The Cream City Brewing Company was an
American brewery that was located in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
from 1853 until 1937.
The brewery was one of seven to survive
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
in the city.
One structure remains from the old brewery complex; a 25,000 square-foot horse stable built in 1910 that housed over forty horses to pull beer wagons.
History
The brewery was built in 1853 by George and Conrad Weir.
It was called ''West Hill Brewery'' at the time and was owned by George Weir and Christopher Forster.
Ownership of the brewery changed several times until John Beck bought out his partner Stephen Weber in 1861,
and retained ownership until 1877 when it was sold to Jacob Veldt.
Two years later it was sold to William Gerlach who renamed the brewery ''Cream City Brewing Company''.
During the 19th century, the brewery was emerging as a significant player in the Milwaukee beer market.
In the 1880s, the facility produced 25,000 barrels of beer annually. The company was able to survive Prohibition by selling
near beer
Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in diff ...
.
However, due to debt problems, the company was foreclosed by creditors in 1937.
Brands
* Big Boy Beer
* Blue Jay Beer
* Bock Beer
* Cream City Draft Beer
* Cream City Export Beer
* Cream City Pale Beer
* Cream City Pelham Club Beer
* Cream City Pilsener Beer
* Extra Stock Dark Beer
* Hanover Dark Beer
* Pelham Club Extra Brew Pale Beer
* Pilsener Beer
See also
*
Beer in Milwaukee
The city of Milwaukee in the U.S. state of Wisconsin has been associated with beer throughout its history. This heritage can be found in its Major League Baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and on beer brands such as Old Milwaukee and Milwaukee' ...
*
List of defunct breweries in the United States
At the end of 2017, there were a total of 7,450 brewery, breweries in the United States, including 7,346 craft breweries subdivided into 2,594 Microbrewery#Brewpub, brewpubs, 4,522 Microbrewery, microbreweries, 230 regional Microbrewery#Craft brew ...
References
{{reflist
American companies established in 1853
1853 establishments in Wisconsin
Defunct brewery companies of the United States
Companies based in Milwaukee