Breweries in the Old Copper Corridor

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Old timers drinking at the saloon.

Beer has been around for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of beer production was found in Iran and believed to be 7,000 years old. In the United States there is a record of colonists brewing ale from corn in 1587. George Washington was known to brew his own. The colonists were pre-dated in America by eastern Native Americans that were known to brew an alcoholic beer like beverage using birch sap, maize and water. Over the years the ingredients used in making beer and brewing methods have changed and continue to evolve as seen by the popularity of micro brews. In the Old West the pioneers had to overcome many obstacles to establish breweries in the harsh, hot deserts of Arizona and the Copper Corridor.

The most obvious obstacle for brewers to overcome in the hot southwestern desert was a good supply of water. They had to find an area with abundant wells. Even with a supply of water, alkalinity in the Arizona water would affect the brewing process and the taste of the brewed beverage. The brewing process was primitive at best. There was a lack of supplies, insufficient refrigeration and a shortage of bottles. The main brewing ingredients which included hops and barley had to be imported from San Francisco and transported by wagons. The wagons also had to travel through hostile Apache country. Established breweries back east or in San Francisco could not readily deliver beer to the southwest. The light, heat in the summer and the bumpy ride could make for flat beer arriving at the delivery site. The early pioneers of Arizona were able to overcome many obstacles including finding a way to make the popular beverage we know as beer. Here is a brief history of beer making along the Copper Corridor and the surrounding areas

In Arizona and Mexico Native American tribes brewed an alcoholic beverage from corn called tiswin or tesgüino. The Apaches called it tiswin and the Americans would refer to it as Apache beer. Pulque also called agave beer was made by indigenous people in Mexico. It was made from the sap of the maguey plant (agave cactus). Prior to 1853 much of southern Arizona including the town of Tubac and parts of the Copper Corridor belonged to Mexico. The Spaniards had established the Presidio de San Ignacio de Tubac in 1752 after defeating an army of 2,000 Pima Indians. Tubac was the first European settlement in Arizona. It is not known if the Spanish had a brewery there although it is possible as breweries had been established in Mexico as early as 1542, although wine was a more popular drink among the Spaniards.

In 1854 the US military took over the lands purchased from Mexico and by 1856 had established some forts in southern Arizona. Tubac was now an American settlement and it would be there that the first brewery in what we now know as Arizona would be established. A man by the name of Louis Quesse arrived in Tubac in 1860. He was born in Prussia and was a blacksmith by trade. He began brewing beer to supply the military stationed there.

Alexander Levin, a Prussian born Jewish merchant from Germany established the first commercial brewery in the Arizona Territory in 1864 in Tucson. The Pioneer Brewery would help make Levin a well respected successful businessman. He would purchase a hotel and restaurant and operated a number of saloons in Tucson. He partnered with other saloons in southern Arizona which sold his beer exclusively.

The Florence Brewery located on Main Street was established by Peter Will & Company in 1870. His partner was Levi Ruggles. They advertised that they sold beer by the keg, gallon, or glass and bottled beer was their specialty. They “forwarded” beer to Silver King, Mineral Hill and other mining camps.

Along the Copper Corridor the major mining camps were just beginning to get established in the mid 1870s. Globe City would be the first town to get a brewery when Fred Medler and Company established the Pinal Brewery in 1878. He would also establish a branch brewery in the mining town of McMillanville located about 28 miles northeast of Globe. Medler was born in Prussia. He partnered with Frank Bissig a German and August Pieper who was born in Switzerland. They were brewers by trade and would take over the brewery after Medler left the company. Pinal Brewery advertised lager beer at 75 cents per gallon, a dozen bottles for $3.00 or 35 cents a bottle.

Other breweries that started up in the booming mining town of Globe were the Fredricksburg Brewery in 1881, St. Louis Brewery in 1884 and the Globe Brewing Company in 1888. The Pioneer Brewery was established by Thompson & Deckert in the mining camp of Pioneer about eleven miles west of Globe.

In the town of Pinal also known as Pinal City and Picket Post near the present day town of Superior, a brewery was established by Ernest F. Warnke and a man named Jantzen in 1881. The mill for the Silver King mine was located in Pinal. Jantzen would leave the brewery and be replaced by August Werner. Werner may also have established a brewery in Silver King in the 1880s.

In 1881 the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad was completed to within 25 miles of Phoenix. In 1887 the first train arrived in Phoenix from the Southern Pacific main line at Maricopa. With the expansion of railroads in Arizona and scientific advancements in refrigeration, bottling techniques and pasteurization quality beers became readily available in Arizona saloons and liquor stores. Anheuser-Busch had become the first beer producer to pasteurize their beer. They also had a fleet of 850 refrigerated rail cars which were used to ship beer all over the country. Soon beer companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Blatz began signing contracts with local saloons to sell their beer exclusively. The breweries in the Copper Corridor soon began to go out of business.

Note: There is a good book out titledBrewing Arizona a Century of Beer in the Grand Canyon Stateby Ed Sipos. It tells 100 years of beer history in Arizona. It has great photographs including old beer bottles and labels. If you are a beer aficionado or a history buff, you will enjoy it. I gathered much of the information for this story from the book.

John Hernandez (785 Posts)

John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.


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