BREWERY
Welcome to
AMERICA
' S
Oldest Brewery
The Brewery in Monroe has been owned for more than 180 years by some of the most prominent citizens of the area.
They were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants, tracing their origins from Switzerland, France, Britain, Germany and Denmark.
IN THE MID WEST
CONTACT US
Address: 1208 14th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566
Tel (608) 325 - 3191
1 8 4 5 - 1 9 0 6
Mr. Bissinger,
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Opened a brewery in the beautiful rolling green hills of Southern Wisconsin, inhabited by many people from Switzerland, he simply called it Monroe Brewery. These new Swiss immigrants had brought their dairy expertise, passion for artisanal cheese making and beer crafting skills to their new homeland. The brewery ownership has changed every 60 years since that time (and therefore the name of the Brewery).
The brewery has been constantly expanded upon and modernized. It currently takes up almost 3 city blocks in downtown Monroe with over 300,00 square feet of buildings. One thing has remained the same – tradition of making the best beer in the world on exactly the same spot where the brewery was founded. Bissinger founded the Brewery at its present site.
At the time, it was a winter operation consisting of a Brew Kettle and could only make a few hundred barrels per year.
1848 – 1857 JOHN M. KNIPSCHILDT (BORN 1805)
On October 30, 1841, John M. Knipschield was living in Lee County in North Central Illinois when he made his declaration to become a citizen of the USA Braking his alliance with “Frederick William the Fourth, King of Prussia”. Shortly after Wisconsin became the 30th state in the United States, and Mr. Knipschildt purchased the Brewery. By 1850, he had invested $1000 into the Brewery and produced 366 barrels per year. The Brewery operated by hand powered, employed two men who were paid $50 per year, and using wood and coal for fuel. He was also a Treasurer and a Trustee of Green County, WI.
1857 – 1861 GEORGE ESSER AND JOHN HERMANN
Lager beer was produced for the first time during their ownership – prior to this only ales were brewed. Winter was still the only time that brewing took place due to the Wisconsin summer heat. By 1860, the Brewery’s production had increased many fold and the Brewery had nearly 100% market shares in Green County area within a 25 mile radius. Interestingly, John Hermann was actually living right at the Brewery.
At this time, the Brewery had 2 cellars, a malt mill and a malt drier. The malting of barley was done right at the Brewery. In 1858, Esser and Hermann built the underground beer storage cellar as there were no ice-controlled or mechanically-controlled cellars at that time.
In 1861, their partnership was dissolved, as described by George Esser in his memoirs “John Hermann’s fiancée was visiting him at the Brewery after hours, where he slept. The partnership was dissolved after a heated discussion. We threw lots to determine who kept the Brewery and pay the other one his share. Hermann drew the Brewery; however, since his original investment in the Brewery was only $500 compared to $4 000 on my part, he was unable to pay me in cash outright. I accepted a mortgage in the amount of $1800 payable with interest in three years in three installments of equal amounts.”
1861 – 1867 JOHN HERMANN
There were still only two males employed earning $65 per month. But now, a horse was used to power the Brewery. By 1861, 400 barrels were produced per year. John Hermann continued to work and foster the legacy of the brewery beyond his partnership with Esser.
Captain
EDWARD RUEGGER
(Born Oct. 18, 1836)
Captain Ruegger migrated in 1854 from La Havre, NW France accompanied by his parents. A Swiss by origin, he became a prominent citizen of Monroe and had various business interests including, Wagon Building, and a Fire and Life Insurance Company.
He owned the Monroe Brewery for only two years. His public service included serving as Fire Chief and Sheriff for the City of Monroe as well as the President of the Monroe Rifle Club.
Jacob Hefty
Born April 15, 1835 - Died 1892
Jacob Hefty was born in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, and came to Green County in 1847. He became a distributor of beer under the “Monroe” label. Producing 1200 barrels annually, employing four males, with an annual payroll of $3,000 per year. One horse still powered the Brewery. On a very cold night on December 27, 1875, there was a terrible fire that destroyed the Brewery. The fire was put out using “green beer” , taking 7 hours to save. The loss was $12,000 and the Brewery was only insured for $5, 000. By 1884, the Brewery was producing 3,000 barrels per year, and in 1885 it had an annual revenue of $12,000, making up for the equity lost in the fire.
Jacob Hefty was joined by his brother-in-law Adam Blumer Sr. as a 50% owner in 1885. Adam Blumer Sr. and his family would be part of the Brewery for the next 62 years.
blumer
1892 - 1906
ADAM
SR.
In 1892, Adam Blumer Sr. became the sole owner of the Brewery. He was a native of Switzerland and was the youngest of sixteen children. His parents were pioneer settlers in Washington township, just outside of Monroe, WI. Pushing Adam to be the first to change the Brewery's name since its opening. Adam did such and changed the businesses name to Blumer Brewing Co. Which produces the iconic Blumer's soda today at the exact same location.
Along with managing the Blumer Brewing Co., Adam also started a cheese manufacturing enterprise in 1862, which he continued for the next 30 years. He began dairying and cheese making with a herd of twenty-five cows. In a few years he enlarged the herd to almost a hundred. Adam Blumer was one of the first in the area to succeed in large scale dairy farming in Green County.
Having majority of the equity stakes in all three industries in their formative years, beer, cheese, and all other dairy.
Adam Blumer was married March 23, 1865, to Miss Margaret Hefty and had 7 children. Adam Blumer retired from from the industries and in 1891, later becoming an Alderman of Monroe.
BLUMER BREWING CO.
In 1906, once the name of the Brewery was changed to Blumer Brewing Company. Adam Blumer, Sr. overhalled the once a “one-horse” operation facility. He was able to expand the Brewery, rebuilding its brewery production to be equipped throughout with the most modern machinery of the early 1900s.
When he was done, it was beyond modern for a Brewery of its time. In every respect, Blumer became a major regional brewery – a landmark of distinction that Wisconsin retains still to this day. Adam grew in popularity with his community members in Monroe. Fostering his services into the city's legislature until his passing years.
1920 - 1947
To survive the Prohibition era, the company started making Ice Cream, non alcoholic beers, and started distributing these products via Case Tractors, Separators, Silo Fillers, and Road Machinery.
At the Blumer Products Company, they came up with the Blumer’s Golden Glow Near Beer, which became extremely popular. Also, before the 1920s, there was no concept of 'branding' for beers. Fred Blumer and his team introduced modern advertising and marketing techniques for the first time in the industry.
Adam's son, Fred J. Blumer was currently active in the real estate development of the Monroe area. When his father passed, Fred took on the impossible role of holding up the Brewery during the prohibition era.
Despite all the improvements Fred Blumer made at the Brewery, he took over the establishment at the worst time in the brewing history of the USA. A year after the death of his father Adam Blumer Sr., the family business that his father had dedicated his life to, became illegal with the onset of the Prohibition of Alcohol throughout North America.
Due to this illegalization, in 1920, Blumer Brewing Company changed its name to Blumer Products Company.
The “Noble Experiment”, as the National Prohibition of alcohol was later called, failed miserably. On April 7, 1933, the Prohibition law was repealed, and the Blumer’s Golden Glow “Real Beer” was re-introduced to the market. The Brewing industry was optimistic of a great future. Fred J. Blumer invested a lot of capital to expand the capacity of the Brewery. However, the next 5 years proved to be difficult years to make a profit. On January 24, 1938, Fred J. Blumer resigned and announced a new Board of Directors led by Carl O. Marty, his brother Robert F. Marty, and other "Cheese magnates" from Monroe and Milwaukee.
Carl O. Marty Jr. | Ownership from 1938 - 1947
In 1938, Carl O. Marty, the big cheese magnate of Monroe, bought the majority ownership in Blumer Products mainly for its large cold storage space for cheese. Carl O. Marty and his brother Robert F. were visionaries and naturalists. Engaging in the expansion of Blumer products with the use of all natural ingredients.
On March 30, 1944, Carl O. Marty sold part of his interest in the beer operation to a group of stock holders. He named Joseph Huber as the President and Manager of the brewery while Carl O. Marty remained the President of the Monroe Cold Storage, Inc. Eventually Marty organized the Swiss Cheese Corporation of America and the Capital Cheese Company.
His offices and storage facilities occupied the main brewery building for the next 3 decades, until the death of Carl O. Marty in 1969 and his brother Robert F. Marty in 1970. The Green County Cheese Factory was also located adjacent to the Brewery property. Although the Cheese Factory was shut down in the 1980s, its three story building remained part of the Brewery property. The building was finally torn down in 2007 and 2008 to make room for the 50 000 square foot Minhas Craft Brewery’s Warehouse & Distribution Center.
Brew A N E W
E R A
In 1947, when Carl O. Marty sold the Brewery business interest to Joseph Huber, he changed the name to Joseph Huber Brewing Company.
JOSEPH HUBER
Born November 8, 1893 - February 8, 1977
Born in Pirking, Germany, Joseph Huber was the son of Michael and Katherine G. Huber. He was a decorated soldier for the German Army, having served in World War I. He came to the U. S. in 1923 and settled in Yankton, South Dakota. Living there for a year, he then worked for the Blatz Brewing Company in Milwaukee before coming to Monroe in 1927. Prior to his employment with Blatz, he was an apprentice with the Froedtert Malting Company in Milwaukee, which provided his training for becoming a brew master.
Coming to Monroe, he was employed by the Blumer Brewing Company. Joseph Huber saw the brewery grow as he advanced from a brewery worker for the Blumer Brewing Company to the President of his own company.
He is still remembered fondly by the residents of Monroe as somebody who was an active member of the community, known for having a very friendly demeanor as a hard working entrepreneur.
Huber Regular and Huber Bock were introduced in 1947 and crafted exclusively for its sale at the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. He later introduced Regal Brau to the US, a German style beer in 1963 and crafted the Wisconsin Club Lager a few years after. These brands continue to sell well after 40 years to this day.
FRED HUBER 1977 - 1985
Ownership by
Fred Huber was born in Monroe WI to Joseph and Rose Huber. He graduated from the Monroe High School, and later the Loras College in Dubuque, IA. During these college years, he was known on the football field as the “Golden Toe from Monroe”.
Fred was raised around the Monroe Brewery, so it was only natural for him to start working full time for his father, Joseph Huber, in 1953.
After working for the Joseph Hubber Brewery, Fred moved to Chicago and resurrected the Peter Hand Brewery in 1973. Remaining the Vice President of the Brewery in Monroe while he excelled in other ventures. He became President of the Joseph Huber Brewery in Monroe in 1977, upon the death of his father Joseph Huber. With the exception of 4 years from 1985-89, Fred continued running the Brewery until 1994, when he sold it to the Weinstein family of Madison, WI.
It is fair to say that Fred Huber is one of the main reasons the Brewery in Monroe still exists to this day and did not shut down. Unlike, the hundreds of Breweries that had closed down in the 1970s and 1980s across America.
0:012:34:00:00 | REC. | APR. 19 . 1982
FRED
HUBER
Was a promoter, a visionary, a successful entrepreneur,
& a rescuer of several now defunct breweries and beer brands. He was a great story teller and a likeable man. He liked living large and loved to socialize with the rich and the famous, including the legendary coach Mike Ditka of the NFL’s Chicago Bears. He also had a knack of bringing a variety of investors, partners, and financial backers into the Brewery over the decades.
Here is a partial list of his accomplishments, proving that he was decades ahead of his time:
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He helped create the Augsburger brand and recipe, the first craft super premium beer in the US. Sam Adams, and other craft brews came years later. During his ownership, the Brewery reached its maximum output in its entire history of 250,000 barrels in the 1980s. This record is was finally broken in 2008 - 2009 by the Minhas siblings.
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Rescued beer brands from various now defunct breweries such as Potosi Brewery of Potosi WI, Peter Hand Brewery of Chicago, IL and Rhinelander Brewery of Rhinelander, WI.
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He resurrected and re-introduced the Berghoff Beer in bottles. Selling it in 30 different states by 1980. Maintaining its German roots and original recipe crafted from his father John Huber, in 1963.
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Fred was also the first to export beer from the Brewery to Brazil, France, Russia, Nicaragua, Panama, Japan, China, the UK, and many other countries.
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He aggressively marketed the Augsburger brand, with radio ads featuring the legendary brewmaster, Hans Kestler, with the now famous line “Drink A Little Beer”.
In 1985. Fred Huber stunned everybody in the community and the industry when he sold the Brewery to Bill Smith, the former President of Pabst Brewery and Craig Werle, another senior Pabst executive. However, this would not end his involvement with the Brewery. He would purchase the Brewery back in 1989 and run it for another 5 years till 1994.
1985 - 1989 Bill Smith
& Craig Werle | MTX Inc.
Took over the Brewery, it was producing at its peak capacity, and Augsburger was a very popular craft brew in the Midwest. They introduced 'Savannah' FMBs (Flavored Malt Beverages), the first ones to introduce a beverage of this type in North America. From this, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and many other FMBs that are popular today, were to come only a couple of decades later.
When SMITH & WERLE
Smith and Werle also changed the corporate culture at the Brewery. This included the departure of the legendary Brew Master Hans Kestler, having been known for “tasting” his brews in generous quantities in the afternoons.
SEPTEMBER . 1986 .
1988
Smith and Werle stunned the community and the industry by selling the Augsburger brand to Stroh Brewing Company, one of the 5th largest Brewing companies in the USA. With the sale of Augsburger, the Brewery lost 60% of its volume. Smith and Werle announced their intention was to close the Brewery. Stroh then merged with Pabst a few years later and to this day, the Augsburger brand is owned by Pabst Brewing Company.
The Weinstein family based in Madison had a long association with the Monroe Brewery. For many decades they distributed its products for throughout Wisconsin with their company General Beer. They were also investors over the years in the Brewery. The family officially purchased Joseph Huber Brewing Co., in 1994, and injected a sizeable capital to upgrade and modernize the Brewery.
Over the next 12 months, they invested about $3 million to upgrade the Brewery's manufacturing machinery, and increase its production capacity. Dan Weinstein, Steve Preston, Bob Royko and the senior staff, provided much needed stability at the Brewery after the turbulent 80s and early 90s. When the future was anything but certain. During this time, various new lines and flavors of beers as well as sodas were introduced.
1994 – 2006 DAN WEINSTEIN AND FAMILY
The Berghoff Family of Beers,
Was also expanded upon through the Weinstein family. Perhaps their biggest contribution was that they brought in senior management staff at the Brewery. Who continued to provide leadership at the Brewery led by Gary Olson, the President. Gary Olson had worked in senior management positions at Pepsi and Minnesota Brewery before coming to Joseph Huber Brewing Co.
Gary Olson has fostered many operational improvements at the Brewery and has managed the massive capital expansion Ravinder and Manjit Minhas implemented after purchasing the Brewery in 2006.
THE
ERA
In 2003, the Brewery started to make Beers for Ravinder Minhas with export to Alberta, Canada, on a contract basis.
Ravinder Minhas also invested into additional can packaging equipment to expand the Mountain Crest line and other brands. This new arrangement increased the production of the Brewery by 5 times.
2003 Ravinder & Manjit Minhas Purchase the Brewery.
The sibling duo launch the Mountain Crest Lager 2005.
2006 Brewery name is officially changed to Minhas Craft Brewery.
By 2005, the beer exported to Alberta made up 85% of the Brewery’s total production. The Minhas Family purchased 100% interest in the Brewery on October 3, 2006 and changed the name of the Brewery to Minhas Craft Brewery.
2010 to 2020: Ravinder and Manjit Minhas bought several properties surrounding the original brewery and built from ground up the Minhas Distillery, Winery and Minhas Kitchen. They also built a new 500,000 square foot warehouse, added 25 large 10,000 to 100,000 Litre tanks. As well as a Nano and RO System to produce the cleanest tasting Neutral Malt base in the world, and have invested in many other capital projects.
