Just ahead, on your right, you’ll spot a pale yellow-brick building with a huge white arched sign reading “Val. Blatz Brewing Co.”-paired with a decorative round sign for the Blatz House Offices, so you definitely can’t miss it.
Picture this: The year is 1850, and Milwaukee is still a young, muddy city where horses outnumber automobiles by, well, a million to zero. Now, right on this very spot, Valentin Blatz, a savvy German immigrant, rolled up his sleeves to start brewing beer next door to the established City Brewery. Back then, there were no craft beer flights or Instagrammable cans-beer was brewed daily for thirsty locals who’d line up with their mugs, eager for a taste. When Johann Braun, owner of City Brewery, passed away in 1852, Blatz grabbed the chance to merge both breweries, and suddenly, his tiny operation was cranking out hundreds of barrels every year.
The little brewery grew faster than you can say “prost!” By 1868, Blatz was pumping out 16,000 barrels and sending Milwaukee lager wafting through the air. But fate, as it likes to do, threw a curveball in 1872-a fire roared through the brewery, destroying much of it. Out of the ashes, Blatz rebuilt with cutting-edge technology, determined not just to survive but to thrive. Picture shiny new brewing equipment and, by 1875, the first-ever bottling department in Milwaukee. This meant Blatz beer could travel far beyond the city-suddenly, people all across America were sipping from bottles stamped “Blatz,” all thanks to some clever packaging and a little Milwaukee gumption.
Over the decades, the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company was always at the party-through booms and busts, the wild days of Prohibition, and even the infamous brewery strikes. During Prohibition, when beer was illegal, Blatz wasn’t about to let a little legislation spoil the fun. Instead, they whipped up near beer, sodas, and even malt soap-because nothing says rebellious like getting clean with a hint of hops, right? When Prohibition ended in 1933, Blatz was ready to roll. Their permit number, WIS-U-712, is the kind of fact that makes beer trivia champions swoon.
In the postwar years, Blatz’s iconic jingles echoed through homes: “Kegs, Cans, or Bottles, all taste the same. The three best is one beer-Blatz is the name.” It was the soundtrack of Milwaukee summers and blue-collar barbecues everywhere. Even Marlon Brando cracked open a Blatz in “The Wild One”-the beer was practically a star on its own.
The company changed hands a few times-moving from Pabst to G. Heileman to Stroh, back to Pabst, and now brewed by Miller under contract. But through all the legal battles-including a headline-grabbing anti-trust case that shut Blatz down in 1959-the beer and its legacy lived on.
Look up at those stout, German Renaissance Revival buildings around you, with their round arches and ornamental brickwork. They were built to last, just like the stories fermented behind these walls. Today, the old Blatz bottling building is part of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the office building has morphed into condos. The signs still gleam, a tribute to the beer that put Milwaukee on the map. So, cheers to old Blatz-Milwaukee’s favorite premium beer, even if you’re just enjoying the history of where it all began.
