Matt Brewing Company
A historic family-owned Utica brewery best known for its Saranac beers, Utica Club lager, soft drinks, and contract brewing.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Matt Brewing Company, also known as F.X. Matt Brewing Company, is a family-owned brewery based in Utica, New York. The company traces its origins to 1888, when German-trained brewer and salesman Francis Xavier Matt I reorganized the Charles Bierbauer Brewery as the West End Brewing Company. The business developed in Utica’s West End and remains one of the United States’ long-standing family-operated breweries. The brewery’s history reflects several major phases in American brewing. Before Prohibition, it operated as a regional beer producer. During Prohibition, it stayed in business by making soft drinks under the Utica Club name, along with ginger ale and non-alcoholic malt tonics. When Prohibition ended, the company was reportedly among the first American breweries licensed to sell beer again. Utica Club became its flagship beer in the post-Prohibition period and remains an important heritage brand, although the Saranac portfolio later became the company’s principal growth platform. Family succession has been central to the company. Francis Xavier Matt I led the brewery for decades, while his son Walter Matt became president in 1951 and modernized operations. Francis Xavier Matt II assumed the presidency in 1980 and subsequently renamed the business in honor of his grandfather. During his leadership, the company responded to the consolidation of the American beer industry by developing a broader specialty-beer strategy. With advice from brewmaster Joseph Owades, it introduced the Saranac brand in 1985 and expanded into styles associated with the emerging craft-beer movement. Saranac eventually grew into a broad portfolio of lagers, ales, dark beers, seasonal releases, and specialty packs. Matt Brewing has also operated as a contract brewer. At various points it produced beer for independent and regional brands including Brooklyn Lager, Pete’s Wicked, New Amsterdam, Newman's Albany Amber, Dock Street Amber, Blue Moon, and Olde Heurich, although the company has not generally disclosed all clients or production volumes. This contract-brewing activity gives the business a role beyond its consumer-facing brands and has connected it to the growth of American craft beer. The brewery produces and distributes non-alcoholic beverages as well as beer. Its soft-drink range has included root beer, diet root beer, ginger beer, orange cream, black cherry, Shirley Temple, and sparkling lemonade. The Saranac 1888 Root Beer name links the company’s modern soft-drink business to its founding heritage. A major operational setback occurred on May 29, 2008, when a fire in the packaging section destroyed portions of the second and third floors of the building and caused reported damage exceeding $10 million. Brewing and kegging of Utica Club resumed the following week. Some canning was temporarily moved to High Falls Brewing Company in Rochester while damaged equipment was replaced, and bottling returned to the Utica facility after about a month. The subsequent rebuilding included equipment upgrades, additional warehousing, and production-flow improvements. The company has remained closely connected to Utica. Its Saranac Thursday summer events, brewery tours, tasting activities, and presence in the city’s Brewery District have contributed to its role as a local cultural and economic institution. In 2010, Matt Brewing acquired Flying Bison Brewing Company of Buffalo, New York, and in May 2023 it acquired Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland. The company is led by fourth-generation family members, including chairman and chief executive Nick Matt and president Fred Matt, according to the cited reference material.
History
Francis Xavier Matt I immigrated to the United States in 1880 after brewing experience in the Black Forest region of the former Grand Duchy of Baden. In Utica he worked for the Charles Bierbauer Brewery as a salesman and brewmaster. In 1888 he reorganized that operation as the West End Brewing Company, establishing the family enterprise that later became Matt Brewing Company. The brewery survived Prohibition by shifting into soft drinks and non-alcoholic products. It used the Utica Club name for soft drinks and later for beer, and produced ginger ale and malt tonics during the alcohol ban. After repeal, Utica Club beer became a leading company product. The brewery’s post-Prohibition advertising helped turn the name into a recognizable regional brand, particularly through the Schultz and Dooley talking beer-stein characters used in television advertising from 1959 to 1964. Leadership passed through the Matt family. Francis Xavier Matt I remained active as a chairman until his death in 1958, while his son Walter Matt served as president from 1951 to 1980 and modernized the brewing operation. Francis Xavier Matt II became president in 1980 and renamed the brewery for his grandfather. His tenure coincided with intense consolidation in the American beer market and the rise of small specialty breweries. The company introduced Matt’s Premium Light Beer in 1982 and launched Saranac in 1985, using a more varied portfolio to compete with much larger national producers. Saranac became the brewery’s principal growth vehicle. The range expanded across traditional lagers, pale ales, dark beers, wheat beers, India pale ale, and seasonal products. Saranac Pale Ale, introduced in 1994, gained wider attention after reaching the final round of the Washington Post’s 2007 Beer Madness competition. The brewery also developed variety packs such as Adirondack Trail Mix and Twelve Beers of Winter. By the 1990s, the Saranac strategy had helped restore momentum after a difficult period for smaller regional breweries. Contract brewing became another important part of the business. Matt Brewing produced beer for a number of independent and regional labels, including Brooklyn Brewery and Pete’s Brewing Company, as well as other brands identified in historical accounts. The company’s contract role sometimes created unusual competitive relationships, such as Saranac Pale Ale losing the 2007 Beer Madness final to Brooklyn Lager while Matt was also a producer associated with Brooklyn’s beer. On May 29, 2008, a fire attributed in reports to a welding spark destroyed the second and third floors of the packaging building. Brewing and kegging of Utica Club resumed the next week, while canning temporarily moved to High Falls Brewing Company in Rochester. Bottling returned to the Matt facility after roughly one month. The reconstruction program included upgraded equipment, more warehouse capacity, and changes intended to make production more efficient. The company expanded through acquisitions in the twenty-first century. It purchased Flying Bison Brewing Company in 2010 and Flying Dog Brewery in May 2023. Matt Brewing has also continued its local role through brewery tours, tasting-room activities, and Saranac Thursday summer events, which helped reinforce the identity of the surrounding area as Utica’s Brewery District. The business remains family-owned and is described as being in its fourth generation of Matt family leadership.
- 2023
Flying Dog acquired
[1]Matt Brewing purchased Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland.
- 2019
New brewhouse begins operation
[1]Matt Brewing and Briggs of Burton completed the first mash in a new brewhouse.
- 2010
Flying Bison acquired
[1]Matt Brewing purchased Flying Bison Brewing Company in Buffalo, New York.
- 2008
Packaging-building fire
[1]A major fire damaged packaging facilities and led to temporary off-site canning during reconstruction.
- 1985
Saranac brand launched
[1]The brewery introduced Saranac as its specialty-beer platform during the early American craft-brewing period.
- 1980
Brewery renamed F.X. Matt Brewing Company
[1]Francis Xavier Matt II renamed the business in honor of his grandfather.
- 1959
Schultz and Dooley advertising characters debut
[1]The talking beer steins became recurring television figures in Utica Club advertising.
- 1933
Utica Club beer introduced
[2]Utica Club was introduced following the end of Prohibition and became a major post-Prohibition brand.
- 1888
West End Brewing Company established
[1]Matt reorganized the Charles Bierbauer Brewery as the West End Brewing Company, the predecessor of Matt Brewing Company.
- 1880
Francis Xavier Matt I arrives in Utica
[1]After brewing experience in Germany, Francis Xavier Matt I immigrated to the United States and began working in Utica’s brewing industry.
Products and positioning
A regional, family-owned brewery combining heritage American lager brands, craft-style Saranac beers, non-alcoholic beverages, and contract brewing.
Beer portfolio · 1985
Saranac beers
Saranac is Matt Brewing’s principal contemporary beer family. The portfolio has included American and German-style lagers, pale ale, stout and amber-lager blends, Bavarian schwarzbier, India pale ale, traditional lager, Belgian white, and rotating seasonal releases. The brand is positioned toward regional and craft-beer consumers and is sold both as individual beers and in mixed packs such as Adirondack Trail Mix and Twelve Beers of Winter.
Pale ale · 1994
Saranac Pale Ale
Introduced in 1994, Saranac Pale Ale became one of the brewery’s most visible beers and has been described as a flagship of the Saranac line. Its wider profile was strengthened by reaching the final round of the Washington Post’s 2007 Beer Madness tasting competition.
Pale lager · 1933
Utica Club
Utica Club is a heritage pale lager first introduced after Prohibition. It served as the company’s flagship beer during the middle decades of the twentieth century and remains associated with the brewery’s Utica identity. The brand’s advertising history includes the Schultz and Dooley talking beer steins and other character-based promotions.
Soft drink
Saranac 1888 Root Beer
Saranac 1888 Root Beer is part of Matt Brewing’s non-alcoholic beverage business. Other soft-drink products associated with the brewery have included diet root beer, ginger beer, orange cream, black cherry, Shirley Temple, and sparkling lemonade.
Contract manufacturing
Contract-brewed beers
Matt Brewing has produced beer for outside brands, including Brooklyn Lager, Pete’s Wicked, New Amsterdam, Newman's Albany Amber, Dock Street Amber, Blue Moon, and Olde Heurich, according to historical accounts. The company has not publicly disclosed every contract customer or the quantities produced.
Marketing campaigns
- 2007Beer Madness
United States
Saranac Pale Ale reached the final round of the Washington Post’s bracket-style Beer Madness tasting competition.
Outcome. Although it lost the final to Brooklyn Lager, the result generated national attention for Saranac and highlighted Matt Brewing’s contract relationship with Brooklyn Brewery.
- 1968Utica Club Swings
United States
A campaign developed by Wells, Rich, Greene used television commercials set in a fictional Utica Club nightclub and incorporated the Utica Club Natural Carbonation Band Beer Drinking Song.
Outcome. The campaign extended the brand’s entertainment-led advertising tradition.
- 1959Schultz and Dooley
United States
Utica Club advertising introduced two talking beer steins, Schultz and Dooley, as recurring television characters. Comedian Jonathan Winters provided the voices, and the campaign helped give the regional lager a distinctive popular identity.
Outcome. The characters remained among Utica Club’s best-known marketing assets and later became collectible brewery memorabilia.
Brand decisions
2023
Acquire Flying Dog BreweryM&ABackground
Matt Brewing expanded its brewery portfolio beyond its Utica base.
Action taken
The company purchased Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland.
2010
Acquire Flying Bison Brewing CompanyM&ABackground
Flying Bison of Buffalo, New York, was experiencing financial difficulty.
Action taken
Matt Brewing purchased the brewery.
Aftermath
The acquisition preserved Flying Bison’s brewing operation under Matt Brewing ownership.
2008
Rebuild after packaging fireOtherBackground
A fire severely damaged the packaging section of the Utica brewery on May 29, 2008.
Action taken
The company resumed brewing and kegging quickly, shifted canning temporarily to High Falls Brewing Company, and rebuilt with upgraded equipment and additional warehousing.
Aftermath
Bottling returned to the Matt facility after approximately one month, while broader reconstruction continued.
Reported fire damage. over $10 million (2008)
1985
Build the Saranac specialty-beer platformStrategyBackground
The brewery faced pressure from national consolidation and declining prospects for many small regional brewers.
Action taken
Francis Xavier Matt II developed Saranac with advice from brewmaster Joseph Owades and used the brand to broaden the company beyond traditional regional lager.
Aftermath
Saranac became the brewery’s principal consumer-facing growth brand and helped support stronger sales during the 1990s.
Sources2 sources
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