Today is the birthday of Paul Reising (October 7, 1819-January 30, 1879). He was born in Bavaria, Germany, but moved to the United States when he was 35, in 1854. In 1857, he bought the City Brewery of New Albany, Indiana, from Joseph Metcalfe, and renamed it the Paul Reising & Co. Brewery, and a few years later the Paul Reising Brewing Co. It kept going after his death in 1879, but the business declared bankruptcy in 1915, and was sold.
This account is from a History Forum:
Paul Reising was born in the village of Hoerstein, Bavaria in 1819. He married Susanna Stadtmueller, also a native of Hoerstein in 1842 and came to America on board the ship Juventa bound from Havre de Grace to New York in 1854 (for more information on him and his family see Paul Reising Family History).
He purchased the City Brewery in New Albany in 1861. When he purchased it, it was a mere 20×60 feet with a capacity of 1500 barrels of beer annually. In 1873 the Paul Reising Brewing Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000. By 1891, the capacity had been increased to 12000 barrels. Fred Kistner, Reising’s son-in-law was to have inherited the brewery, but he predeceased Reising and the brewery was sold to John Meyer. By 1913 the president of the company was H. L. Meinhardt. In 1914 financial disaster overtook the company, when some apparently bad beer was distributed without quality control. The company was forced into bankruptcy in 1915.
After the bankruptcy the company was sold to Michael Schrick, and was eventually renamed the Southern Indiana Ice and Beverage Company during Prohibition. This company closed in 1935. The old brewery site was reopened as the Polar Ice Company. This was razed in 1969 when the Holiday Inn which occupies this location now was constructed. No Brewery buildings remain.
Employees of the Paul Riesing Brewery.
This brief history of the brewery is from “100 Years of Brewing:”
