Minnesota's first brewery, the legendary Yoerg Brewing Company has become the go-to destination European-style brewpub in the Twin Cities and entire Midwest. At 19 years of age, Yoerg moved to the United States, first settling in Pittsburgh, moved to Galena Illinois soon after and finally settled in St. Anthony first opened a butcher shop in St. Paul, but soon saw a great need for a brewery in thi
s growing town and founded Yoerg Brewing Company where Eagle and Washington streets used to meet below the present parking lot of the Excel Center, ten years before Minnesota became a state. From the beginning, quality was always the first order of the day. Yoerg Brewing Company was the first brewery to open in Minnesota, and the family built a sterling reputation for their magnificent beers right from the start. However, Yoerg wanted to grow and improve, and in 1871, he moved two blocks south to the then predominantly German West Side on Ohio Street and built an extensive stone brewery. His new venture consisted of three buildings and carved out nearly a mile of underground cooling caves along the Mississippi River to produce and age pure lagers just like his ancestors in Bavaria had done. This new brewery would become one of the most modern in the country, with steam-power and a then state of the art assembly line that soon was churning out over 20,000 barrels a year of beer. By 1891, Yoerg Brewing Company was producing 35,000 barrels a year and was the largest brewery in Minnesota. The beer was distributed throughout Minnesota in both kegs and bottles, with the kegs being made at the facility in the company’s own cooper shop. This was a true family operation, with Anthony’s wife Elovina managing the business, and their seven children all taking active parts in the brewery. The eldest son Anthony Jr was born in 1854, graduated in 1874 from the University of Minnesota and became the brewery’s General Manager soon after. Anthony Jr was an ambitious man, and was very active in local politics, being elected to the St. Paul City Council in 1890, the school board in 1896 and the State Legislature in 1903. Brothers William, Frank, Henry and Louis Yoerg were all involved in the now wide array of family businesses, overseeing the vast real estate holdings as well as managing the bookkeeping department. After Anthony Sr. died in 1891, the boys were well prepared to take over the operation and brought the brewery into it’s greatest era of producing Minnesota’s finest beers. The Yoerg family survived Prohibition by successfully producing soft drinks and milk, when repeal came about in 1933, they were back in full beer production. Unfortunately, times changed in the brewing industry across the nation, and by the time the Brewery finally closed its doors in 1952, Anthony Jr’s son Alfred was the third generation Yoerg to run the brewery. Today, 60 years after their demise, Yoerg Brewing paraphenalia is still some of the most treasured collectables in the country, and the name as revered as it was 150 years ago. those who remember, the Yoerg beers were always considered the finest ever produced in Minnesota, and are still today, held with the utmost reverence in the state’s brewing industry.
