The Independent Milwaukee Brewery was an
American brewery that was located on the south side of
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 1901 until 1964, when it was closed by ''
G. Heileman Brewing Company
The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, was a brewer that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewery bore the family name of its co-founder ...
'' which purchased the brewery in 1962.
The brewery's signature brand was ''Braumeister''.
The trademark for this brand is currently held by ''
Rhinelander Brewing Company''.
History
The company was founded by five partners: Henry N. Bills, William Gutknecht, Charles Evers, Emil Czarnecki, and William Jung. During
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 ...
, Bills bought out the other partners and brought on his sons and son-in-law into the business. The company survived Prohibition by selling near beer. After Prohibition, the brewer was the first to obtain a beer manufacturing permit from the city to resume beer production.
In 1953, the brewery's workers went on strike at the same time as the other five major brewers in the city (
Schlitz,
Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist
*Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker
*Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer
*Georg Wilhelm ...
,
Miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
,
Blatz, and
Gettelman) in the
1953 Milwaukee brewery strike
The 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike was a strike action involving approximately 7,100 workers at six breweries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The strike began on May 14 of that year after the Brewery Workers Union Local 9 and an employer ...
.
In 1962, the company sold to
Lacrosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...
-based ''G. Heileman Brewing Company'' and produced 133,000 barrels of beer. In 1963, the company laid off workers until their staff was reduced to fifty employees. In 1964 the brewery was closed.
Brands
* Biermann Beer (1962-1964)
* Bill's Culmbacher Beer (1933-1950)
* Bill's High Power Bock Beer (1933-1950)
* Bill's High Power Pilsener Style Beer (1933-1964)
* Bill's
Lager
Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...
Beer (1933-1950)
* Braumeister Bock Beer (1933-1950)
* Braumeister Dortmunder Dark Beer (1950-1959)
* Braumeister Holiday Beer (1934-1955)
* Braumeister Lager Beer (1933-1950)
* Braumeister Select Beer (1936-1940)
* Deutscher Club Lager Beer (1933-1950)
* Eisen Stark Beer (1958-1960)
* Independent Bock Beer (1933-1936)
* Independent Select Beer (1933-1936)
* Little Brau Beer (1933-1950)
* Log Cabin Beer (1942-1957)
* Special
Pilsner
Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery.
History
...
Beer (1933-1936)
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 1901
1901 establishments in Wisconsin
Companies based in Milwaukee
Defunct brewery companies of the United States