Historic Beer Birthday: Anton Heeb

April 11, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Anton Heeb (April 11, 1811-January 23, 1888). He was born in Hesse-Kassel, Germany, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1835, when he was 24 years old, originally landing in Baltimore, Maryland. Here, Tavern Trove picks up the story:

He lived in that city for a short time then moved to Newark, New Jersey. By 1838 he had moved to the St. Louis, Missouri, a city that at the time was on the western frontier of America.
In August of 1838 Anton Heeb married Elizabeth Fleischhauer and they had one child before she died a few years later. Heeb married again to Carolina Knopf in 1845, but she also died just a few days after giving birth to their first child Laurenz in February 1846. In November of that year Heeb married once again to Katharina Gehrig. In addition to being a very brave woman she was the daughter of Joseph Anton Gehrig, a brewer who had just arrived in St. Louis from Switzerland.

The elder Gehrig at age 49 had obtained employment at the Washington Brewery in St. Louis and there he met and took under his wing fellow brewer and Swiss emigre 22 year old Matheus Tschirgi.
Gehring was not in America to be in somebody’s employ. He wanted a brewery of his own. He saw opportunity in the Territory of Iowa, specifically in the river town of Dubuque. In the spring of 1846 Gehrig and Tschirgi journeyed 350 miles up the Mississippi to a brand new town that had never before seen a brewery. But when Gehrig died in August he left a fully functioning brewery in the hands of the apprentice brewer Tschirgi. Heeb and his betrothed received the terrible news along with a request to come help young Tschirgi in the Dubuque brewery.
Reports say that Heeb was an experienced brewer and maltster, but the St. Louis City Directory of 1847 lists Anthony Heeb as a brick maker. Nonetheless Heeb got married, wrapped up business in St. Louis and by the next spring he and his wife had arrived in Dubuque.
Iowa had now become a state and Dubuque was growing quickly. With Heeb in charge the Dubuque brewery started making money and the Heeb family started growing as well. Ultimately Anton and Katharina had nine children together.

The Heeb brewery grew too. In addition to being the first brewery in Iowa it maintained its position as the largest brewery in Iowa too. Tschirgi eventually moved on to found other breweries throughout Iowa. Heeb stayed put, ultimately guiding the brewery for 41 years until his death at age 76, on the 23rd of January 1888.
In 1892 the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company was brought into the Iowa brewery syndicate, and over the next four years Iowa anti-saloon laws convinced the brewery to close.

This obituary of Anton Heeb is from the Daily Times on January 24, 1888

Mr. Anton Heeb Dies at His Home on Couler Avenue Yesterday Afternoon.
Biography of the Most Prominent Brewer in the Northwest.
Mr. Anton Heeb died at his home, 2125 Couler avenue, at a quarter after 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, his bedside being surrounded by his immediate relatives. The cause of death was a complication of diseases of which rheumatism was the most prominent. He had been subject to the latter disease for about twenty-five years, but about a year ago he was attacked by his old complaint in such a manner that he was greatly enfeebled and kept gradually growing weaker until the lamp of life flickered for the last time. He demise had been expected for two weeks by his family, but the public were not aware that his end was so near, and when it became known it occasioned deep regret.
Mr. Heeb was born in Kurhessen, Germany, on the 11th of April, 1811, and accordingly lacked but a few months of being 77 years of age. He emigrated to America and landed in Baltimore, in 1835. He remained in Baltimore a short time, and then moved to Newark, N.J., where he also remained a short time, and then removed to St. Louis, remaining there until 1846, when he came to Dubuque to seek a location for a brewery. Finding this a suitable place, he, in 1847, established one here and conducted it up to about the time he was taken sick, something over a year ago, being in the business forty-one years. His business grew until it became the most extensive in Iowa, if not in that portion of the Northwest, west of the Mississippi, and he was known far and wide. In January , 1846 he was united in marriage to Miss Katharina Gehrig, a distant relative of the Late Joseph Gehrig, of the Jefferson House, also a native of Germany, who was his second wife, his first wife being Miss Carolin Knapp. He leaves two children by the latter, Jacob and Lawrence of LeMars. His surviving children are: Caroline, who is the wife of Mr. Fred Tschudi; Julia, the wife of Mr. Michael Zwack; Bertha, who is Mrs. L.J. Baumhover; Emily, who is in a convent at Redwing, Minn., and whose name in religion is Sister Cassilda; Anna, the wife of Mr. Frank Hellman of Sioux City; Ben and A.F. Heeb. Mr. Louis Heeb, another of his sons, and one of the most excellent young men Dubuque has ever had, died three of four years ago.
Mr. Heeb was a man of a great deal more than ordinary intelligence, and on several occasions was honored by his fellow citizens with offices of honor and trust. He served his ward as a member of the Council; and was also a member of the Board of Supervisors, in both of which positions he performed his duties in a manner which reflected the highest credit upon himself and his constituents. At the time of his demise he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Dubuque Fire and Marine Insurance Company. Mr. Heeb was the soul of honor, a thorough gentleman, kind-hearted and charitable, and his death will be sincerely regretted by all. He has lain down the burdens of this life with the silvered crown of honored age upon his head, and his memory will be revered in the years to come.

And this account is from Encyclopedia Dubuque:

HEEB, Anton. (Hesse Cassel, Germany Apr. 11,1811–Dubuque, IA, Jan. 23, 1888). Heeb once operated the largest brewery in Iowa. He emigrated to America and landed in Baltimore in September, 1835; in 1836, he went to St. Louis; he came to Dubuque in 1846. The following year, 1847, he came here, located permanently, and established the A. HEEB BREWING COMPANY at Couler and Eagle Point avenues (later Central Avenue and East 22nd Street). In July 1875 records in the United States Revenue Office in Dubuque indicated that Heeb had sold 904 barrels of beer. In 1879 the Dubuque Herald stated that he had purchased $7,000, equivalent to $166,166.67 in 2016, in hops. At the time of his death, the company had an annual production of 15,000 barrels. Heeb’s brewery was among those which formed the DUBUQUE BREWING AND MALTING COMPANY.
Heeb served as a director of the GERMAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK and the DUBUQUE FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY. At the time of the building of the Chicago, Dubuque and Minnesota and the Chicago, Clinton and Dubuque railroads, he was involved in construction contracts with Mr. Morgan. He was elected an alderman to the city council and a county supervisor.

And here’s a second obituary of Anton Heeb from the Daily Herald, also on January 24, 1888

DEATH OF A. HEEB
Another of Dubuque’s Prominent Citizens Answers the Last Summons
Yesterday afternoon at a quarter past three, death ended the sufferings of one of Dubuque’s most prominent citizens, Hon. Anton Heeb. For the past twenty five years he had been afflicted with rheumatixm, and for the past year had suffered almost continually with it, though able at times to be up and around. For about two weeks it had been feared hourly that the disease, combined with his advanced age, would result fatally. Yesterday morning he was somewhat brighter than hehad been, and his family were hopeful, but a relapse set in and at the hour stated, he died.
Anton Heeb was born April 11, 1811, at Kurheasen, Germany, and emigrated to this country in 1835, landing at Baltimore. From there he went to New Jersy, and in 1836 went to St. Louis. He came to Dubuque in 1846 and in the following year established the foundation of the great business which bears his name. During the more than forty years in which he has conducted the brewing business it has constantly grown so that it became the largest institution of the kind in the state. He was also known to be most scrupulousin all his business dealings, and has left as a precious heirloom, a most enviable name for honesty and integrity. He did not devote his entire attention to the brewing business, but found time to engage in many public enterprises. At the time of the building of the Chicago, Dubuque and Minnnesota and the Chicago, Clinton and Dubuque railroads, he was largely interested in construction contracts in connections with Mr. Morgan. He was a director of the German Bank, and also of the Dubuque Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and was interested in other institutions of the city. He was an honorary member of the Pius Benevolent Society.
Mr. Heeb was twice married his first wife being Miss Caroline Knapp. In 1846 he was united in marriage to Miss Kathrina Gehrig, a native of Germany and a relative of the late Jos. Gehrig. Besides his wife, he leaves surviving his several children, Jacob and Lawrence of LaMars, Iowa, sons by his former wife, and Caroline (Mrs. Fred Tschudi), Julia (Mrs. Michael Zwack, Bertha (Mrs. L. J. Baumhover), Emily (Sister Cassilda, of Red Wing convent), Ben, Anna (Mrs. Frank Hellman of Sioux City), and A. F. The oldest child by his second wife, Louis, died a few years ago.
Mr. Heeb was a most exemplary citizen and was deeply loved by all the members of his family and respected by all who knew him or had business dealings with him. He was a staunch Catholic, and in his last moments received the sacraments and the consolations of his church.
He was during his lifetime, a staunch Democrat and was elected a county supervisor and twice as a member of the city council. His official record was typical of the man, and he endeavored in every way to serve the public with the most scrupulous honesty and with the utmost regard to the public welfate. Dubuque has lost in his death one of her best and most public spirited citizens, and one who will be sincerely mourned.
The funeral will take place from the family residence, 2125 Couler avenue, Thursday morning at half past 9, to St. Mary’s church, of which Mr. Heeb was during his life, a most faithful and liberal communicant. The interment will be at the German Catholic cemetery.

And these are from an article in 1932 speculating about whether or not the brewery would reopen after prohibition.

Historic Beer Birthday: Rudolf Brand

April 10, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Rudolf Brand (April 10, 1851-March 25, 1916). He was born in Odenheim, Rheinhessen, Germany. When he was seventeen, in 1868, he emigrated to the U.S., initially to New York, where he worked as a cooper. A few years later he was a foreman at the Busch and Brand brewery in Chicago, Illinois, which was founded by a Michael Brand, who appears to be Rudolf’s uncle. In 1880, he partnered with Ernest (or Ernst) Hummel and founded his own brewery in Chicago, initially known as the Brand (Charles) & Hummel (Ernest) Brewing. A few years after opening, they started trading under the name South Chicago Brewing Co.

The brewery was located at Avenue L and 100th Street. Unfortunately it closed for good in 1922, presumably due to Prohibition.

In May of 1873, he married Clara Sophia Uhlich. The couple had three children two boys and a girl.

He appears to have served as President of the Brewers Association around 1899.

Historic Beer Birthday: Johann Sedlmayr

April 9, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Johann Sedlmayr (April 9, 1846-November 24, 1900). Johann was the grandson of Gabriel Sedlmayr and the third son of Gabriel Sedlmayr II. Johann’s father inherited the Spaten Brewery, along with his brother, when his father died, but Gabriel became sole owner after his brother Joseph left to start his own brewery, Franziskaner. Two of Johann’s older brothers died before their father, so when Gabriel II passed away, he and his younger brothers Carl and Anton inherited the family brewery.

The caption of this photo, from German Wikipedia, translates to “Delivery of the Spade brewery to the sons Johann, Carl and Anton Sedlmayr 1874,” although I can’t say which one is Johann. I don’t know much more about his time running the brewery. “From 1884 to 1890 he was a member of the German Reichstag for the electoral district of Oberbayern 1 Munich I and the Nationalliberal Party.”

Historic Beer Birthday: Mathias Meller

April 9, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Mathias Meller (April 9, 1827-April 1, 1900). He was born in Neuss, Germany, which is in the North Rhine-Westphalia area, and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 22, in 1849. He eventually settled in Galena, Illinois. In 1860 (or 1874, sources differ), he founded the Math. Meller Brewery (also called the Fulton Brewery), which would become the Casper Eulberg & Sons Brewery, and later, briefly, the Galena Brewing Co. after prohibition, before closing for good in 1936.

Here’s a short biography of Meller:

And this biography appears to be from a book on people from Jo Davis County

Curiously, their most popular beer was called Red Stripe, and had been made since the late 19th century. Apparently, when prohibition closed the brewery, they sold their recipe to British brewers who began production of the now-famous label in Jamaica.

Historic Beer Birthday: Henry Lembeck

April 8, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Henry B. Lembeck (April 8, 1826-July 26, 1904). He partner with John F. Betz (whose birthday is also today) to start The Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company in 1869, in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was originally known as the Henry Lembeck & John Betz Brewery, but changed its name to the Lembeck & Betz Eagle Brewing Co. in 1890. The brewery operated until prohibition in 1920. It was licensed in 1933 to begin brwong beer again, but never did so, effectively meaning it closed in 1920, or 1933, depending on how you want to look at it.

This is his biography from his Wikipedia page:

Born in Osterwick, Germany near Münster, he became a cabinet maker like his father and an apprentice at the age of 13. He was drafted into the army at the age of 20, but deserted during the German Revolution of 1848 and immigrated to the United States in 1849. Living in New York City, he worked first as a carpenter and then as a grocery clerk. In a few years, Lembeck set up his own successful grocery business. It was then that he met a successful brewer, John F. Betz, selling his beer in his store.
In 1869, Lembeck moved across the river and established a brewery with Betz in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. The Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company would develop into one of the most successful breweries in the eastern United States producing a quarter of a million barrels of beer a year. As Lembeck grew financially successful, he also helped establish banks and real estate companies in Jersey City. Lembeck was the founder of the Greenville Banking and Trust Company and a director of the Third National Bank. He helped develop the township of Greenville (today it’s a section of Jersey City) through real estate development of undeveloped land. Lembeck discontinued home building over a dispute with the city regarding the quality of water supplied to the Greenville area. After his retirement his son Gustav took over running the brewery. The brewery closed during Prohibition in 1920 and later went out of business. He lived in Greenville with his wife Emma and children in a mansion on Columbia Place, which has since been renamed Lembeck Avenue.
Lembeck died in Jersey City and is buried in Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery in Jersey City. The Lembeck mansion was later donated by his widow to St. Anne’s Home for the Aged.

Here’s a short biography of Lembeck from Find-a-Grave:

Henry Lembeck was born near Münster, Germany. At the age of 20, he was drafted into the army, but deserted during the German Revolution of 1848 and immigrated to the United States in 1849. Living in New York City, he worked first as a carpenter and than as a grocery clerk. In a few years, Lembeck set up his own successful grocery business. It was then that he met a successful brewer, John F. Betz. In 1869, Lembeck moved across the river and established a brewery with Betz in downtown Jersey City. The Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company would develop into one of the most successful breweries in the eastern United States producing a quarter of a million barrels of beer a year. As Lembeck grew financially successful, he also helped establish banks and real estate companies in Jersey City. His son Gustav took over running the brewery. He lived in Greenville (now part of Jersey City) with his wife Emma and children in a mansion on Columbia Place, which has since been re-named Lembeck Avenue.

This is a second biography of Lembeck from Find-a-Grave:

Henry Lembeck is of German parentage, his father having resided in Osterwick, Munster, Germany, where he followed the trade of a cabinetmaker. He married Elizabeth Wenning, of the same town, and had children, Elizabeth, Catrina, Bernard (deceased), Henry and Joseph. Henry was born on the 8th of April, 1826, in Osterwick, where he remained until eighteen years of age. He received in youth a rudimentary education, and on the death of his father, when his son was fourteen years of age, became an apprentice to the cabinet-maker’s trade, serving three years in that capacity. For two and a half years he was employed as a journeyman, when, being drafted into the German army, he did duty as a soldier for two and a half years. His strong love of liberty, however, found expression in the revolutionary sentiments declared by him, which rendered his presence in his native land uncomfortable. He was therefore induced to emigrate to America, and on landing in New York at once resumed his trade, that of a cabinet-maker. Jersey City then became his place of residence,after which he became the agent for the sale of the ale made at the brewery of John F. Betz, of New York. This was continued until 1870, when, in connection with John Betz, he established the firm, of Lembeck & Betz,of which ale is the staple product. They speedily won an extended reputation for the excellence of their ale, and created a wide demand for it in New York City and the vicinity. He was for four years a member of the Board of Public Works of Jersey City, two years of which period he was its president. He is also a director of the E.B. Parsons Malting Company of Rochester, N.Y. He is in religion a Catholic, and identified with St. Paul’s Catholic Church of Greenville.

The Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company in 1910.

And this is a history of his brewery from its Wikipedia page:

The Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company was founded in 1869 by Henry B. Lembeck and John F. Betz in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The brewery, bounded by 9th, 10th, Grove, and Henderson streets in downtown Jersey City, developed into one of the most famous, best-equipped, and financially successful breweries on the East Coast of the United States. In 1889, Lembeck started producing lager beer in addition to the traditional pale ale they had been brewing. The brewery grew through the later part of the 19th century, eventually occupying seventeen city lots. The company was incorporated in May 1890. Since 1869, the brewery grew to become the fourth-largest brewery in New Jersey.
Lembeck died in 1904 and his sons Gustav and Otto took over running the brewery. The brewery closed during Prohibition. The facility was later sold and converted into a refrigeration plant. In 1984, the area was designated the Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewing Company District on the National Register of Historic Places. The brewery buildings were demolished in 1997.

This history of the brewery is from Jersey City, Past and Present:

Business partners Henry Lembeck and John F. Betz founded one of the most famous, best-equipped, and financially successful breweries on the East Coast of the United States. By 1889, it manufactured fifty thousand barrels of ale and port and 250,000 barrels of beer per year in a state of the art facility valued at a million dollars and worth three million dollars in total assets.
Henry Lembeck was born at Osterwick, Mu[e]nster, Germany, on April 8, 1826. He adopted his father’s trade of cabinet making starting as an apprentice at age thirteen. He served four years as a journeyman and expected to complete his training in Paris, France, when he was drafted into the German army in 1846, a year prior to the revolution. A genealogical investigation by Lembeck’s descendants has documented that while serving in the military, Lembeck, dressed in civilian attire, frequently attended and participated at rallies of the insurgents. After a furlough granted in March 1849, he did not return to his regiment and seems to have immigrated to the United States. An investigation in 1850 was conducted and he was “declared a deserter.”
After working as a carpenter for the Herring Safe Company in New York City, Lembeck became the clerk to a grocer; and three years later he bought his own business that developed from a grocery store to a market-gardening firm. While his business flourished, Lembeck also became a sales agent for the brewery of John F. Betz of New York. In 1869, Lembeck moved to Jersey City and established with Betz a brewery to manufacture ale and porter on Ninth Street. The Betz family had already established a reputation as brewers both in the United States and Germany.

The brewery in 1870.
With Lembeck’s newly acquired business savvy and Betz’s background in the production of ale and porter, the partnership was established on sound footing. The Jersey City brewing facility and operation expanded. Lembeck astutely noted the diminishing taste for ale in the United States, and in 1889 added the production of the more popular beverage of lager beer to the business. Lembeck became president of the company and incorporated the brewery into a cooperative stock company in May 1890. Betz was the vice president of the company.
A biography of Lembeck states, “[he] had the complete management of the business, assumed full responsibility of its direction, and consequently must receive the credit for its success and growth” (“Biography of Henry B. Lembeck,” 2). The brewery’s physical plant begun on Ninth Street was enlarged to accommodate the required refrigeration and storage of beer and eventually occupied seventeen city lots. A malt house, H.F. Lembeck & Company at Watkins, New York, at the head of Seneca Lake, complemented the brewing firm.
Along with his business success, Lembeck took a strong interest in the Jersey City, his permanent residence. He was one of the founders the Greenville Banking and Trust Company, became vice president of the Third National Bank of Jersey City, and served with other corporations such as the Hudson Real Estate Company of which he was a director. In 1898 Lembeck built the Hudson Building at 13-15 Ocean Avenue. The stone Romanesque Revival structure at the corner of Lembeck and Ocean Avenues consecutively housed the Hudson Real Estate Company and the Greenville Bank and Trust Company with which he was associated. After a renovation in 1970, the Hudson Building became a 22-unit apartment.
Lembeck owned large tracks of land in Greenville and helped with its development. He donated property for the extension of Columbia Park (today Bartholdi Avenue). His earlier carpentry training prompted him to build a reported 32 to 43 houses in Jersey City prior to 1895 and to participate in their construction as both architect and supervising contractor. Lembeck discontinued home building over a dispute with the city regarding the quality of water supplied to the Greenville area and complained of the loss of tenants willing to rent his properties.
Lembeck lived in the home that he designed at 46 Columbia Place (today Lembeck Avenue) and Old Bergen Road. The modest-looking red brick structure has a decorative cornice painted gray with dentil molding and corner brackets. The center section of the house features a recessed gray wood and glass door reached from the concrete riser and has an open pediment supported by brackets over a double window with semicircular transom; the adjoining sections of building are topped by pyramids over the roofline. The Lembeck mansion was later donated by his widow to St. Anne’s Home for the Aged at 198 Old Bergen Road and serves as the administrative building; St. Ann’s became part of the York Street Project, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, in 1987.
Lembeck died at his residence on July 25, 1904; he was president of Lembeck and Betz at the time of his death. He is buried in the family plot in the Bayview-New York Bay Cemetery.

The tagline in this ad is great: “The beer that made Milwaukee jealous.”

Historic Beer Birthday: James Griesenbeck

April 6, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Julius Hermann “James” Griesenbeck (April 6, 1830-February 28, 1877). He was born in Materborn Gutersloh, Germany, but in 1852, when he was 22, his family took a ship to Galveston, Texas, and emigrated to the United States. Initially, they were in Comal County, but Julius, who begn using the first name ‘James,’ moved to nearby Waco, which had been incorporated in 1856. There he founded the James Griesenbeck Brewery in Waco, Texas, in 1870, but it was not successful, and closed just five years later, in 1875. Two years after that, he left his wife and their twelve children, supposedly to look for work, and rented a room above McPherson’s Saloon in Denison, Texas, where he turned his Navy pistol on himself, committing suicide.

And this is an account of Griesenbeck’s suicide, from Tavern Trove:

Historic Beer Birthday: Edward W. Voigt

April 5, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Edward W. Voigt (April 5, 1844-May 14, 1920). His father was a brewer who founded a brewery, and also trained his son, and sent him to brewing school. He worke din other breweries and in completely different businesses, but eventually worked with his father and ran the family brewery, the Voigt Brewery, in Detroit, Michigan.

Here’s a thorough biography by Burton (though I confess I don’t know who Burton might be):

EDWARD W. VOIGT was an outstanding figure in connection with the development of Detroit, where for more than fifty-five years he was identified with the city’s business interests. Mr. Voigt was born in Daebeln, Saxony, Germany, April 5, 1844, a son of Carl William and Pauline (Beck) Voigt, the latter of whom died in Germany. The father married again in that country and with his wife and only son, Edward W., sailed from Hamburg for Liverpool, England, the latter part of May, 1854. At the latter port they embarked on the ship Malabar and reached New York on the 1st of August. An epidemic of cholera was then raging in New York and, moreover, the father was not in robust health as a result of conditions which he had experienced during the ocean voyage. It seemed better that they leave New York at once, which they did, and went to College Paint, Long Island. When the father had sufficiently recovered to travel they went west, stopping in Toledo, Chicago and Milwaukee, but remained in those cities only a short time, after which they journeyed an to Madison, Wisconsin. In the latter city Carl William Voigt established a small ale brewery, which was converted into a lager beer brewery in 1857, and this business he conducted until 1863, when he removed to Milwaukee, where he soon afterward purchased the schooner Columbian that plied the lakes between Chicago and Buffalo in the grain trade. In 1864 Carl William Voigt removed to Detroit, retaining his vessel interest until December, 1865, when he disposed of same. It was really his intention at this time to return to Germany, but rumors of the possibility of war between that country and France caused him to defer the trip. In 1866 he established a brewery in Detroit and continued to conduct this until 1871, when he leased the plant to his son, Edward W., and returned to Germany, where he engaged in the milling business until his death in that country in 1889. Edward W. Voigt was about ten years of age when his parents brought him to America. His first schooling was received in his native land and after coming to this country he attended the public schools of Madison, Wisconsin, also a business college and for one term was a student at the University of Wisconsin. He had from boyhood worked in his father’s brewery at different periods and early in life had acquired a practical knowledge of the business. In those days it was impossible to brew lager beer during the summer months owing to the lack of familiarity with the theory of refrigeration, so that during those periods of inactivity Edward W. Voigt was able to attend classes. When the weather became cooler, so that the manufacture of beer could be resumed, he again took his place as a brewer in his father’s plant.
After his father disposed of the brewery at Madison in the fall of 1863, Edward W. Voigt concluded he would go to California and try his fortune in that new country. He went by the Isthmus of Panama but on reaching San Francisco found that work as a brewer was difficult to secure. He could not afford to remain idle indefinitely, so shipped before the mast on the barkentine Monitor, plying between San Francisco and north Pacific coast cities. Wages were law and the work not the most desirable. In writing home to his Vol. II-3 parents he had mentioned the character of his employment and his father replied that if Edward W. Voigt wanted to be a sailor he should come back home, as the father had bought the schooner Columbian. Edward W. Voigt returned east, again by the Isthmus route, and took the position of second mate on his father’s schooner. This was during the latter part of 1864. During the winter of 1864-65 Edward W. Voigt studied navigation in Boston, thus equipping himself to command his father’s schooner, and during the season of 1865 he was captain of the vessel, which was sold in December, 1865.
The following year Edward W. Voigt entered the employ of his father in the brewery which the latter had established in Detroit and continued in that capacity until 1871. At this time his father decided to return to Germany, so that the brewery equipment was disposed of to the son, who rented the plant for a term of four years, later renewing the lease for five more years. This was a downright business transaction and the fact that the father and only child were the principals made no difference whatever in the terms of the deal. The son had practically no capital at all and the father was secured by chattel mortgage on the stock and equipment. This was Edward W. Voigt’s beginning in business for himself and at a time when competition was keen, as there were no less than thirty plants in the ale and lager beer line in Detroit, but he was young, energetic and a hustler. Under his management the business began to grow from the very start and before long he was on the rapid road to success, so that in 1882 he purchased outright the entire interest of his father. The high class product that he turned out soon became one of the most popular in the city and the capacity of his brewery grew from three thousand barrels annually to more than forty-three thousand barrels, which was then a larger production than that of any brewery in the state. Mr. Voigt continued the business as sole owner and under his personal management until 1889, when he sold out to an English syndicate, retaining, however, a substantial interest in the new organization. In 1895 he bought back the business and organized the Voigt Brewery Company, of which he became president, and remained as such until the business was closed out on May 1, 1918, as a result of prohibition. Subsequently the plant passed into the hands of the Voigt Beverage Company, which now owns the plant.

While Mr. Voigt was a most successful brewery operator and one of the most prominent men in that industry in Detroit, his activities in other lines were big and valuable factors in the city’s growth. As his business became profitable and his means began to accumulate, he invested in numerous projects that not only brought personal gain but great public benefit as well. He was one of the founders of the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit in 1886, in which undertaking he was associated with James Scripps, George Peck, Simon J. Murphy and several others. This company had a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and for fifteen years Mr. Voigt was its vice president. It proved a profitable project from its inception and led to Mr. Voigt’s further connection with various public utilities. He helped in establishing branches of the Edison Illuminating Company at Grand Rapids, Jackson, Sault Ste. Marie and Petoskey, Michigan. Mr. Voigt was formerly the owner of a tract of about one hundred and fifty acres of land on Woodward avenue four miles from the city’s center that he operated as a farm for a number of years. Then as the city began to expand he developed the property into the Voigt Park subdivision, which was laid out in the ’90s. In connection with that project he donated the present Voigt Park to the city. He laid out Boston and Chicago boulevards, as well as Atkinson, Edison, Longfellow and Calvert avenues and Glynn Court, comprising some of the best residential property in the city. Years ago Mr. Voigt purchased what was then known as Moores Bay, a tract of land of about fourteen acres at the foot of Twenty-fourth street, which was covered by six feet of water. This was filled in to the harbor line after nearly forty years of effort and was transformed into a valuable property. In 1919 the same was condemned by the city for dockage purposes. He was an extensive owner of central property and his city realty included his residence on Second boulevard and Cass Park, which was completed in 1886 and was his home until his death. This fine old mansion was built in the days when every detail of material and construction was most carefully considered and everywhere gives evidence of the thorough manner in which such work was done. Mr. Voigt was also one of the founders of the Port Huron Sulphite & Paper Company, which was organized in 1888 and of which he was the president until his death. In 1898-1900 he built the North Western Electric Railway out Grand River road to Northville, Orchard Lake and Pontiac, which is a great feeder now to Detroit and is controlled by the Detroit United Railway. He was likewise the president of the bridge company that built the large bridge between Grosse Ile and Wyandotte in 1912. This bridge connected his large tract of valuable land with the mainland. He was also the president of the Miles Theatre Company. He readily recognized and utilized business opportunities and as the years passed by developed his interests to extensive proportions.

In April, 1871, Mr. Voigt was married to Miss Bertha Dramburg, of Detroit, and they became the parents of four children: Augusta L. and Pauline M., both living at home; Anna Elsa, who is now Mrs. Otto Reinvaldt, of Detroit, and has three daughters; and one son, William F., who married Miss Caroline Halloran, of Detroit, by whom he has a son, Edward W. (II), and two daughters. William F. Voigt, who is the second of the family, and Otto Reinvaldt, his son in-law, were far a number of years associated with the father in business, largely looking after the Voigt interests. Mrs. Bertha (Dramburg) Voigt died in 1890 and for his second wife Mr. Voigt married in 1892 Miss Marion Randall, of Detroit, who passed away in December, 1911. There were no children by this marriage.
Years ago Henry Ford was in the employ of Mr. Voigt for a period of nine years as chief engineer of the Edison Illuminating Company. After prohibition went into effect the Voigt Brewery Company ceased to operate, but the outside interests of Mr. Voigt were extensive and important and made full claim upon his time and energy. In early manhood Mr. Voigt was a democrat, but the party’s stand upon the subject of free trade made him change his allegiance to the republican party, of which he became a warm supporter. He belonged to the Harmonie Society, to the Elks lodge and to the New Grosse Ile Golf Club. Mr. Voigt was one of the original founders of the Detroit Museum of Art. His success came from his own efforts and for many years he was included among Detroit’s strong, substantial business men. He was an unusually well preserved man for one of his years and took a keen interest in everything that pertained to the civic welfare and advancement of Detroit. His contributions to the development of the city were of a most substantial character, making him one of the foremost business men of Michigan’s metropolis. His death occurred May 14, 1920.

Telling the Stories of Detroit Parks also tells Voigt’s story:

As a landowner, he turned his 150 acre farm off Woodward into Voigt Park Subdivision in the 1890’s. We can thank him for Boston Boulevard, Chicago Boulevard as well as several of the surrounding streets west of Woodward.
Raised in Germany, he traveled to America with his folks Carl William and Pauline in 1854 on the trans-Atlantic ship, the Malabar. The trio crisscrossed the Midwest settling in Madison, Wisconsin where his father started the Capitol Steam Brewery. Edward began his education and attended the University of Wisconsin. He achieved the status of Brew Master at age 17. In 1864, the family brewery was sold to Carl Hausmann, a local WI ale competitor. William Voigt moved to Detroit to start a new brewery; his son Edward went on an adventure to California. The Detroit Voigt Brewery was built on Grand River at High Street [today this is around Grand River and I-75 area). Eventually, its 150 ft. chimney would grace the Detroit skyline.
Edward did an apprenticeship as a sailor and became captain of his father’s schooner – the Columbian; a short-lived adventure running the Great Lakes. Father and son would reunite in Detroit in 1871. Nothing was handed to Edward. He rented the Detroit brewery from his father who moved back to Europe. His energy and work ethic resulted in the ability to purchase the entire brewery operation from Carl in 1882. In 1893, his Rheingold beer earned 4 medals in the Chicago World’s Fair.

In 1889, British investors took great interest in purchasing or leasing American brewing facilities. Brewers such as the Stroh family and Anheuser Busch were vocally opposed to this practice. Edward Voigt negotiated the lease of his brewery for the period of 1890-1897. At the end of the contract, he received his business back but without a clean title. He enacted foreclosure proceedings to clear the title and stood in front of the old Detroit city hall to rebid on his business at auction. His creative business practices increased his fortune. He amassed extensive land holdings and was a principal founder of the Edison Illuminating Company which employed Henry Ford.
Around 1902, Voigt donated a rectangular parcel of land at 2nd and 3rd Avenues, Longfellow and Edison Avenues to the city on the condition it would be converted to a park and named for him.
Edward Voigt died at home on May 14, 1920 of a stroke. In 1922, the Voigt estate sold the brewery to a demolition firm who pulled down the chimney with a chain and a truck. The tumbling brick marked the end of Voigt reign in Detroit and the beginning of prohibition.

He was also very involved in the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge. There’s quite a bit more at Find a Grave, not for him, but for his first wife, Bertha Dramburg Voigt, who believe it or not was the family maid.

Historic Beer Birthday: Fritz Funke

April 4, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Fritz Funke (April 4, 1821-April 23, 1994). He was the son of a mason and went into construction, and owned to companies and was very successful. Along with Johann Wilhelm Schürenberg, entrepreneur Ewald Hilger, businessman Gustav Hicking, and banker Ludwig von Born, he founded what would become the Stern-Brauerei in the city of Essen. Originally called Actien-Bierbrauerei when it was founded in 1872, and Funke’s construction company built the brewery.

The brewery closed in 1989. Today, the beer is brewed in the Jacob Stauder private brewery in Altenessen and continues to be sold under the old Stern brand name.

Historic Beer Birthday: Herman Zibold

April 4, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Herman Zibold (April 4, 1836-July 20, 1891). He was born in Riegel, Baden, in what today is Germany. When he was 23, in 1859, he emigrated to the U.S., and fought in the Civil War for four years. Afterward, he worked for breweries in St. Louis and St. Joseph, both in Missouri. He Eventually settled in Atchison, Kansas and with a business partner who was also originally from Baden, Joseph Haegelin, bought what was originally a brewery started by Hugo Knecht and Albert Weinman in 1860. Zibold bought it from the third owners in 1871, and renamed it the Zibold & Haegelin Brewery. Zibold operated the brewery for the next twenty years, and after he died, Haegelin continued the business but also died two years later, in 1893. Their two widows kept it going, but it closed for good in 1902.

This biography is from Tavern Trove, the breweriana website.

Corporal Herman Ziebold was born in Granion, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. After his primary education in Germany he apprenticed as a brewer. He emigrated to the United States in 1854 and after working at breweries in the Indiana town of Lawrenceburg, Chicago he settled finally St. Louis.
Upon the outbreak of the Civil War Ziebold was 24, and he enlisted to fight for the Union. He served almost the entirety of the war. After Lee’s surrender at Appomattox he lived again in St. Louis, where met Miss Rosa Franz. They were married in August of 1867. The Ziebolds then moved to St. Joseph, Missouri where Herman got a job in the Nunning Brewery. There he met his Josef Hagelin, a man who not only would soon be his brother-in-law, but also his business partner. In 1871 both families moved to the Great Plains where they purchased the brewery owned by hotelier John Stamm in Atchison, Kansas.
For 20 years Herman Ziebold and Josef Haegelin were partners in the brewery in Atchison. Ziebold & Hagelin’s Southwest Lager & Beer Brewery became nationally famous as the brewery that stubbornly refused to go out of business despite the best efforts of God and the Government. The firm became defendants in an important Prohibition-related lawsuit that made its way all the way to the Supreme Court. The firm ultimately won their case as the court affirmed that municipalities had the right to enact laws that forbid the sale of alcohol, under the guise of public health, but could not forbid its manufacture for sale elsewhere. The Southwest’s extensive distribution network on the other side of the Missouri state line sustained it, for the time being.
Herman Ziebold died on the 20th of July, 1891 at the age of 56 years. Hagelin died on the 25th of January, 1893. The brewery, thereafter run by the widows of the original partners, continued into the next century, and finally closed, after three decades of defiance, in 1902.

Employees in front of the brewery in 1901.

And this account is from the Free Library:

The Zibold-Haegelin Brewery, which was located on Price Boulevard in this northeast Kansas town, was allowed to flourish while others across the state were shuttered after Kansas outlawed liquor in 1880.
In fact the brewery became famous throughout the state and the nation for its persistence in fighting against abstinence laws well before Prohibition became part of the U.S. Constitution in 1920.
“The biggest thing about (the Zibold-Haegelin brewery) is during Kansas Prohibition they just kind of ignored it,” said Chris Taylor, executive director of the Atchison County Historical Society.
According to the book “The History of the Haegelin-Zibold Family” by the Rev. William Haegelin, the brewery began after his great-grandfather, Joseph Haegelin, and Herman Zibold brought the A. Stem Brewery here in 1871.
Both men were German immigrants trained in the brewery trade in their native Baden, Germany.
The men, who would eventually become close friends as well as brothers-in-law when Mr. Haegelin married Mr. Zibold’s sister Emma, promptly tore down the old brewery and erected a more modem one on the same grounds.
The business proved very successful, despite the various laws that were beginning to be passed against the sale of liquor in Kansas during the mid- to late 1800s.
But in 1880, after the Kansas Legislature submitted a vote to the people, Kansas became a “dry” state. It became against the law to manufacture or sell intoxicating beverages in the state.
Despite the law, the Zibold-Haegelin Brewery still continued to operate. In fact, in 1887 it was reported that the brewery was producing more than 3,000 barrels of beer a year.
That the brewery was allowed to flourish while the rest of the state went dry was due in part to the fact that then-Kansas Gov. John Alexander Martin lived in Atchison at the time and had become close friends with the brewers.
Governor Martin found innovative ways to help his friends stay in business, One argument he made was that since the brewery was on the northeast corner of Kansas, it was actually a Missouri border town and therefore legal. But other times when he actually did order the sheriff to “arrest” his friends for breaking the law.
“What I heard about it was that the sheriff showed up ever so often to make the arrests of one of the owners and take him to jail where they basically played cards for the afternoon while the other one ran the business,” Taylor said. “They did this just to make sure the Prohibition part of the community was satisfied that they were doing something.”
After Herman Zibold died in 1891 and Joseph Haegelin in 1893, their widows continued to run the business and later their sons took over. It continued to operate until 1902 when it was finally forced to close down.
Emma Haegelin purchased the Zibold interest and along with her son August turned the brewery into “The Crystal Ice Co.”
The Haegelins two other sans, Karl and Joseph Jr., remained in the brewery profession. Karl went to work for the Goetz Brewery in St. Joseph, while Joseph Jr. went to work for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.
August Haegelin eventually bought his mother’s interest in the business and continued to operate the ice company until he sold the old brewery buildings to the Kansas Power and Light Co. in 1927.

Historic Beer Birthday: Marcus Rapp

April 4, 2026 By Jay Brooks

Today is the birthday of Marcus Rapp (April 4, 1834-September 24, 1904). He was born in Gerlingen, Württemberg, Germany, but emigrated to the U.S. and settled in West Virginia. In 1859, with a partner, Louis Hebrank, he founded the Rapp & Hebrank Lager Beer Brewery, which later became known as the Parkersburg Brewing Co. But it only last until prohibition, closing in 1914.

Here’s a short history from the Huntington (West Virginia) Museum of Beer & Brewing:

The first Parkersburg Brewery was founded by Marcus Rapp in 1859. During the time the company was known as the Rapp & Hebrank Brewery, the original plant was built near present day Route 68 and Marrtown Road near Marrtown. The new brewery was built in 1896 because the Rapp-Hebrank brewery could not meet the demand for beer in Parkersburg.
After the move, the company became known as The Parkersburg Brewing Company and was a thriving business until Statewide Prohibition. The plant was located at Seventh Street where Daley Transfer is now located. The American Brewing Company was on Depot Street in Parkersburg, near the present-day laundry building of St. Mary’s Hospital.
The brewery only operated during 1934 – 1938. It was most likely an attempt by the original owners of the Parkersburg Brewery to re-enter the beer business after Prohibition. The original Parkersburg Brewery buildings were sold years later.

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