, railcars filled with lager beer from the David died and was considered the

Figure 5. The old Gipfel Brewery.

76 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 6. The Sand’s Spring brewery from an illustration dated 1863.

wealthiest German brewer in Milwaukee soap-making, harness manufacture, at the time. Two years later in 1851, leather goods and restaurant supplies. In David's eldest son Charles assumed 2007 the federal-style structure repre- ownership of the family business and senting Milwaukee's oldest surviving renamed it the Gipfel Union Brewery, brewery at the time was relocated one where he brewed primarily weiss beer. In block to the east where it sat undevel- 1853 he built a three story ‘cream city oped before it was demolished on brick’ saloon and boarding house fronting account of lack of funding in late 2009. Juneau Avenue, behind which stood the This benign neglect of the Gipfel struc- original wood-framed brew house. ture is a true shame and one that all par- Between the 1860s and 1880s the brew- ties involved should be taken to task over. ery was producing between 40 and 100 barrels of ‘white beer’ (weiss bier) annu- Four blocks west of the Gipfel Union ally. Yet, by 1894 the brewery permanent- Brewery site on the NW corner of 8th ly shut down due to increased competi- Street and Highland Boulevard is the tion. Since then, the building was home location of the former Eagle Brewery. to a variety of businesses, including Construction began in 1842 by Robert

Brewery History Number 140 77 Baker, who soon transferred the property rathskeller, we ate a German-themed to William Miller that same year due to catered lunch while washing it down health reasons. In 1843 William Miller with, what else, but . along with business partner William From here we were led out into the Pawlett (formerly with the Milwaukee brewery grounds by Michael Murvis and Brewery), took this new brewery into pro- Dan McCarthy who represent Towne duction. In 1845 Levi Blossom, a banker Investments that are overseeing the and land speculator bought out the debt- redevelopment of the brewery complex. burdened brewery and appointed his Mike and Dan were very kind to show brother Alonzo to the brewing operation, us through a handful of buildings on the where he brewed exclusively ales, in par- property, including the vacant bottling ticular Scotch Ale and their well known plant, the abandoned Methodist church ‘Blossom's Badger Ale.’ On 9 November and brew house with the upper works of 1853 the brewery burned down with the six massive copper kettles still intact. arson as a suspected cause. A year later, We were told they hope the brew house the brewery was rebuilt and operated will be incorporated into the lobby of a under new ownership by Matthew grand hotel some day. Middelwood, Pearson Gibson and TT Lunn. By 1859 the brewery was renamed The origins of the Pabst Brewing the Sands Spring Brewery after it was Company can be traced to 1844 when sold to Chicago brewer John Sands. The the Best family of Jacob Sr, Jacob Jr, brewery went into new ownership by Charles, Phillip and Lorenz Best built Franz Falk, Frederick Goes and William their small brewery on a hill overlooking Gerlach in 1862 and by 1866 the brewery the Milwaukee River. Here they made rye was converted into an exclusively malting whisky, bourbon, porter, ales and . operation. The former brewery continued Charles and Lorenz would eventually as a malt house until 1906 when the leave the family brewery and open the building was demolished and later sold to Plank Road Brewery, which would later the expanding , become the Miller Brewery. In 1858, where they eventually built a distribution Phillip Best took over the brewery on 11th warehouse on the site in 1977. and Chestnut Street (Juneau Avenue) and by 1863 he renamed it the Empire At this stage on the tour we had reached Brewery. A year later Phillip hired Emil the sprawling redevelopment of the Pabst Schandein and Captain , Brewery complex, in time for our lunch at both of whom would eventually marry Best Place. We were greeted by Jim Phillip's daughters and take the helm of Haertel, owner and developer of this the Phillip Best Brewing Company. In original castle-like gift shop and former 1866, Phillip Best retired from the busi- office of Captain Frederick Pabst. While ness and transfers the primary responsi- inside the beautifully fresco-laden bilities to Frederick Pabst, who by 1873

78 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 7. Exterior of the Pabst brewery.

Brewery History Number 140 79 Figure 8. Interior of the Pabst brewery.

80 Journal of the Brewery History Society became president of the brewery. During the corporate headquarters moved to this time, the Empire brewery was brew- . Today the Pabst Blue Ribbon label ing more than 100,000 barrels per year, is still being brewed by Miller Brewing more than any other brewery in North Company, however the former Empire America. In 1889, a year after Emil brewery is undergoing a major revitaliza- Schandein died; Pabst renamed the busi- tion for mixed business use. ness to the Pabst Brewing Company, while maintaining the letter B in the logo After the bus pulled out of the Pabst in honour of the Best name. By the 1890s Brewery complex, we were off to visit the the brewery covered almost 10 acres, site of the former Cream City Brewery with a capacity of 1,500,000 barrels per located nearby on the NE corner of 13th year making it the largest beer producer and Cherry Street. This brewing company on the planet. Over the decades the began in 1853 when George and Conrad brewing company would continue to lead Wehr built their brewery at the same loc- North America in beer production until ation. After several ownership changes, it 1996 when the brewery shut down and became the John Beck West Hill Brewery

Figure 9. Cream City Brewing Co, lithograph. ©Milwaukee Public Library.

Brewery History Number 140 81 Figure 10. 1876 Rascher fire insurance map of Cream City Brewing Co. ©Milwaukee Public Library

in 1861 after John Beck bought out his buildings sat vacant until the late 1940s partner Stephen Weber. It operated as when it was demolished to make way for the John Beck West Hill Brewery until a department store parking lot. Today the 1879 when it was sold to William Gerlach sole remaining structure from this former (Sands Spring Brewery maltster) who brewery is the 25,000 sqaure-foot horse renamed it the Cream City Brewing stables built in 1910 that once housed Company. The brewery quickly expanded more than 40 horses to pull the beer during the 1880s brewing over 25,000 wagons. barrels per annum. The brewing compa- ny survived prohibition (1920-1933) by Across Interstate 43 lay the tenth desti- operating as the Cream City Products nation on this downtown brewing history Company. However, by 1937 the brewery tour, namely Leinenkugel's 10th Street was foreclosed by its creditors and the Brewery which assumed brewing rites

82 Journal of the Brewery History Society there in 1995. Master brewer and facility still embossed along an upper cornice of manager Gregory Walter met us at the the cream city brick building, which inci- gate for a rare tour of his brewery. As the dentally is now home to Great Lakes group were treated to a newly brewed Archaeological Research Center, a for- yet-to-be released ‘mystery beer’ in the mer employer of mine. This brewery and hospitality room, Greg gave an overview soda factory was established by Eugene of Leinenkugel's history which began in Louis Husting in 1877 on the eastside of 1867 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. We 5th Street between Cheery Street and were then guided into the brewery where Vliet Street In 1884 EL Husting was we were allowed to see their state-of- brewing weiss beer in an eight-barrel the-art operation that is rarely viewed by brew kettle and bottling in stoneware bot- the public, as well as being treated to tles. He continued to brew sodas and samples of beer straight from the fermen- beer here until he died in 1916, after tation tanks. which sodas became the primary bever- age of production during prohibition. Soon it was on to the oldest complete Following Prohibition in 1933 the facility standing brewery structure in Milwaukee, became a distribution plant for beer and the EL. Husting Brewery, whose name is liquor until it shut down in 1970.

Figure 11. EL Husting Brewery, 1893.

Brewery History Number 140 83 A block away on the NW corner of 5th Taking these out into the courtyard we Street and Cherry Street is the site of the were able view into the brew house win- J Obermann Brewery. Established as the dows. Unfortunately we were denied Germania Brewery in 1854 by Jacob access to the 1890 brew house because Obermann, they brewed ‘Standard’, of the dangerous condition of the interior, ‘Weiner’ and ‘Extra Brew’ styles of beer. which is in serious disrepair. If this By 1880 Jacob Obermann and his sons structure is not stabilized soon, I fear it were brewing 30,000 barrels of beer per too will succumb to the sad fate of so year, making it one of the largest beer many other Milwaukee breweries. producers in Milwaukee until Jacob died in 1887. In 1895 after being unable to The history of the Schlitz Brewing recover from debt, the J Obermann Company began in 1849 when August Brewing Company was sold to Phillip Krug opened his eponymously named Jung. Three years later, the Jung small brewery and saloon an 4th Street Brewing Company built a bottling plant and Chestnut Street (Juneau Avenue across from the brewery (which still today) across from the Gipfel Union stands today) and he remained in busi- Brewery where he brewed about 500 bar- ness until 1920 when prohibition struck. rels a year. Two years after August Krug Up until 2008, the original brew house died in 1856, his bookkeeper Joseph was still standing, however after years of Schlitz married the widow Anna Marie neglect it was demolished and is current- Krug and built a new brewery at its cur- ly a vacant lot. Prior to the tour, I used rent location on 3rd Street under his name ground penetrating radar around the in 1871. In the same year, following the perimeter of the brew house to determine Great Chicago Fire, the Schlitz Brewery if the sub-cellars were still detectable; as sent shiploads of beer to Chicago, which it turned out they are, some four meters helped to galvanize Schlitz as ‘The Beer below street level. that made Milwaukee Famous.’ On 7 May 1875 died on the Finally, our last stop on this inaugural steamship Schiller, off the southern coast Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing Tour of England (Lands End, Cornwall) at would be the Schlitz Brewery complex. which point management of the brewery As we pulled along side the former brew- was taken over by August Krug’s ery stables, it is still possible to see the nephews, the four Uihlein brothers: horse head carvings and stable sign August, Alfred, Henry and Edward. The embossed on the exterior façade. We name of Uihlein figured prominently in the disembarked beside the former wash evolution of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing house and made our way into the old Company, which was organized with a Brown Bottle bar, which is now home to capitalization of $200,000 in 1874. After an Italian restaurant, where everyone Schlitz's death, Henry Uihlein became was treated to a bottle of Schlitz each. president, Alfred, the brew master, and

84 Journal of the Brewery History Society Figure 12. The Schlitz Brewery.

Brewery History Number 140 85 August owning the majority of the stock, Alas, as the sun lowered in the early April ruled by common consent under the sky, we boarded the bus one last time unassuming title of ‘Secretary and bound for the Discovery World museum, Treasurer’. By 1890 output was nearly after visiting eleven brewery sites half a million barrels. In 1902 the output throughout the day. While many of the of the Schlitz Brewing Company sur- original breweries that once dominated passed that of Pabst, a supremacy it 's skyline have maintained until the Prohibition era. The since disappeared, it is hoped that these company was capitalized at $12,000,000 tours begin to put these sites back on in 1903. In 1948, Schlitz brewed an esti- the map, while creating accurate mated 4,000,000 barrels, more than any chronologies for generations to come. In other brewery in the world at that time. fact, this initial Legacies of Milwaukee The company flourished through the Brewing tour acted as the perfect catalyst 1970s, being ranked as the number two for additional soirees into this city's brewery in America as late as 1976. historic brewing tradition on the south, However, attempts to cut costs in the west and north sides of Milwaukee. The brewing process by using a high-temper- details from those urban expeditions will ature fermentation led to inferior tasting be forthcoming. Until then, a toast to beer. In 1982 the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Milwaukee's brewing heritage and the Co was acquired by Stroth Brewery Co of lasting legacy it continues to have in a MI. In 2008 Schlitz began brewing city of proud beer lovers. its original 1960s recipe to popular appeal. The author would like to thank Leonard Jurgensen for providing the historical information for this article.

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