Mishicot Historical Museum

Photo and postcard views, one from 1910, of the Mishicot Brewing Company and its adjacent bottling works in Mishicot, Wisconsin. The brewery was located on S. Rockway Street, north of Salvage Road. One later photo, featuring vehicles and a large smokestack, depicts the brewery building after beer brewing operations had ended.

Engine Room, Vats, and Cooling Equipment:

From “Souvenir Of Mishicot:“

The Mishicot Brewery was built in 1866 by J. Linstedt, Sr. In 1884 it was sold to J. G. Scheuer who conducted it up to 1904 when the company was incorporated as the Mishicot Brewing Co. It has since then been remodeled, and new cellars, new boiler rooms, new engine rooms and new bottling works have been added and an up-to-date refrigerating plant has been installed. About fifteen men are employed and the output is about six thousand barrels annually. The demand for this product is so great that the large number of orders, continually coming in, can hardly be filled. The company, to answer the large demands, is at present contemplating installing a new and larger brewing outfit.

A history of the brewery was written by Jim Sustman and Laura Schroeder:

The brewery in Mishicot was built in 1866 by Julius Lindsteadt (1836-1890) who came to Mishicot in 1847 with his parents. (One reference says that the brewery was built from 1864-65 and Lindstead bought it in 1866. This reference also says that Lindsteadt ran it until he sold it in 1884 to John G. Scheuer (1839-1919). The original brewery had a main brewing building, another building for a bottling plant, two ice houses, and a horse barn where teams of horses were kept for beer delivery. A number of different brews were produced at the Mishicot Brewery. The Rockway Bridge was built to get to the brewery, because crossing the river over the Rockway Bridge was the only way to get to the brewery. Mr. Lindsteadt owned the brewery until 1884, when he sold it to John G. Scheuer who operated it until 1904. During the time that John G. Scheuer operated the brewery, he increased production from eight hundred barrels to between four and five thousand barrels per year. Then, John G. Scheuer sold the brewery to his son John P. Scheuer and his son-in-law, Andrew Frank. During the time that John P. Scheuer and Andrew Frank operated the brewery, the brewery became incorporated as the Mishicot Brewing Company.

Also under the ownership of Andrew Frank and John P. Scheuer, the Mishicot Brewing Company was remodeled. New cellars were added, along with a boiler room, an engine room, bottling rooms, and up to date refrigeration. Before this, ice from the near-by river was used for refrigeration. Later, Andrew Frank sold his share of the brewery to Irvin P. Scheuer, John P. Scheuer’s son. During the time that Irvin P. Scheuer and John P. Scheuer operated the brewery, 15 men worked at the brewery, and were able to produce 6,000 barrels per year. The beer was sold as far away as Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When the 20th Amendment (prohibition) was passed in 1919, the Mishicot Brewery was forced to close down. Prohibition made the manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating liquors illegal. This amendment was later repealed in 1933, but changes had already been made. On September 27, 1928, the old brewery reopened as a soda factory. The soda factory was run by Cyril Scheuer, John P. Scheuer’s son, until the 1930’s, when it was sold to a Chicago company that wanted to reopen the brewery. A financial problem caused the Chicago Company to abandon the project, and the bank became the new owner of the building.

Jess Lambert bought the brewery from the bank, and sold it to the Western Condensing Company. The Western Condensing Company made the old brewery into a whey plant. The whey was picked up from area cheese factories and run through evaporators and processed into different products including powdered and condensed whey products, and three different grades of sugar. The plant had 100 employees: 25 truck drivers, 10 office workers, and technicians. The plant was closed around 1970, and sold to Anton Pitroske of Salvage Battery and Lead Company in 1974. The old brewery still stands on the property owned by Salvage Battery and Lead Company in 2006, and is not used. In 2006, the building’s northern half stands, while the building’s southern half has been torn down.