When, where, and who stewed the brews at the first brewery in Manitowoc? Frederick Kunz deliciously details all in this tale of Manitowoc history.|00:00:00-Part 1 Introduction00:00:52-Part 2 Origin of breweries in Manitowoc and Manitowoc County, starting in 1850’s. First brewer was Charles Hottelmann, the great-grandfather of August Schuette. Hottelmann founded the first Manitowoc brewery at 9th & Marshall Streets around 1851 or 1852.00:02:34-Part 3 Terminology: distinction between “brewer” and “master brewer.”00:03:23-Part 4 In 1865 Charles Hottelman sold his brewery to H. George Kunz and Christian Scheibe. Hottleman died in 1866.00:03:49-Part 5 Around 1866 William Rahr founded a brewery near Hancock and 6th Streets. It was maintained by his successors through World War I, after which it was torn down. During demolition a wall fell on a workman and killed him. The Rahr malting business continued.00:05:07-Part 6 Mr. Roeffs, with a partner named Mr. Hagen, had “Hagen and Roeffs” brewery on the hill, then called Roof’s’s Hill [sic] where Lincoln High School is now located. Frederick Kunz recalls seeing brick walls when he played there as a child. He wonders how the brewery got its water up the hill. Mr. Roeffs died in 1866.00:07:28-Part 7 After 1866 Roeffs Brewery was briefly operated by Albert Wittenberg, who later became Manitowoc County Sheriff.00:07:51-Part 8 Early breweries in the county. In 1858 Gottfried Kunz founded a brewery at Branch Mills, now called Branch. H. George Kunz came from Germany to work with Gottfried Kunz as master brewer for two or three years before moving into Manitowoc to work at Roeffs’ brewery. In 1865 H. George Kunz and Christian Scheibe purchased the Hottelman brewery. Meanwhile, Gottfried Kunz operated the Branch Mills brewery until his death in 1878. His widow continued that brewery for a couple of years until it burned.00:10:09-Part 9 Louis Kunz came to Manitowoc in 1871 to work for H. George Kunz at the old Hottelman brewery. H. George Kunz died in 1872. Louis Kunz continued at this brewery until about 1878, as it was successively acquired by Gottfried Kunz, Frederick Pautz, and finally Gottlieb Pautz.00:12:18-Part 10 John Schreihart became a partner in the Pautz brewery in 1875 or 1876. In 1878 Schreihart left Pautz and leased a brewery near 10th and Marshall Streets that had been founded by William Fricke and was operated by Charles Fricke. John Schreihart purchased the Fricke brewery in 1880 and operated it as the Schreihart brewery. Further discussion of the Pautz / Schreihart partnership.00:15:50-Part 11 Louis Kunz went to the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee to learn to make Pilsen type barley malt for light colored beer. Discussion of the concept of dark and light “body” and “color” in beer.00:17:16-Part 12 Louis Kunz returned to work as foreman at the Schreihart brewery from 1880 to 1885. In 1885 he and Daniel B. Bleser leased the brewery from Schreihart and operated it as the Kunz-Bleser brewery while John Schreihart went to Europe. In 1890 John Schreihart returned and resumed business as the Schreihart brewery. Louis Kunz and Daniel Bleser purchased the old Hottelman brewery from Gottlieb Pautz and operated it until 1904, when they built a new Kunz-Bleser brewery that operated until about 1919.00:20:55-Part 13. William Rahr and Sons Company operated a brewery until about 1919. During Prohibition, the Rahrs, John Schreihart, Louis Kunz, and Daniel Bleser formed the Manitowoc Breweries Company, which made near beer, ice cream, milk, and cheese. In the mid 1920’s the name was changed to Kingsbury Breweries Company, which became famous for its near beer. Louis Kunz was president of Kingsbury Breweries when he died in 1936. Frederick Kunz recounts an experience at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where the merits of Kingsbury Pale Beer were highly extolled.00:23:58-Part 14 Further discussion of the Kunz family, including Gottfried, H. George, and Louis Kunz, and their origins in the village of Untergroeningen in the province of Wuerttemberg in the Suabian Forest region of Germany. Heinrich Kunz still operates the family brewery in Germany.00:25:54-Part 15 Frederick Kunz recalls experiences working in contemporary German breweries. Contrasts between American and European brewing industries. Development of four large breweries in America. Importance of access to good water.00:28:09-Part 16 Continuation of explanation of the role of water in the brewing industry. Calcium sulfate, other additives, and filtration.00:31:40-Part 17 Kingsbury brewery, which had acquired the Gutsch and Schreier breweries in Sheboygan, resumed beer production after Repeal of Prohibition. Many breweries started up but only about 50 plants remain today. Most manufacturers of brewing equipment went out of business during Prohibition, and large breweries got priority for new equipment after Repeal.00:34:16-Part 18 During Prohibition some small breweries did make some beer, but not profitably.00:35:18-Part 19 Summarizes the number of breweries that existed in Manitowoc at any one time. In 1865 the Hottelman brewery made 1,600 barrels of beer annually.00:36:12-Part 20 Importance of Louis Pasteur’s discovery that air-borne organisms cause beer spoilage. Describes processes involved in brewing such as aging, fermentation and kreusening. Explains negative aspects of kreusening. Brief discussion of Heilemann Brewing Company.00:41:03-Part 21 After Repeal of Prohibition, Kingsbury Breweries, the last brewery left in Manitowoc, went into bankruptcy. Control left Manitowoc and went to a New York financial group. Brewing industry as a whole shifted toward being run by businesses rather than brewers.00:43:10-Part 22 Discusses families associated with Milwaukee breweries today, including Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, and Uehlein families.00:45:06-Part 23 Disappearance of breweries in Manitowoc. Kingsbury plant at 9th and Marshall Streets closed. Kingsbury put money into its Gutsch plant in Sheboygan, which eventually was sold to Heilemann Brewing.00:46:29-Part 24 Having supplied malt to Anheuser Busch since the 1870’s, Rahr Malting became one of the top maltsters in the United States. Anheuser Busch purchased the Rahr plant in Manitowoc. Rahr built a malt house in Shakopee, Minnesota, but there is no Rahr malting business in Manitowoc today. Manitowoc County was considered the best county in the country for growing malting grade barley.00:50:44-Part 25 The contemporary malting industry and its domination by large breweries. Commercial maltsters are in jeopardy of disappearing.00:52:42-Part 26 Frederick Kunz comments on the “romance of the brewing business” and explains how judgment of a beer’s taste is subjective and conditioned by the tasting environment.