Today is the birthday of J.P. Binzel, who sometimes went by J. Philipp or J. Philip (July 4, 1833-1902). He learned to brew as an apprentice at both the Schlitz Brewery and the Val. Blatz Brewery, both in Milwaukee. He first started his own brewery in Wapun, Wisconsin, but it burned down and was a total loss. In 1866, he bought the Farmer’s Brewery in nearby Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, which had originally opened in 1857.

Localeben Magazine picks up the story:

Philip Binzel passed away in 1902, and his wife with the assistance of two sons, Edward and Alvin, continued to run the business.  The name was changed from Farmer’s Brewery to J. Philip Binzel Brewing Company to honor her late husband. A third son, Rudolf, bought the brewery four years later and operated it until they quit brewing in 1920 at the beginning of Prohibition.