WBEZ found that the brewery sponsored White Sox, Bears, and Blackhawks games, as well as gave away a number of promotional items like posters, bottle openers, and steins. In 1965 ( or 1967, according to one source) the company was purchased by a group of investors intent on making Meister Bräu a national brand.
Founded in 1891 by Prussian immigrant Peter Hand, the self-named brewery found success in pre-Prohibition Chicago and came roaring back as soon as the law was repealed. Meister Bräu, the once well-known beer from Peter Hand brewery, was a different story.
It now brews its Oktoberfest beer (a new recipe) across state lines. Old Style remained primarily an Illinois brand - until 2016, when it moved its operations back across the border to where it began. The beer caught on more in Chicago than anywhere else, and by 1935 the company uprooted from Wisconsin and moved to Chicago. And who can overlook the numerous Old Style signs hanging off taverns - that may or may not still be in business - around the city? But Old Style isn’t really “Chicago’s beer.” The Old Style brand comes from La Crosse, Wisconsin, where it was first brewed in 1902. Old Style, you may know, is “Chicago’s beer.” It even goes so far as to brand itself as such. Meister Bräu was the Chicago brand - think a local version of Hamm’s, Schlitz, or Old Style. Unfortunately, not every building was preserved, including the facility that once house Peter Hand Brewery which brewed Meister Bräu. The city was also home to the likes of Brand, Mutual, Monarch, Pilsen, and City breweries, all of which are now shuttered, but whose buildings can still be visited by curious Chicagoans. Unlike most breweries from the turn of the 19th century, the Best building was preserved and converted into an apartment complex in the 1980s. Best is unique not just for its longevity - most contemporary breweries were in and out of business - but for it’s building. According to Forgotten Chicago (a treasure trove for Chicago history nerds) Best operated in Lakeview from 1885 to 1961, excluding Prohibition. Perhaps one of the better known defunct beers is, ironically, the Best Brewing Company. But before Goose Island came around Chicago was a respectable hub of local brews. But what came before Goose Island? It turns out, a lot of things.Ĭhicago was never Milwaukee - it was never the beer capital of the Midwest or the country. For the most part, Chicago as a beer destination is a recent trend that was kick started when Goose Island Brewery opened in 1988. According to a recent list put together by The Hop Review Chicago has 71 breweries inside its city limits and 127 or more in Chicagoland. We love it so much, in fact, that in 2014 GQ named us “ Officially the Greatest Drinking City in America” (a title we still retain the last time I checked).