Today is the birthday of Charles N. Hamm (December 8, 1886-October 16, 1918). This is one of the brewer’s birthdays I know the absolute least about. What little I know came from a snippet from a genealogical page about the family that bought the Hamm’s family brewery in 1932, although the Jung’s had apparently been leasing it for many years before that, possibly as early as 1918. Charles N. Hamm and his family, as far as I can tell, owned and possibly founded (although it seems more likely they bought in to) the Silver Lake Brewery, which was founded in Random Lake, Wisconsin in 1866. Charles’ father, Carl Hamm, was born in 1853, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany so it seems unlikely he started a brewery in Wisconsin when he was thirteen, plus records indicate he came to the U.S., initially New York, in 1872, and didn’t settle in Wisconsin until at least 1883, which is where his son Charles was born.
But at some point the Hamm family did acquire it, renaming it the Charles Hamm Brewery in 1910. In 1917, The Brewers Journal listed Charles N. Hamm as the “president, general manager, and brewmaster.” Hamm apparently enlisted in the Army and was sent to Europe to fight in World War I, leaving William Jung as brewmaster. Unfortunately, Hamm caught pneumonia while overseas and died in 1918.
In 1920, Jung leased the brewery from the Hamm family, and called it the Jung Beverage Co. during prohibition, but bought it outright in 1932. From then on it was known as the Jung Brewing Co. and 1952, when Jung sold out to Herman Sitzberger, who kept it going under the same name until 1958, when it closed for good.
Random Lake, Wis. today, with a population as of the 2010 census of 1,594.
Silver *Creek Brewery. There was a plentiful supply of fresh water in the small village of Silver Creek which is why the brewery as well as a number of bottlers of soda water were located in the direct vicinity.
The brewery moved to Random Lake when the railroad came through.
Also, William Jung died for to injuries sustained in a car crash in 1947, although the Jung family continued to operate the brewery until they sold to Mr. Sitzburger.
Thanks for posting about this brewery!
Charles Hamm is my great uncle, (my grandmother was his sister. His father started the Brewery in Silver Creek Wisconsin and later moved it to Random lake because that is where the railway was located. I have documents about the history if you would like copies for your historical records.
I would be interested in info or documents! My grandma’s father was Charles Hamm!
Who is your mother? I am a great niece of Charles Hamm. My maternal grandmother was his sister, her name was Katherine Hamm
Hi Katie and Justin,
I am Todd Liebenstein and my grandmother was Josephine (Hamm) Liebenstein, daughter of Charles Hamm. Very nice to hear your discussion. I would love more historical background if you have it. I am also currently searching for brewerania from the Charles Hamm brewery if you have any leads?
Hi Katie,
This is Todd Liebenstein’s older brother (by over four years) Brian. Our father took us to visit his aunt Kate in Random Lake in the mid 1960s. Todd was just 5 or so. I was old enough that I kind of recall there was also an Uncle Mike Hamm but he chose to be involved in other business. Combined with Carl aging it might have contributed to the brewery being leased and sold to the Jungs. Do you happen to recall so as to verify an old label we inherited from one such trip. The print indicates there was once a brand of Hamm brew called Ideal beer?
Yes, there is a known beer label for Ideal Beer brewed by Chas. Hamm Brewing Co. It is a very scarce label and is the only known label that they used. If you can provide me with an email address I’ll send you a digital image.
I think my great grandfather might have been Carl Hamm because my grandmother told me about how he came to America from Germany and started a brewery in Wisconsin called the Carl Hamm brewery.
The Hamm’s brewery of random lake was owned by one of my great grandfathers! I’ve been searching many years for more info!