The Milwaukee Brewery was preceded by three other brewing enterprises at this 23rd & Jefferson location. The first was established in 1884 by Diedrich Stegmann, and was one of the first breweries in Tacoma. Stegmann ran his brewery as a sole proprietorship until 1886 when he took on a partner, Henry Lusthoff. However, by 1888 a new company had been formed and was doing business as the United States Brewing & Ice Co., with Diedrich Stegmann, president; S.S. Slaughter, secretary; and John Frazier, treasurer. This appears to have been a stock company formed by George Harrell and Zacharias Zimmerman, to enable them to enter the Tacoma beer market. Harrell was a wealthy brewer and owner of the United States Brewing Co. of Portland. This new company now gave Harrell and Zimmerman their Tacoma branch. Before the year was out, the acting proprietors were in place and the Tacoma Bottling Works was added as unit of the company. The president was still Diedrich Stegmann, but with Mathies Karasek, now serving as secretary & treasurer. A mere three years later, interest in the brewery was purchased by two local liquor dealers, and other investors from Tacoma's Jewish community, but Diedrich Stegmann still held a major share in the company. The Milwaukee Brewery In May of 1891, Samuel S. Loeb, and his brother-in-law, Albert Weinberg, purchased controlling interest in the United States brewery. Two months later, the July 17th edition of the Seattle Intelligencer reported that Andrew Hemrich, proprietor of the Bay View brewery has purchased Mr. Stegmann's shares in the United States Brewery of Tacoma. The brewery will be remodeled and renamed the Milwaukee Bewery. Not much has been written of the Milwaukee brewery. Most of the information has been gleaned from local newspapers of the day.
The December 8, 1891, Tacoma's
Daily Ledger reported:
"A BUSY BREWERY - Milwaukee Company
Enlarging Its Jefferson Avenue Plant by One-Half.
The Tacoma City Directory for 1892 Lists Samuel S. Loeb as
president, and Andrew Hemrich as secratery, so it appears
that Hemrich has retaind an interest in the brewery. Less than two years after establishing the stock company, on 30
April 1893, Leob and partners incorporated the business. The
following day the Daily Ledger reported: "Samuel S. Loeb and A. Weinberg, as
trustees, filed articles yesterday incorporating the
Milwaukee Brewing Company. The capital stock is $25,000 in
350 shares. The business will be to engage in and conduct
the business of brewing, manufacturing and dealing in beer,
ale, etc."
The
Daily Ledger, on October 7, 1894, described the events of
the German-American day held at the Interstate Fair and
recognized the brewery for it's support. In so doing the Ledger
also recounted its success story: " - - They have been indefatigable in
their labors for the past three years to place this
institution in the front rank of brewing houses in the west.
And how have they succeeded? From a badly run-down, somewhat
demoralized brewery in 1891, then known as the United States
Brewery, they have now one of the most complete modern
plants in the Pacific northwest. On
December 30th of 1894, for their year-end recap of local
industries, the Ledger reported that Milwaukee Brewing
company had increased their annual output to 60,000 barrels, and
that they had 23 employees with a payroll of $2250. The years
output was valued at $200,000. The beer
glass shown here was manufactured by the Maryland Glass
Etching Works of Cumberland, Maryland. The company was
founded by George Truog in 1893. Truog was also the artist
who engraved the plates used in the application of the
design. The glass bears his initials which he cleverly
inserted into the design.
The 1896 "year-end look" by the Daily Ledger gave a
glowing account of the Milwaukee
Brewery. The following are excerpts of the lengthy article: " - - They are producing beer equal to
the best eastern draught and bottled beer, which, up to
three years ago was, to be found on sale at many
representative places. Now the eastern draught is entirely
gone, having been replaced with both the draught and the
celebrated "Bohemian Export" bottled beer of the Milwaukee
Brewing Company.
Special attention is paid to the bottling department,
which is under the supervision of Mr. J. F. Yuncker, a
bottler of fifteen years experience in the east. The
superior quality of "Bohemian Export" beer has
thoroughly established its reputation as the finest
bottled product on the market.
In addition to previous improvements the company is just
now finishing a two-story stock house, which will add
3,000 barrels to its storage capacity, insuring that, in
spite of increasing business, the excellent quality will
be maintained. One of the mainsprings of the company's
success has been its ability to keep every customer
(saloon)
once secured. This results from the uniform fair
dealings which has characterized its business. The
company has always taken pride in promoting the success
of its customers, knowing that their success means the
success of the brewery.
Mr. S. S. Loeb is president of the highly successful
company, and Mr. A. Weinberg, secretary and treasurer.
Ben Moyses²
is general agent. A. L. Bird³ has charge of the
office work, and J. Henry Beckman⁴ is brewer and
general superintendent."
Then in 1897, Loeb agreed to a merger with its
neighboring brewery and formed a new corporation.
On 30 August, 1897, Tacoma's Daily Ledger reported: "The Milwaukee Brewing Company in Tacoma
gave a warranty deed to the Puget Sound Brewing Company for
its brewery and all property connected therewith for a
consideration named in the deed of $1, and the
Pacific
Brewing & Malting Company filed articles of incorporation,
with a capital stock of $500,000 to carry on the business of
the two breweries. The trustees of the new company are
William Virges of the Bonney Drug Company, treasurer; Anton
Huth, president of the Puget Sound Brewing Company,
president; S.S. Loeb, president of the Milwaukee Brewing
Company, secretary."
The two breweries were equitably joined, and Loeb took the
position of vice-president and secretary of the new
Pacific Brewing & Malting Company.
The Milwaukee plant remained in operation for two years
- until 1899, when PB&M purchased the local Donau Brewery, and closed the Milwaukee
branch. Not to waste a good design, the
chromolithographer who designed the "M" & Eagle logo for Leob,
utilized it for The Montana Brewing Co. of Great Falls, after
the Milwaukee Brewery closed. ¹Brewmaster, Casper Hofmeier, prior to
working for the Milwaukee Brewery, was a foreman at the
Bay View Brewery in Seattle. In 1895, he and his
step-son Frank Groger, who was also a brewer at the Milwaukee plant, moved to
Ellensburg where they established the St. Louis Brewing Company. ² With the 1897 merger, Benjamin Moyses left Tacoma and started a new brewing venture in Rossland, B.C. with the establishment of the Lion Brewery Co., Ltd. By 1902 Moyses had sold his interests and was in Seattle as secretary/treasurer of Samuel Loeb's new Independent Brewing Company. ³ A. L. Bird accompanied Moyses to Rossland, B.C. and served as secretary of the new Lion Brewery Company. ⁴ J. Henry Beckman came to Tacoma from the Albert Braun brewery in 1891. When the Milwaukee plant merged with PB&M he went with the Galland-Burke Brewing & Malting Co. in Spokane. While in Spokane he drew up plans, supervised the erection and installation of the plant for the new Sunset Brewery in Wallace, ID, and put the plant in operation. In 1902 he returned to Seattle to build the plant for Moyses & Loeb's Independent Brewing Co., in his capacity as brewer and plant superintendent. |
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