Northside Brewery History

Hey folks, today we’re getting into a bit of Janesville History and talking about breweries! More specifically the historic Northside Brewery along Rock River.

KYLIE BALK-YAATENEN/KBALKYAATENEN@APG-SW.COM

There were many breweries in Janesville from the mid 19^th century to probation including the Eagle Brewery, the Jacob Singer Brewery, the Todd and Company Brewery, and the Hodson Brewery. The Hodson Brewery was the first in Janesville but shortly burned down after being struck by lightening. However, the most long lived and successful brewery in Janesville was the City Brewery built around 1855, it was called Buob and Brother from 1874-1880 and is now referred to as the Northside Brewery.

This was the largest lager beer producer in Janesville at the time. The brothers that owned it, John and Michael Buob made 3,000 barrels of beer every year. They did end up selling the brewery in 1882 to Gezelschap and Knipp to start a new brewery on the Southside, know as the Buob Brothers South Side Brewery or the M. Buob Brewing Company. They operated until 1906, producing 5,000 barrels of beer each year. They sold to the Croak Brewing Company where they continued to make beer until 1920. After prohibition ended, the brewery was renamed to the Bower City Brewing Company, producing 7,000 barrels a year. However, this was not enough to keep up with competition and the brewery officially closed in 1939.

KYLIE BALK-YAATENEN/KBALKYAATENEN@APG-SW.COM

So, what came to be of this historic City Brewery? The Rock County Historical Society and beer historian Robert Bier (above) started an excavation of the old brewery cite in 2015. You can still see the outlines of the building and barrel and machinery stains. Sitting vacant, the building was overgrown and degraded by nature and time and was eventually torn down in the 1940s. They’ve come across artifacts from the brewery such as machine parts, beer bottles, caps, and labels, barrel parts, and rat traps.

RCHBBS Facebook

The goal is to recreate the building using as much of the original materials they have and turn it into an educational museum about Janesville’s brewing history. You can currently go there and read informational signs and scan QR codes to learn more about the brewery’s history and see the outline volunteers have restored of the original building. Definitely go check out this fascinating piece of our town’s history! You can also follow the Rock County's Historic Breweries, Bars, and Saloons-RCHBBS Facebook page for updates!

Sources:

https://www.gazettextra.com/news/local/beer-story-1850s-northside-brewery-re-emerging-along-the-rock-river-in-janesville/article_359153ee-786a-11ef-b5d5-47e2d1df9787.html

https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AG45BY7CJ4YZKS8B/full/AVXJ6XQ5XLXPY79E

https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AG45BY7CJ4YZKS8B/full/AEC3CFBCAEWZZJ8R

https://www.facebook.com/janesvillebreweries

Huge thank you to Mary at the Hedberg Public Library for gathering these resources!