Jacob Best
Encyclopedia
Jacob Best, Sr. was an American brewer who founded what would later become known as the Pabst Brewing Company
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. He was born in Hesse-Darmstadt
where he learned the trade and ran a small brewery in Mettenheim
, Rhenish Hesse, until immigrating to Milwaukee in 1844 to join his sons.
In Milwaukee, Jacob founded a brewery on Chestnut Street Hill called Empire brewery, which he ran with his sons, Phillip, Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz. Charles and Lorenz soon withdrew from the company, with Charles establishing the Plank Road Brewery (now called Miller Brewing Company
). His daughter Margaretha married Mortiz Schoeffler, a prominate newspaper editor. Schoeffler founded The Wisconsin Banner. Empire Brewery produced 300 barrels in its first year of operation. The name was changed to Best and Company and became one of the most successful breweries in Milwaukee.
After Jacob, Sr. retired in 1853, Phillip and Jacob, Jr. continued operations as a partnership until eventually falling under the control of Phillip's son-in-law, Captain Frederick Pabst
. Sometime later, the brewery was renamed the Pabst Brewing Company
and remained at the same location along Chestnut Street (now Juneau Avenue) until closure of the complex in 1997.
His great-great-great-granddaughter is actress Caitlin O'Heaney
Jacob Best, Sr. devoted the remainder of his life to local politics. He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery
in Milwaukee.
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. He was born in Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse between the four sons of Philip I, the last Landgrave of Hesse....
where he learned the trade and ran a small brewery in Mettenheim
Mettenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate
Mettenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Rhenish Hesse, until immigrating to Milwaukee in 1844 to join his sons.
In Milwaukee, Jacob founded a brewery on Chestnut Street Hill called Empire brewery, which he ran with his sons, Phillip, Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz. Charles and Lorenz soon withdrew from the company, with Charles establishing the Plank Road Brewery (now called Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
). His daughter Margaretha married Mortiz Schoeffler, a prominate newspaper editor. Schoeffler founded The Wisconsin Banner. Empire Brewery produced 300 barrels in its first year of operation. The name was changed to Best and Company and became one of the most successful breweries in Milwaukee.
After Jacob, Sr. retired in 1853, Phillip and Jacob, Jr. continued operations as a partnership until eventually falling under the control of Phillip's son-in-law, Captain Frederick Pabst
Frederick Pabst
Frederick Pabst was a German-American brewer who founded the Pabst Brewing Company.-Early life:Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Pabst was born on March 28, 1836, in the village of Nikolausrieth, then in the Province of Saxony, in the Kingdom of Prussia...
. Sometime later, the brewery was renamed the Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
and remained at the same location along Chestnut Street (now Juneau Avenue) until closure of the complex in 1997.
His great-great-great-granddaughter is actress Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney
Caitlin O'Heaney is an American TV, film and stage actress. O'Heaney has worked extensively in live theater, but is best known for playing Sarah Stickney White, the female lead on the ABC series Tales of the Gold Monkey in the early 1980s...
Jacob Best, Sr. devoted the remainder of his life to local politics. He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery
Forest Home Cemetery
Forest Home Cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite...
in Milwaukee.