Pabst Brewing Company history

In 1850, Charles and Lorenz Best left the family business to start their own brewery, which they named the Plank Road Brewery and eventually became known as the Miller Brewing Company when it was purchased by Frederick Miller.

Phillip took control of the company in 1860.

They started the brewery on Chestnut Street Hill in Milwaukee with a capacity of 18 barrels (2.9 m). Later, in 1863, Frederick Pabst, a steamship captain and son-in-law of Phillip Best, bought 50% of Phillip Best, and assumed the role of vice president.

In 1864, Pabst purchased a half interest in the brewing company for $21,057.05 and became vice president.

Production of beer had reached 14,139 barrels by 1866.

Phillip Best died shortly thereafter in 1869.

The year 1873 was a milestone for the company when the brewery was legally incorporated and capitalized at $300,000 with a production of 100,593 barrels per year.

By 1874 Phillip Best Brewing Co. was the nation's largest brewer.

The brewery's best-seller was a lager, Best Select, which began public sales in 1875.

In 1882 Pabst began tying blue ribbons around the neck of each bottle of its Select beer to distinguish it from other brands.

Schandein died in July of 1888 while on holiday in Germany leaving Pabst in complete control of the brewing and real estate empire.

The company’s name remained the same until March 12, 1889, when the name was officially changed to the Pabst Brewing Company.

By 1893, Pabst became the first brewer in the United States to sell more than a million barrels of beer in a year.

Lisette Schandein took over as vice-president of the company through 1894 after her husband's death.

Captain Pabst died on January 1, 1904, leaving the brewery to his sons.

Pabst produced near beer, malt extracts, syrups and processed cheese until the amendment was repealed in 1933.

Pabst was involved in the 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike.

Pabst's sales reached a peak of 15.6 million barrels (2.48 billion litres) in 1978 before they entered into a steep decline.

Its lowest point came with the 1985 buyout by businessman Paul Kalmanovitz of S&P Company in California.

When Kalmanovitz died in 1987, S&P became legally inseparable from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust.

Pabst closed the Milwaukee plant in 1996; however the famous Pabst Blue Ribbon is still being produced by MillerCoors.

In 1999, Pabst purchased the Stroh label, and the brewery in La Crosse was sold to City Brewing Company.

Great care has been taken to ensure that Blue Ribbon Hall, The Great Hall, Captain's Corner, Captain’s Courtyard, Guest Center, King’s Courtyard, and the original Gift Shop have all been restored to their original glory. It was at that time that Jim Haertel received his accepted offer to purchase the Pabst Brewery on September 11, 2001.

S&P was ordered by the IRS to sell the Pabst Brewing Company by 2005 or lose its not-for-profit, tax-free status.

In 2006, CEO Brian Kovalchuk resigned and the board replaced him with Kevin Kotecki.

On May 28, 2008 a former Pabst Brewery in Newark, New Jersey, which was in the process of being demolished, caught fire and was seriously damaged.

On May 26, 2010, investor C. Dean Metropoulos reached a deal to purchase Pabst for about $250 million.

On May 14, 2011, it was announced that Pabst would be relocating to Los Angeles, California.

Pabst Brewing Company announced November 13, 2014 that it had completed its sale to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC. Blue Ribbon is a partnership between American beer entrepreneur Eugene Kashper and TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.

In July 2015, Pabst announced plans to return to Milwaukee and refurbish a former church and training center on the site of the original Pabst Brewing complex as a micro-brewery and taproom.