Visiting Historic American Breweries for the Semiquincentennial

Beer is soaked into the fabric of America. From its earliest days, there have been intrepid souls who turned the right ingredients into fermented goodness that fortified settlers, soldiers, founders and citizens who did the work that needed to be done to form a more perfect union.

As the country prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial, with tributes and look backs galore, beer and the people who make it will undoubtedly be part of countless conversations.

In her book Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, author Maureen Ogle says beer “embodies the essence of what it is to be American: our ambivalent attitude toward alcohol, our passion for innovation and creativity, and our seemingly limitless ability to take old ideas and things and remake them in our uniquely American image.”

While there are countless places to visit across the country to witness pillars of great historical importance or breathtaking beauty, there are not too many when it comes to beer. This is largely thanks to Prohibition, which lasted between 1920 and 1933. Before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, there were a few thousand breweries operating in the country. By the time the 21st Amendment passed to repeal Prohibition, that number was down to a few hundred, and by the 1970s there were roughly 50 operating breweries across America.

There are large and well-known brewing companies that are synonymous with America’s amber waves of grain, like Anheuser-Busch and Miller, but those large brewing companies, while founded here, are now owned by international corporations.

Founded in 1829, the oldest family-owned brewery in the country is Yuengling, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Another long-time success story was Anchor Brewing of San Francisco, which opened in 1896, but closed two years ago. Current owners have said a revival is in the works.

While there are more than 9,000 breweries operating in the country today, there are just a handful that have stood tall for a long time. Visiting their locations or drinking their beer reveals a bit of America’s past and promise.

Modern American brewers stand on the shoulders of the generations that came before them. The craft beer movement has helped foster other industries that citizens can be proud of. From a revival of the hop industry in the Pacific northwest to small maltsters returning heritage grains to the farms, there is taste of America in so many pints.

Cheers to independent American brewing, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

F.X. Matt Brewing Co.

Utica, New York

Founded in 1888, F.X. Matt, the makers of iconic brands like Saranac and Utica Club, is the country’s fourth-oldest family-owned brewery. The upstate New York brewing company survived Prohibition by selling soft drinks and other non-alcoholic options. Its print, radio and television advertisements in the late 1950s and ’60s that featured talking mugs named Schultz and Dooley cemented the brewery into the consciousness of the region and gave it a loyal following that endures today.

In addition to maintaining and evolving its lineup of Saranac offerings, the brewery has also remained in the soda business, launched a new ready-to-drink (RTD) spirits division called Right Coast Spirits and grew its craft investment portfolio with the addition of local hard cider brand McKenzie’s and Maryland’s irreverent Flying Dog Brewing to the Matt mix.

Alongside enjoying a perfect pour for your palate, a visit to the company’s biergarten on its historic grounds feels like a special step back in time.

August Schell

New Ulm, Minnesota

The story of America’s second-oldest brewery starts in 1860 when August Schell, a German immigrant, started a brewery in the middle of Minnesota. Like so many others at the time, Schell wanted to brew beers that reminded him of home and that his community would find familiar and appreciate.

Today, the brewery still makes traditional German-style lagers, and has absorbed another local classic brewing operation, Grain Belt Brewing, founded in 1890, to create the largest brewing company in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

While not the easiest drive, a visit to the brewery’s 40-acre campus is a treat for any beer lover and historian, and it might be the only brewery in the country where peacocks freely roam the grounds. It is especially fun to visit in the dead of winter, when the brewery hosts its annual bock fest, an outdoor celebration of strong lager.

Narragansett

Providence, Rhode Island

“Narragansett has been part of the American beer story since 1890, from being the largest craft brewery in New England to sponsoring the first-ever sports telecast to showing up in the hands of Captain Quint in Jaws,” says Mark Hellendrung, president of Narragansett Beer.

The familiar lager, best consumed in 16-ounce cans and paired with clams or other classic East Coast seafood, has been a generational totem for countless New Englanders who have come to know the company’s slogan, “Made on Honor. Sold on Merit.”

In addition to its classic Lager, the brewery now boasts a range of offerings in its lineup, from other core flagships like the Fresh Catch Citra Session Ale, Bohemian Pilsner and Del’s Shandy to limited release or seasonal selections, like the Fest Märzen Lager or White Christmas Winter Warmer.

“What moves me most is when someone tells me about their dad listening to Curt Gowdy call Red Sox games with a ‘Gansett in hand, and now they’re cracking one open them- selves on a summer afternoon,” says Hellendrung.

“That’s not nostalgia—that’s a living thread running through American life. We take that seriously.”

Lonestar Beer

San Antonio, Texas

Known as the national beer of Texas, Lone Star holds a special place in the hearts of local beer drinkers despite

its somewhat complicated history. The original brewery was founded in 1844, had a number of different owners, including Anheuser-Busch, and was brewed until the start of Prohibition, when operations ceased.

A new brewery took up residence in the space after Prohibition, and again went through a number of name and ownership changes until 1940, when the George Muehlebach Brewing Company out of Kansas City purchased the brewery and renamed it Lone Star. The company invested in the brand through portfolio expansion and visibility partnerships with local musicians to garner additional awareness and interest.

It would again change hands, first being sold to Washington-based Olympia Brewing Company in 1976 and then transferring to G. Heileman in 1983 when that company bought Olympia. Detroit-based Stroh Brewing

then purchased Heileman in 1996 and closed the San Antonio brewery, moving production to another facility in Longview, Texas instead.

When Stroh folded in 1999, the Lone Star brand was sold to Pabst Brewing Company, one of America’s largest privately held brewing organizations, which still owns it today. Pabst has a number of brewery brands that were once regional powerhouses and that play heavy on the nostalgic heart strings of drinkers. In addition to Pabst Blue Ribbon, the company owns Schlitz, National Bohemian, Rainier, Ballantine, Old Style and others.

In a bit of interesting circular history, Lone Star Beer is now contract brewed at the Anheuser-Busch plant in Houston.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of Full Pour Magazine. Full Pour is ready to embrace all the deliciousness the social beverage world has to offer with a fresh take on drinks media, reporting across category lines. Subscribe to Full Pour and never miss a print issue when its released.

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