The Independent Milwaukee Brewery was an

American brewery Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels () of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly of beer ...

that was located on the south side of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

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 brewery firm that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's, and its independent existence ceased. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewe ...

'' 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 Rhinelander Brewery is a regional American brewery located in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. History The original company was founded in 1882 by Otto Hilgermann and Henry Danner. The original brewery was located on Ocala Street in Rhinelander, next ...

''.

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 ...

, 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 Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

, Blatz, and Gettelman) in the

1953 Milwaukee brewery strike The 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike was a labor strike that involved 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 Local 9 and an employers' or ...

. In 1962, the company sold to

Lacrosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

-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 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 Beer (1933-1936)

References

{{reflist American companies established in 1901 1901 establishments in Wisconsin Companies based in Milwaukee Defunct brewery companies of the United States

History

Brands

See also

References