Jacob Best Sr. (1786 – 1861) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

brewer who founded what would later become known as the

Pabst Brewing Company The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over ...

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 ...

Life and career

Best was born in

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

, where he learned the trade and ran a small brewery in

Mettenheim Mettenheim is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, an ...

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

, until immigrating to Milwaukee in 1844 to join his sons. In Milwaukee, Jacob Best founded Empire Brewery on Chestnut Street Hill, which he ran with his sons,

Phillip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, Jacob Jr.,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, and Lorenz. Charles and Lorenz soon withdrew from the company, with Charles establishing the Plank Road Brewery (now the

Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

). His daughter Margaretha married Moritz Schoeffler, a prominent newspaper editor who founded ''The Wisconsin Banner''. Empire Brewery produced 300 barrels in its first year. The name was changed to Best and Company and became one of the most successful breweries in Milwaukee. After Jacob Sr. retired in 1853, Phillip and Jacob Jr. continued operations as a partnership. The Best brewery was renamed Phillip Best Brewery. Phillip's sons-in-law, Emil Schandein and Captain Frederick Pabst later bought the brewery from Phillip. When Phillip died, his wife Lisette Best became vice-president. By 1874 Phillip Best Brewing Co. was the nation's largest brewer, supplying Chicago after the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

. The brewery was renamed

and remained at the same location along Chestnut Street (now Juneau Avenue) until closure of the complex in 1997. Jacob Best Sr. devoted the remainder of his life to local politics. He is buried at

Forest Home Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and ...

in Milwaukee.

References

External links

Dictionary of Wisconsin History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Jacob Sr. 1786 births 1861 deaths German emigrants to the United States American brewers Businesspeople from Milwaukee People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt 19th-century American businesspeople

Life and career

See also

References

External links