Yoerg’s Brewery

Paul Lundgren Jul 06, 2014 2 Comments

On this date 165 years ago — July 6, 1849 — Bavarian immigrant Anthony Yoerg opened Minnesota’s first brewery in St. Paul.

Interesting side note on Yoerg’s Brewery: In 1871 the operation moved to a spot adjacent to the Lilydale caves. Yoerg used the natural caves to store his product, and added the phrase “cave-aged” to the label. There are a number of places online to read about Yoerg’s Brewery, but of particular interest is the Substreet underground history site, which profiles Yoerg’s lost cellars.

Duluth’s first brewery came 10 years after Yoerg got things going. During a prolonged economic depression in 1859, four unemployed men — H. S. Burk, Gilbert Falconer, Harvey Fargo and Gotlieb G. Bush — hewed pine timber to build a brewing plant for Sidney Luce. A few decades later it became the Fitger’s Brewing Co.

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History

2 Comments

Bret

about 10 years ago 

I have fond memories of exploring those caves!

Tony D.

about 10 years ago 

Substreet is the work of Dan Turner, who also serves as Zenith City Online's webmeister and as a contributor of "Ghost Sign" photos and articles as well. He will be participating in one or two of our upcoming "Zenith City on Tap" presentations at Glensheen. Check out his story on the Nopeming Sanitorium and his Zenith City contributor archive.

By the way, the brewery Luce financed stood along what is today called Brewery Creek between First and Superior Street, roughly adjacent to the Tires Plus at First St. & Seventh Ave. E. The four men had no work, Bush had some brewing experience, and Luce was about the only one in town with any money after the Panic of 1857, so they started a brewery to support themselves. Luce became our third mayor in 1872,

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