The Milwaukee County Historical Society is reaching deep into Milwaukee’s roots as the brew city to create a comprehensive exhibit about Milwaukee’s brewing history. The exhibit officially opened Monday. The Historical Society’s collections include over 50,000 artifacts and more than a million photographs. The exhibit goes in depth on Milwaukee’s most well-known Beer Barons; Miller, Schiltz, Blatz and Pabst.
Some of my favorite parts of the exhibit were the snippets of breweries past; who those people were, where the breweries were located and some of the struggles they faced, including prohibition. I read the last standing building from the Phillip Jung Brewing Co. was demolished in 2008! And did you know Anna Krug married Joseph Schlitz and she actually inherited the August Krug Brewing Company? Also, Fritz Gettelman, son of Adam & Magdalena Gettelman, designed the steel beer keg. All of these gems beautifully are constructed and laid out to walk you through not only Milwaukee’s history, but also its passion for beer and brewing.
I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I feel like I’m only skimming the top! I learned all of Milwaukee’s brewery workers went on strike for better wages, more benefits and a shorter work week. The terms offered by the breweries were rejected (see picture below). Also, there is a board dedicated to a widowed mother of three, Minnie Elder, who learned how to brew from a brew master during Prohibition. Every Sunday she would bring her brew to her son’s house for family dinner. This points out that home brewing isn’t new, but has just improved over the years.
In the past, when I thought about Prohibition; I was like “Yeah, cool, it’s over.” But reading through this exhibit makes me realize what an impact Prohibition had on Milwaukee. All of those jobs lost, heck a whole industry shut down and made to scramble, at a time when the love for beer was at an all- time high. But the brewers kept busy with making other products like wonder cheese, malt extract, and ice cream. They also had a feeling that Prohibition wasn’t going to last forever. Give the people what they want, dammit, beer will come back, and it certainly has - in full force!
I feel like I could go on about this exhibit, but if I mention any more it would be like giving away Game of Thrones spoilers and I just can’t do that. I do encourage you to go see this show and really take the time to read through each section. You’ll feel so much more connected to your city and be great at Milwaukee trivia by the end! The Milwaukee County Historical Society has done our brewing history justice and luckily you have until April 30th to get in there to experience it! Tickets are only $7 and children 12 & under are free.
Also, please check out their Facebook page for other events relating to this exhibit. They have reached out and brought the whole Wisconsin beer industry & community together for some fun and one-of-a-kind events! Milwaukee Girls Pint Out will be attending their Ladies Night event, which is bringing a whole panel of woman in the brewing industry together. Should be a night to remember!
Let’s connect! You can find Girl Meets Beer on Facebook and Twitter or if you feel like sharing your thoughts about this exhibit with me, shoot me an email: beerblog@shepex.com
