Yoerg Brewing Company
Defunct brewing company in Minnesota (1848 to 1956)
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The Yoerg Brewing Company (YBC), historically Yoerg Brewery, was a brewing company in Saint Paul, Minnesota founded by German immigrant Anthony Yoerg in 1848. YBC was the first brewery in Minnesota Territory, founded in 1848, ten years before Minnesota became a state.
Engraving image of the original Yoerg Brewery in Saint Paul c.1886 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 378 Maria Avenue Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opened | 1848 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key people | Anthony Yoerg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Anthony Yoerg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | yoergbeer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Active beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
Anthony Yoerg (1816 - 1896) was a German-American immigrant born in Gundelfingen an der Donau to a brewing family.[1][2] Yoerg learned to brew Bavarian style beer before emigrating to the United States at age 19 and settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] Yoerg eventually moved to Galena, Illinois before settling in Saint Paul, Minnesota in Minnesota Territory by 1848.[1][2][3]
Yoerg created his own brewing company in 1848-1849 along the Mississippi River.[4] Yoerg's brewery is credited as the first brewery in Minnesota and was the only brewery in the city until 1853.[2] Yoerg chose to erect his brewery along the east bank of the Mississippi River near the modern-day Irvine Park Historic District in order to excavate caves in the bluffs where he could lager his beer.[1]
In 1871, Yoerg's brewery expand.[2] By 1881 Yoerg's brewery was processing 20,000 barrels of beer annually and by 1891, 35,000 barrels.[2] "Yoerg's cave aged beer", as it was eventually advertised, became a notable selling point due to Yoerg's unique lagering process.[2][5] During prohibition in the United States, Yoerg's brewery suffered in sales but stayed in business by producing soft drinks and low-alcohol beer.[5]
By 1941, YBC had filed for bankruptcy. Despite escaping its debts, the company continued to decline, never again hitting its pre-prohibition sales.[6] By 1952 flooding from the Mississippi River caused production to stagnate, and then decline.[6] YBC closed by November 1952 after three generations of family ownership.[2] A fire in 1958 destroyed the brewery building, which was located on Ohio Street near Isabel Street in Saint Paul.[5]
Revival
Beginning in 2016. Yoerg's beer was resurrected by Carol Minogue and Thomas Keim of Saint Paul.[6][7] Minogue and Keim began a contract with the Octopi Brewing Company out of Waunakee, Wisconsin to produce Yoerg's original recipe.[6] Minogue and Keim eventually leased property at 378 Maria Avenue in Saint Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood.
Legacy
The Anthony Yoerg Sr. House located in Saint Paul's West Side neighborhood survives and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for Ramsey County, Minnesota. The house was completed in 1875 by Monroe Sheire.