Breweries of Wisconsin

Introduction

Introduction The history of breweries in our land is a story of people. It is the story of their hopes and surprises, their visions of great promise and disappointments. It is about business and agriculture, about buildings with steam pouring from the roofs and semitrailers groaning away from the shipping docks. It speaks of cold northern winters and of a time when ice-cutters ventured forth on ponds and lakes to carve out huge blocks of ice, so vital to beer brewing before the advent of modern refrigeration. Brewing history evokes memories of oak barrels and the coopers who made them. There are memories as well of colorful beer wagons with the local brewery's logo emblazoned on the side and of sturdy teams of draft horses that clip-clopped along cobblestone streets. There are visions of shiny copper brew kettles, maltsters , and the smiling brewmasters with keen eyes and discriminating taste who are the real artists and connoisseurs of beer making. The brewery story must make mention of the hops yards and the years of backbreaking labor devoted to bringing the crop to market; of undulating fields of golden barley ripening under the summer sun and the promise of the brew that comes, ultimately, from the land. Today, many of Wisconsin's breweries stand empty. Scores of these structures have been torn down in the name of "progress," and some have been converted for other use. There are fewer and fewer reminders of the yesterdays when nearly every city and town in Wisconsin boasted a brewery. It was the loss ofthese breweries and the disappearance of the beers that I had enjoyed as a young man growing up on a central Wisconsin farm that launched my exploration into Wisconsin's brewing history. During threshing season in our second genera- xxii Introduction BREWERY AT CASSVILLE, C. 1900. (FRANK FElKER PHOTOGRAPH. COURTESY OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.) HORSE-DRAWN DELIVERY WAGON. (COURTESY OF THE MILLER BREWING COMPANY') tion German and Polish neighborhood, the host farmer usually provided beer for the threshing crew at day's end. A debate always ensued as to which were the better beers. Most of us could tell the difference between Point, Berliner, Blatz, Chief Oshkosh, Rahr, and Fauerbach without even looking at the labels. With a few exceptions, all of these beers have disappeared. I was curious why. I was also curious how the brewing industry began, for Wisconsin was surely as much a "beer state" as a "dairy state." A search through a library card catalog revealed many books on beer and breweries, but I found little specific information about Wisconsin's role in the brewing industry. My interest piqued, I left early one day from my office in the university's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to walk over to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Once again, there were a number of books and articles about breweries, brewery memorabilia, and beer, but there didn't appear to be a single definitive work on the history of Wisconsin's brewing industry. As I studied the available reference materials, more and more questions came to mind. What did the old breweries look like? Who built them? How many were still standing? When I came upon a description of one of these original breweries , I was intrigued. The article, "Milwaukee's First Frothy Keg Was Ale Brewed by Richard Owens, a Welshman,"l told how Owens' Brewery was built in 1840 at the foot of what is now Clybourn Street. According to the article, this brewery was not only the first in Milwaukee, but may have been Wisconsin's first as well. Upon reading this, I knew I had to have a look for myself, to take a step into history. In search of Owens' Brewery, I drove to Milwaukee. The interstate merged into the expressway, leading me into the heart of the city. From there, I made my way toward the lakeshore-referring to my map, notes, and the green-lit road signs while trying to navigate the quickening traffic. How much easier it must have been, I thought, to get around Milwaukee in 1840 when Owens constructed his brewery. Heading east toward the lake, I passed through a maze of concrete buildings, one-way streets, and highway ramps. I could see that if I continued in a straight line, I'd be in the middle ofthe Summerfest grounds. Municipal...