page_title: Beer in Milwaukee
section_title: Valentin Blatz Brewing Company
hierarchical_section_title: Beer in Milwaukee / History / Emergence of the Beer Barons / Valentin Blatz Brewing Company
caption_attribution_description: English: Black and white print of chromolithograph advertising poster for Valentin Blatz's premium export Milwaukee Lager Beer, showing a brewer raising a glass of beer, and a bird's-eye view of the brewery.
context_page_description: Beer in Milwaukee consists of one major brewery and dozens of microbreweries, and is home to several iconic beer brands from a variety of brewers. Milwaukee, Wisconsin has had an association with beer throughout its history, with the brewing industry getting its start prior to its official founding as a city and was nationally recognized as such by the end of the 19th century. This heritage can be found explicitly in its Major League Baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and on recognizable beer brands such as Old Milwaukee and Milwaukee's Best. This recognition of Milwaukee as a brewing hub dates back to the early 20th century, and boasted the world's largest brewing capacity as late as 1981. The city is nationally recognized with the nickname "Brew City" due to its nearly two centuries of brewing heritage from multiple past major brewers including Miller Brewing Company, Pabst Brewing Company, and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Today, through the ownership of MillerCoors, the city's largest brewery produces 10 million barrels of beer annually.
context_section_description: Valentin Blatz opened his brewery in 1851 after having worked for John Braun of City Brewery (which had been in operation since 1846) for a couple years. Later that same year, after Braun died, he married his widow. In 1852 Blatz purchased Braun's brewery. He industrialized the brewery and by the 1860s was among the leading brewers in the city. In 1861, the company sold 8,000 barrels of beer. By 1867, Blatz was the largest producer of beer in the city. In 1871, they sold 34,000 barrels of beer. A fire destroyed the brewery in 1872, however Blatz rebuilt it with larger capacity and by 1875 sold 65,000 barrels of beer. Blatz was the first brewer to bottle its beer, and due to having several distribution centers throughout the United States, was probably the first brewer to have its bottled beer consumed by customers nationally. By the 1880s, the Blatz brewery produced 100,000 barrels of beer. In 1889, British investors attempted to purchase the breweries of Pabst, Schlitz, and Blatz. Although that takeover attempt failed, Blatz sold a significant portion of its business to the British investors in 1891, which called the company United States Brewing Company. Blatz remained with the company until his death in 1894. During this time, Blatz produced 365,000 of barrels of beer annually and was the third largest brewer (behind Pabst and Schlitz) in Milwaukee.
caption: An 1879 advertisement for Val. Blatz's Milwaukee lager beer
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