Pittsburgh Brewing Company

Sixty-six years after the first record of a commercial brewery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Edward Frauenheim, a German immigrant and part owner of Frauenheim, Miller Company, started the Iron City Brewery, the first American brewery to produce a lager, in 1861. By 1866, Frauenheim's reputation and Iron City Beer's quality had become recognized and the brewery outgrew its original facilities on 17th Street and moved into a four-story brick building that the company built at Liberty Avenue and 34th Street, where Pittsburgh Brewing still operates. An additional three-story building was built three years later. After the expansion, Leopold Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native who learned the brewer's trade at Pittsburgh's old Bennett Brewery, joined Frauenheim, Miller & Company. The young man later became a partner, investing his small wealth in the firm when Miller retired and another partner died. Iron City Brewery then became Frauenheim and Vilsack Company. On February 3, 1899, the Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that 12 local brewing firms applied to transfer their license to the trust known as Pittsburgh Brewing Company. These breweries were the Wainwright Brewing Company, Phoenix Brewing Company, Keystone Brewing Company, Winter Brothers Brewing Company, Phillip Lauer, John H. Nusser, Eberhardt & Ober Brewing Company, Hippely & Sons, Ober Brewing Company, J. Seiferth Brothers, Straub Brewing Company and the Iron City Brewing Company. In addition to these 12, nine breweries outside the county took part in the merger, making Pittsburgh Brewing Company the largest brewing operation in Pennsylvania and the third largest in the country. Pittsburgh Brewing Company was one of only 725 American breweries remaining when Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933. During Prohibition, The Company produced soft drinks, ice cream and "near beer" and ran a cold storage business. By 1977, Pittsburgh Brewing was one of just 40 breweries left in the country. To rebound from difficult years, the brewery introduced a new light beer - IC Light. In 1986, Pittsburgh Brewing Company was acquired by and merged with Bond Brewing Holdings Ltd. of Perth, Australia. But seven years later, the company's owner, Alan Bond, suffering financially, gave up the brewery to Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow. When Carlow was forced to relinquish control of the brewery because of allegations of a fraud scheme, Pittsburgh native Joseph Piccirilli and his investment group, Keystone Brewing Company, gained ownership of the brewery. However, due to declining sales, Pittsburgh Brewing was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2005. In 2007, Unified Growth Partners purchased the brewery and brought it out of bankruptcy. The Pittsburgh Brewing Company holds many first in brewing circles including the first snap top can, first twist off resealable cap, first draught beer available in a can, first malt cooler, and first light beer.

Edward Frauenheim, a German immigrant and part owner of Frauenheim, Miller & Company, started the Iron City Brewery, the first American brewery to produce a lager, and starting brewing Iron City Beer in 1861. By 1866, Frauenheim's reputation and Iron City Beer's quality had become recognized and the brewery outgrew its original facilities on 17th Street and moved into a four-story brick building that the company built at Liberty Avenue and 34th Street, where Pittsburgh Brewing still operates. An additional three-story building was built three years later. After the expansion, Leopold Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native who learned the brewer's trade at Pittsburgh's old Bennett Brewery, joined Frauenheim, Miller & Company. The young man later became a partner, investing his small wealth in the firm when Miller retired and another partner died. Iron City Brewery then became Frauenheim and Vilsack Company. On February 3, 1899, the Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that 12 local brewing firms applied to transfer their license to the trust known as Pittsburgh Brewing Company. These breweries were the Wainwright Brewing Company, Phoenix Brewing Company, Keystone Brewing Company, Winter Brothers Brewing Company, Phillip Lauer, John H. Nusser, Eberhardt & Ober Brewing Company, Hippely & Sons, Ober Brewing Company, J. Seiferth Brothers, Straub Brewing Company and the Iron City Brewing Company. In addition to these 12, nine breweries outside the county took part in the merger, making Pittsburgh Brewing Company the largest brewing operation in Pennsylvania and the third largest in the country. During Prohibition, The Company produced soft drinks, ice cream and "near beer" and ran a cold storage business. By 1977, Pittsburgh Brewing was one of just 40 breweries left in the country. To rebound from difficult years, the brewery introduced a new light beer - IC Light. In 1986, Pittsburgh Brewing Company was acquired by and merged with Bond Brewing Holdings Ltd. of Perth, Australia. But seven years later, the company's owner, Alan Bond, suffering financially, gave up the brewery to Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow. When Carlow was forced to relinquish control of the brewery because of allegations of a fraud scheme, Pittsburgh native Joseph Piccirilli and his investment group, Keystone Brewing Company, gained ownership of the brewery. The Pittsburgh Brewing Company holds many first in brewing circles including the first snap top can, first twist Off resealable cap, first draught beer available in a can, first malt cooler, and first light beer.