For much of its history, Milwaukee was touted as the "beer capital of the world." And, indeed, the city has been home to some of America's largest brewers -- Pabst, Schlitz, Miller, Blatz. But was it Milwaukee that made these brewers great, or was it the great brewers that made Milwaukee?
In attempting to answer this question, brewing industry historians have drawn some interesting conclusions:
Milwaukee did not enjoy any significant advantages as concerned the price or availability of raw materials such as hops and barley.
Labor was not noticeably cheaper in Milwaukee than most other brewing cities.
Milwaukee's water supply did not offer any special advantages for brewing. The nineteenth century myth that Milwaukee water produced a superior brew was debunked by early chemists.
There were no particular advantages associated with transportation of freight in or out of Milwaukee.
Although cooperage (barrels, vats, casks, etc.) was inexpensive in Milwaukee due to the large Wisconsin lumber trade, the savings were not significant enough to provide a major advantage. And anyway, the Milwaukee brewers consumed so many beer barrels that they were often forced to buy them from suppliers outside Wisconsin, thus incurring transportation costs. In fact, frequent barrel shortages in Milwaukee finally compelled the Pabst and Schlitz breweries to join forces and establish the Delta Cooperage Company to secure a constant supply of barrels.
Cheap, abundant ice from Lake Michigan certainly favored brewing before the advent of artificial refrigeration. Ice also stimulated long-distance shipping of beer, since rail cars needed to be packed with enormous quantities of ice to prevent spoilage of the beer en route. But all Great Lakes cities -- Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. -- also enjoyed the same advantages. Thus, Milwaukee's ice supply can not alone be credited with the developing city's brewing prowess.
What, then, caused Milwaukee to become the "brewing capital of the world?"
The best answer is that it was a combination of a diverse set of factors:
1) Conditions in Milwaukee were just as favorable for beer-making as they were in most major cities. Yet, compared to many nineteenth century brewing centers, Milwaukee's population -- and that of its outlying regions -- was relatively small. Thus, Milwaukee brewers were forced to turn to outside markets to expand sales. This unique problem ultimately transformed Milwaukee's breweries into "nationally-minded" organizations. Once begun, the strategy of long-distance shipping did not cease for Milwaukee's brewers until their beer was being sold in every corner of America.
2) Proximity to the large beer-consuming population of Chicago -- and the easy and inexpensive lake transportation thereto -- was always a boon to Milwaukee's brewing industry. For example, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 boosted sales of Milwaukee breweries enormously. Schlitz's frequent shipments of beer to the devastated city earned it the slogan, "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." Schlitz enjoyed a 100 percent jump in sales immediately after the Chicago fire.
3) There is no question that certain of Milwaukee's brewers were extraordinarily talented businessmen. While their particular circumstances may have accidentally lead them to aspire to greater markets than most brewers, it can not be denied that the men behind the breweries were savvy, aggressive industrialists. And much of their success was achieved through vision, hard work and sound business sense.
So, in the end, Milwaukee's status as one of the greatest brewing centers in America was a result both of the special characteristics of the city and the aggressive business styles of many of its brewers.
Blatz was originally called City Brewery (of Milwaukee not the one of LaCrosse, Wisconsin) and was run by John Braun. Valentin Blatz started a brewery next door in 1851, the same year Braun died. Blatz married Braun's widow and took over operations of City Brewery. At it's height Blatz produced over a million barrels of beer annually. More than 80 breweries went out of business from the 30s to the 70s. Wisconsin breweries were thriving and seemingly immune to the problems that were forcing everyone else out of business.
Blatz Brewing Company was the first to do many important things among Wisconsin's breweries. Blatz was the first Milwaukee brewery market beer nationally. Blatz was the first Milwaukee brewer that had its own bottling plant onsite. Blatz was a very self sufficient brewery which may be one of the reasons of its demise since it spent so much on building these resources. Blatz owned its own carpenter shop, railroad cars, cooper shop, machine shop, and coal yard. Blatz was one of, if not the first, to do freshness dating . Blatz was also unfortunately the first of Milwaukee's big four (Blatz, Schlitz, Pabst and Miller) to fall victim to hard times, succumbing to pressure from larger competitors in Milwaukee and across the nation. This giant was around for 108 years until its demise in 1959.
(1846-1851) What eventually became the Blatz brewery was founded in 1846 by John Braun at Main and Division Streets (N. Broadway and E. Juneau Ave. ) as City Brewery.
(1852-1889) City Brewery at Broadway & Division Streets - Valentin Blatz, Owner
1889 - The Blatz brewing interests were incorporated as the Val Blatz Brewing Company with a capitalization of $2,000,000. (big money at that time)
(1889-1890) Val Blatz Brewing Company
1891 - Valentin Blatz sold out to a group of London financiers known in brewing circles as "the English Syndicate".
(1890-1911) Val. Blatz Brewing Co. 609 Broadway Street a division of United States Brewing Co. Milwaukee and Chicago
1900 - By 1900, Blatz was Milwaukee 's third-largest brewery. The Blatz Brewery Complex was bounded by Broadway, Highland , Juneau Avenue and Market Street .
(1911-1920) Period of time known as the Val. Blatz Brewing Co. / U. S. Brewing Co.
(1920-1933) Prohibition, Val Blatz begins to manufacture other products such as near beer, juices and chewing gum.
January, 1931 - Val Blatz Brewing Company changes its name to the Blatz Brewing Company.
1933 - The end of the Prohibition Act
(Unsure at this time) Schenley Industries, Inc., a whiskey producer, buys Blatz.
1950 - Blatz is # 9 in the U.S. with a production of 1,756,000 barrels
Blatz Brewery in 1956
*note - on the right side of picture is what looks like a black building which is in fact a original brick building that the more modern one is attached to.
1959 - Although Blatz was the first Milwaukee brewer to go national, it was forced to close in 1959, and the label was sold to Pabst Brewing Company of Milwaukee .
1969 - G. Heileman of LaCrosse, Wis. buys Blatz from Pabst after their anti-trust lawsuit. In my humble opinion, G. Heileman did more for Blatz than any one who followed. They really tried to keep Blatz in the spotlight along with their other products.
1983 - The Blatz Brewing Company Office Building 1120 N. Broadway Milwaukee, WI located in Milwaukee County was listed on 03-31-1983 in the National Register of Historic Places.
1986 - The Blatz Brewery Complex 1101--1147 N. Broadway Milwaukee, WI also located in Milwaukee County was listed on 04-15-1986 in the National Register of Historic Places.
1986 - The G. Heileman Brewing Company unveiled its new automated Val Blatz 10th Street Brewery in downtown Milwaukee .
1988 - The old Blatz brewery was converted to "upscale" apartments.
1996 - Just ten short years after it's build, the Val Blatz 10th Street Brewery in downtown Milwaukee was sold in 1996 to the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. The ten full-time employees still handcraft 40,000 barrels of Leinenkugel's beer at that facility.
1996 - Stroh Brewery of Detroit Michigan buys Heileman and in effect buys Blatz. On July 1, 1996 the Stroh Brewery Company completed its acquisition of G. Heileman Brewing Company through the bankruptcy court.
1999 - Pabst Brewing Company of San Antonio , Texas (formerly of Milwaukee , Wisconsin ) buys most of the Stroh's holdings including Blatz. Details in the Midwest Beer Notes. Pabst (the virtual brewer) doesn't own any plants anymore, and Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee handles most the of Pabst production. It has also been rumored City Brewery of LaCrosse, Wisconsin (the former G. Heileman Brewery) does some contract brewing for Pabst..............Strange very strange!
Lakefront Brewing Company:
Water Street Brewery Beer Memorabilia
The Water Street Brewery Beer Memorabilia collection consists of one-of-a-kind beer and brewing artifacts, many of which are featured in “The World of Beer Memorabilia” book. This extensive collection is on display at Water Street Brewery in downtown Milwaukee and Water Street Brewery Lake Country in Delafield. Included are:
- 50,000 cans- 6,000 arranged and featured in 25 impressive wood framed displays
- 1,400 beer tap knobs and handles
- 2,300 coasters
- 825 bottle and can openers
- 10 original Wisconsin Brewery lithographs
- 200 server trays
- 25 exterior corner signs
- 450 large and miniature bottles
- 50 neon signs
- and many chalk figures, pictures, signs and wooden crates.
TAP HANDLES & KNOBS
Tap handles became a necessity with the passing of a 1920's law requiring all tap beers be marked with the name of the beer served. Early tap knobs were all round in shape and were called ball knobs. Usually made of metal and plastic, they found additional use as shift knobs in cars. The inserts in these older knobs on display were made from enamel, which allowed for colorful logos of the brand being served. Most new tap handles are made of a heavy plastic including those at Water Street Brewery.
Brew Master Trivia
Q: Where is the world's largest collection of manuscripts and papers of Hobbit creator J.R.R. Tolkien?
A: Marquette University
Q: “The Brew That Grew with the Great Northwest” was a slogan associated with what beer? Who brewed it? Where?
A: Schmidt, Jacob Schmidt Brewing in St. Paul, MN
Q: “Born in the Land of Sky Blue Waters” is the slogan associated with what beer and who brews it?
A: Hamm's, by Theodore Hamm Brewing now part of Pabst Brewing
Q: When did the Pabst brewery start bottling its lager beer?
A: 1875
Q: In 1988 Miller Brewery bought what Chippewa Falls brewery?
A: Jacob Leinenkugel's Spring Brewery
Q: Which former star of “Saturday Night Live” is from Wisconsin and where?
A: Chris Farley from Maple Bluff
MillerCoors wants to become the best beer company in America.
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We'll do that through a combination of great brands, talented people, strong partnerships and the scale that our new company brings us.
We believe in brands, and we're determined to build the best portfolio of beer brands in the business, by listening carefully to beer drinkers and understanding what they want today—and what they'll want tomorrow.
We're building a true team of highly talented people who are passionate about the beer business, who love to win and learn, and who aim to amaze every customer by doing the little things that make a big difference.
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Proud HistoryMillerCoors grew from the dreams of two German entrepreneurs who came to America in the mid-19th century.
Miller Brewing Company began when a determined young brewer, Frederick J. Miller, brought his passion for beer to the United States. Miller settled in Milwaukee, where in 1855 he bought the Plank Road Brewery and made his first delicious beer, using yeast that he had carried with him all the way from Europe.
Coors Brewing Company tapped its first barrel in 1873, when Adolph Coors opened The Golden Brewery in Colorado. Coors was born in Prussia and apprenticed at a brewery in his teens. With characteristic spirit, he stowed away on a ship to get to America and bring his brewing dream to life.
Both companies had the good luck to be formed from the visions of remarkable businessmen who also happened to be remarkable human beings. Both had the good fortune to have family members carry on the work and legacy of founders. Both enterprises survived Prohibition and two world wars, when brewing materials were scarce and hundreds of other brewers failed to survive. Our founding companies built their success barrel by barrel.
At MillerCoors, we now begin our own history. We have two wonderful traditions. And now, our talents, energies and ingenuity come together to form one promising company.
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MillerCoors is committed to providing products and services of superb quality and value to its customers and our consumers. It is vital for our suppliers to understand that MillerCoors expects the highest standard of conduct. Our standards set forth fundamental principles and policies to which all of our suppliers must adhere. MillerCoors will always strive to treat our suppliers ethically, honestly and fairly. We strongly encourage any business partner who has a question or feels pressured by a MillerCoors employee or another representative of our company to violate these Standards to contact MillerCoors Ethics Hotline at (888) 278-1496. This site is run by a third party service provider and can be completely anonymous if you like. Every caller is provided a code number and can call back to receive an answer to their question or find out how the matter was resolved. For the MillerCoors Business Code of Conduct, click here .
