1849
London-brewed Porter is flowing into Oshkosh More.
Two breweries are established in Oshkosh:
- The Jacob Konrad Brewery on Lake Street More.
- The Oshkosh Brewery of Joseph Schussler opens on Bay Shore Drive. Everything you need to know about this brewery can be found here, here and here.
Hop farms are springing up in and around Oshkosh.
- A history of hops in Oshkosh is here.
- A look at hop farming in Allenville is here (with an update here).
- A hoppy history of Delhi, now a ghost town, just west of Oshkosh is here.
- Lorenzo Hinman is growing hops in the Town of Clayton. More.
George Loescher’s Oshkosh Brewery goes into operation at what is now 1253 and 1283 Bay Shore Drive More. There are more stories about Loescher’s Oshkosh Brewery here and here.
1853
Oshkosh incorporates. We’re now a city!
Anton Andrea purchases the Jacob Konrad Brewery. It comes to be known as the Lake Brewery. Its lineage will thread through the entire history of commercial brewing in Oshkosh More.
Strong Ale from Scotland is flowing into Oshkosh More.
1856
The Fifth Ward Brewery is launched More.
Jacob Lachmann launches a brewery in Neenah. More.
1857
1858Oshkosh's love affair with bock beer is underway More
The population of Oshkosh is 6,086.
The city has 12 taverns and three breweries:
- George Loescher runs the Oshkosh Brewery at the southwest corner of River and Eveline Streets.
- The Lake Brewery, owned by Anton Andrea, is located near the shore of Lake Winnebago in the general proximity of the area currently addressed as 74 Lake Street.
- Christian Kaehler is making beer at the Fifth Ward Brewery, sometimes called the Bush Brewery, near what is now the southeast corner of Algoma Boulevard and Vine Street.
1865
Civil War Veteran Charles Rahr and his brother August found The City Brewery. Located at the foot of Rahr Avenue near the Shore of Lake Winnebago, the brewery would come to be known as the Rahr Brewing Company of Oshkosh More.
1866
August Horn and Leonhardt Schwalm open the Brooklyn Brewery along what is now the 1600 Block of Doty Street. Here's a full history of the brewery.
Franz Wahle, co-founder of the Stevens Point Brewery moves to Oshkosh. He builds a new brewery at the foot of Doty street. This brewery will eventually become the Union Brewery operated by John Glatz and Christian Elser (see 1869 entry for more).
Oshkosh is the second largest city in Wisconsin with a population of about 11,000. Only Milwaukee is larger. Oshkosh has 40 groceries, 30 Saloons and five breweries.
A brewery is built in nearby Winneconne. Here’s a history of the Winneconne Brewery.
1867
Fire! Glatz and Elser’s Union Brewery burns. More.
Hops have become a hot commodity in Oshkosh More.
1869
Oshkosh adds a sixth brewery as the Union Brewery of John Glatz and Christian Elser begins producing beer More.
Gustavus Bogk opens The Oshkosh City Beer and Pleasure Gardens at the end of Otter Ave.
1870s
Leonard Schiffmann brews Weissbier in Oshkosh More.
The peak years for brewing in Winnebago County have arrived. The county has 11 breweries, an all-time high. Here’s a look at the locations of those breweries.
Hop Farms are found everywhere in Winnebago County. More on that here and here.
Independent beer bottlers begin setting up shop in Oshkosh. More here and here.
Horse-drawn beer wagons are a familiar site on the streets of Oshkosh. Here’s a look at the beer wagons of Oshkosh.
1872
Death! A man is boiled alive at Horn & Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery. More.
1875
Lorenz Kuenzl opens the Gambrinus Brewery near what is now the intersection of Harney Avenue and Eveline Street.
1878
The Union Brewery of Glatz and Elser becomes Oshkosh's leading beer producer. Here are the production numbers for 1878.
- Union Brewery: 1,530 barrels
- Horn and Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery: 1,366 barrels
- Lorenz Kuenzl’s Gambrinus Brewery: 470 barrels
- Rahr’s City Brewery: 340 barrels
- Christian Kaehler’s Fifth Ward Bush Brewery: 140 barrels
Fire! Frederick Loescher’s Oshkosh Brewery burns. More.
Fire! Horn & Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery burns (more). A new, larger brewery is built in its place. The new brewhouse is made of brick and can produce more lager beer than any other brewery in Oshkosh.
Leonard Schiffmann establishes a short-lived white beer (wheat beer) brewery at what would now be the 1800 block of Doty Street. Schiffmann had previously been a saloon keeper on Main Street and was also an early bottler of beer in Oshkosh. See one of his clay beer bottles (probably from the 1870s) here.
1880s
Kulmbacher-style beer is popular in Oshkosh More.
Breweries in Oshkosh begin adding corn to their beer recipes. Read all about it, here. Not all of the brewers here are fond of using adjuncts, though. Here’s what Joseph Schussler had to say about it.
1884
Construction of the building that will become the Schlitz Beer Hall operated by Charles Maulick is complete. These days, it's known as Oblio’s. The whole story can be found here.
Frank X. Thielen is importing beer from other cities. Thielen becomes the beer merchant of Oshkosh. More.
1886
English-brewed bitter beer finds an appreciative audience in Oshkosh More.
Milwaukee mega-brewery Schlitz is focusing attention on Oshkosh. More.
1887
Sunday “Blue Laws” are being enforced in the city.
1888
An Oshkosh brewer's tragic death. Theodore Schwalm of Horn & Schwalm's Brooklyn Brewery passes More.
1890
Oshkosh is known for its rough and rowdy saloons. An example of one such place is here.
1891
Large, shipping breweries converge on Oshkosh. More.
The competition from Milwaukee intensifies. Schlitz Brewing builds a bottling plant and distribution in the heart of Oshkosh. More.
There are four family-owned breweries in Oshkosh: Lorenz Kuenzl's Gambrinus Brewery, Horn & Schwalm's Brooklyn Brewery, John Glatz & Son's Union Brewery, and Charles Rahr's City Brewery.
Here's a look at Joe’s Sample Room, a typical pre-Prohibition Oshkosh saloon. It's now known as Jeff's On Rugby.
1893
Oshkosh brewers collude to fix prices and challenge their competitors. More.
1894
In an attempt to stave off competition from Milwaukee’s brewers, Oshkosh’s three largest breweries merge to form the Oshkosh Brewing Company. More.
1896
Pabst Brewing builds a new beer distribution plant in Oshkosh at 136 Jackson Street. The following year, the mammoth Milwaukee brewery constructs a new Oshkosh saloon named the Pabst Exchange at 600 Ohio Avenue. Both buildings are still intact More.
1898
Oshkosh saloon keepers are in open revolt against the domineering ways of the Oshkosh Brewing Company. More here.
1899
A look back at the Nigl Saloon at the northwest corner of 9th and Ohio.
1900
The Main St. saloon now known as Barley & Hops is built More.
The saloon era in Oshkosh is in full flower. Take a look inside a few of the old places here and here.
The Oshkosh brewing Company dominates the beer market here.
1902
The Oshkosh Brewing Company builds the saloon that would become Witzke’s More.
1904
The end of an era: August Horn, founder of the Horn and Schwalm Brewery and the first president of the Oshkosh Brewing Company passes away More.
August Horn was a colorful character and we have stories about him here, here and here.
1906
See the Geek! The Oshkosh beer geek, that is. The 1906 model can be found here.
1907
Tom Ryan is selling England's strong Burton Ale at his Clipper Club saloon on Main Street More.
1908
The Oshkosh Brewing Company announces that “People who drink plenty of beer are always strong and healthy.” See it here.
1910
The Oshkosh beers are changing. The old-world brews are taking on a more “American” character. More on that, here.
1911
Plans are announced to establish a new brewery in Oshkosh. Peoples Brewing Company is on its way to becoming a reality More.
The Oshkosh Brewing Company begins construction of what would become one of the most admired brewhouses in the Midwest More.
1912
The Oshkosh Brewing Company is being challenged. The folks at the brewery are not the least bit happy about it. More here.
