Joseph Huber Brewing Company
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| Founded | 1845 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Monroe, WI United States |
The Joseph Huber Brewing Company was founded in 1845 in Monroe, Wisconsin. Originally called The Blumer Brewery, it adopted the Huber name in 1947. It is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest and second oldest in the United States.
Huber reached its most successful point around 1978, when its Augsburger brand received awards from several prominent beer reviewers and became a top seller for the company. The brewery was sold in 1985 for $7.8 million; in 1988 the new owners sold the Augsburger label to Stroh Brewery Company and later briefly closed the brewery. Fred Huber, son of Joseph, bought the brewery and resumed operations in a partnership with Chicago's Berghoff family, but the brewery filed for bankruptcy and was sold in 1995.[1][2]
In 2006, Mountain Crest Brewing Company,[3] of Calgary, Alberta, Canada purchased the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, the Huber brands of beer, and the Blumers brand of soda.[4] The Monroe brewery was renamed Minhas Craft Brewery.[5] In 2010 a beer museum was opened at the brewery.[6] The brewery suffered serious damage in a November 2013 fire, but was returning to operation by January 2014.[7]
The Berghoff Brewing Company contracted with Mountain Crest until 2013 to brew Berghoff beer at the Monroe plant[8] and continues to produce Berghoff's root beer, which is sold in traditional glass bottles in the Midwestern United States. The Berghoff brand was named after the Berghoff Cafe and Tavern in Chicago.
The Minhas Brewery has tours for adults and children in which visitors may receive a free 6-pack of 5 different beers and a soda. Blumers soda uses 100% cane sugar.
Recognition
2014 - Certificate of Excellence - Ranked #1 of 11 Attractions in Monroe on Trip Advisor [2]
2014 - Minhas Craft Brewery Huber Bock awarded Silver for best bock from the World Beer Awards. [3]
References
- ^ Mike Ivey, "Aging Gracefully: Monroe's Huber Brewing Gets New Lease on Life", The Capital Times, April 29, 2004 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ^ "Huber Brewing through the years", The Capital Times, April 29, 2004 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ^ [1], Madison.com, February 13, 2018.
- ^ Tom Daykin, "Monroe's Huber Brewing sold: Canadian buyer agrees to buy beer and soda brands, plans to add workers." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 20, 2006 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ^ Barry Adams, "Huber brewery now called Minhas", Wisconsin State Journal, October 6, 2006 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ^ "World of Beer museum opens in Monroe, Wis." Modern Brewery Age, June 25, 2010 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ^ "Minhas Craft Brewery Recovering from Fire", Modern Brewery Age, January 27, 2014.
- ^ Robert Loerzel. "Berghoff beer looks for respect", Crain's Chicago Business, April 25, 2013. Accessed December 10, 2014.