Ashland Brewing Company

Ashland Brewing Company was a small regional brewery based in Ashland, Wisconsin, and one of the historical brewing businesses associated with northern Wisconsin. Founded in 1874 by German immigrant brothers Adam and Conrad Goeltz, the company operated from a facility known as the Ashland Union Brewery on 10th Avenue East, beside Bay City Creek. Its location placed it near Ashland Bottling Works and within a commercial area serving the city and the wider Lake Superior region. The brewery’s original premises reflected nineteenth-century brewing technology. The main building measured approximately 34 by 70 feet and stood two stories high. It was initially constructed of wood and later given an exterior brick veneer. A separate ice house, measuring about 24 by 50 feet, stood beside the brewery. Ice storage was important because mechanical refrigeration was not yet available to the business in its early years. The Goeltz family also operated other Ashland enterprises, including the Seventh Avenue Hotel and an ice cream parlor, making the brewery part of a broader local hospitality and beverage network. Ashland Brewing Company sold beer in both bottles and kegs. Contemporary advertising described shipment and delivery to communities around Lake Superior, indicating that the business served more than only the immediate Ashland market. Its principal branded beer was Ashland Beer. Other advertised products included White Ribbon Beer and New York State Porter and Ale, giving the company a portfolio that covered a standard beer as well as porter and ale styles. The brewery used a six-pointed star enclosed in a circle, with an “A” at the center, as its identifying mark. The Brewer’s Star was presented as a symbol of purity, with its six points associated with water, hops, grain, malt, yeast, and the brewer. Ownership later changed hands. Frederick W. Miller owned the brewery from 1901 through 1937, the final year identified for its operation. Like many American breweries, Ashland Brewing Company faced the disruption created by national Prohibition. During the Prohibition period it produced non-alcoholic beverages, including soft drinks, rather than relying solely on alcoholic beer sales. The business survived the Prohibition years but eventually closed in 1937, several years after the repeal of national Prohibition in 1933. The company is now defunct and its brands are historical rather than active commercial offerings. Ashland Beer remains part of Wisconsin’s brewing heritage, although it did not survive as a continuing brand in the manner of some other northern Wisconsin beer names. The brewery’s story documents the regional distribution networks, family entrepreneurship, product diversification, and adaptation to Prohibition that characterized many small American breweries of the period.

Ashland Brewing Company was established in 1874 in Ashland, a northern Wisconsin city on the shore of Lake Superior. Its founders were brothers Adam and Conrad Goeltz, who had emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1847. The brothers first moved to Ashland in 1854, later left the area, and returned in 1863. Their brewery became known as the Ashland Union Brewery and operated on 10th Avenue East beside Bay City Creek, near the Ashland Bottling Works. The brewery’s physical plant consisted of a two-story building approximately 34 by 70 feet in size. The structure was originally wooden and was later covered with a brick exterior. An adjacent ice house, measuring about 24 by 50 feet, supported brewing and storage operations at a time when modern refrigeration was unavailable. The Goeltz family’s business interests also included the Seventh Avenue Hotel and an ice cream parlor on Seventh Avenue West, now known as Chapple Avenue. These related enterprises connected the brewery to local lodging, food service, and beverage commerce. From its early years, Ashland Brewing Company supplied beer in bottles and kegs. An 1874 account described shipment and delivery to points around Lake Superior, suggesting a regional distribution system rather than a business limited to Ashland itself. The company marketed Ashland Beer as its main branded product and also advertised White Ribbon Beer and New York State Porter and Ale. Its visual identity used a six-pointed star inside a circle, with the letter “A” placed within the star. Known as the Brewer’s Star, the symbol represented purity and linked the six points to water, hops, grain, malt, yeast, and the brewer. Ownership eventually moved outside the founding family. Frederick W. Miller is identified as the brewery’s owner from 1901 until 1937. The company faced the national disruption caused by Prohibition, which eliminated ordinary legal beer sales for many years. Rather than immediately disappearing, Ashland Brewing Company produced non-alcoholic beverages, including soft drinks, during the Prohibition period. National Prohibition ended in 1933, but the brewery did not continue indefinitely afterward. It closed in 1937, ending a business history that had lasted more than six decades. The company’s closure placed Ashland Beer among the historic beer brands that disappeared from the Wisconsin market. Although other northern Wisconsin beer names survived into later periods, Ashland Beer did not remain an active commercial brand. Ashland Brewing Company nevertheless remains relevant to Wisconsin brewing history because it illustrates the development of small regional breweries, the use of ice-based infrastructure, distribution around Lake Superior, family-owned local enterprise, and adaptation to Prohibition through non-alcoholic production.

1. 1937Brewery closes

   Ashland Brewing Company ceases operations, ending its history as a regional brewery.

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2. 1933National Prohibition ends

   The repeal of national Prohibition removed the legal restrictions that had led the brewery to diversify into non-alcoholic beverages.

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3. 1920Prohibition-era product adaptation

   During national Prohibition, the brewery produced non-alcoholic beverages, including soft drinks.

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4. 1901Frederick W. Miller becomes owner

   Frederick W. Miller is identified as the brewery’s owner from 1901 onward.

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5. 1874Ashland Brewing Company is founded

   Adam and Conrad Goeltz establish the brewery in Ashland, Wisconsin.

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6. 1874Regional distribution begins

   An account published in the Ashland Press described bottled and keg beer shipments and delivery to locations around Lake Superior.

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A small regional Wisconsin brewery serving Ashland and Lake Superior communities, with a traditional beer portfolio and a local identity built around the Ashland name and Brewer’s Star emblem.

• Ashland BeerBeer

  The company’s principal branded beer and the product most closely associated with its identity. Ashland Beer was sold in bottles and kegs and distributed from the Ashland brewery to local and regional customers, including communities around Lake Superior.

• White Ribbon BeerBeer

  A secondary beer brand advertised by Ashland Brewing Company in local and regional promotion. Available historical material identifies the product as part of the brewery’s portfolio but does not provide a detailed recipe or style specification.

• New York State Porter and AlePorter and ale

  A porter-and-ale offering listed in the brewery’s historical advertising. The name indicates a darker beer and ale segment within the company’s range, although surviving reference material does not establish whether the products were separate brands or a combined advertised line.

• Non-alcoholic beveragesSoft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages

  During national Prohibition, Ashland Brewing Company produced non-alcoholic beverages, including soft drinks. This temporary diversification allowed the brewery to continue operating despite restrictions on ordinary alcoholic beer production and sales.

• 1920Diversification into non-alcoholic beverages during ProhibitionStrategy

  National Prohibition disrupted the legal production and sale of ordinary alcoholic beer in the United States.

  What changed. Ashland Brewing Company produced non-alcoholic beverages, including soft drinks, while Prohibition was in force.

  Aftermath. The brewery survived the Prohibition period but eventually closed in 1937, several years after Prohibition ended.

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• 1937Ashland Brewing Company closes after the Prohibition era

  The brewery ceased operations in 1937 after surviving national Prohibition through the production of non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks.

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1. Ashland Brewing Company