Brewing History at the Historical Society

As part of the ongoing promotion for the new Wisconsin Historical Society Press book Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin's Historic Bars & Breweries, there is an exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Museum on the Square as well as various events around the state.

However, it should be noted that there are even more exhibits at the Historical Society's archives at the other end of State Street on Library Mall. If you wander in you'll find a few glass cases full of photographs, labels, and other breweriana.




Here's the Fauerbach Brewery which was on the 600 block of Williamson.



And this is the Hausmann brewery which stood at the corner of State Street and Gorham. I believe that there's a plaque outside of Community Pharmacy noting it.



"Pioneer" rhymes with beer and so there were several brews with that moniker.




With a well-deserved reputation for being a lager state, it's always interesting to see Wisconsin ales from the days of yore. As I noted after my visit to the brewing museum in Potosi, they were pretty rare in contrast to lagers. I wonder what kind of beer this was. And what's with the "NIPS"? Nipples? Japanese people?

As I also found out in Potosi, Fox Head Brewing took advantage of the sparkling reputation of Waukesha water. You can see that on this coaster. (Ah, the irony.)



Lastly, there's this photo.



The caption reads: "Jennie Justo is hugged by her mother, Lena Justo, as she leaves for a year in the Milwaukee jail for being the alleged owner of a student speakeasy at 921 Spring Street, Madison in the Greenbush neighborhood." See the drug war ruined lives then just like it does now.