Minnesota Beer: Banholzer's
Everyone loves a good plot twist, right? Well, the story of one of St. Paul’s earliest breweries has one of the best.
William Banholzer bought the struggling North Mississippi Brewery in 1871 and the renamed Banholzer’s North Mississippi Beer became a booming operation reaching a peak of 12,000 barrels a year. Nine buildings and caves a half-mile deep into the bluffs became a landmark operation on the west side of St. Paul.
Banholzer used some of those profits to build Banholzer Park. The biergarten was the center of German community and culture and Banholzer hosted barbecues with lawn bowling, German band music, hot air balloon rides and, of course, cold kegs of North Mississippi beer. At the edge of the park was his home, a mansion of four stories, and tunnels leading to the brewery caves.
By 1896, though, the brewery was failing probably because of the steep competition from over 20 other breweries operating in the city. The brewery limped along, but Banholzer turned his attention to city government and joined the board of public works for additional income.
A diabetic, his sudden death in 1897 at the age of 48 left his family in a tough situation. Banholzer’s three sons were all under 18 years old so they weren’t old enough to take over. His widow, Louisa, tried to keep control of the brewery but she was forced into court when the life insurance company refused to payout on the $20,000 policy. Unfortunately, do to the failing brewery and his illness, Banholzer had failed to make the last payment on the policy. The courts ruled for the insurance company, she was denied her husband’s life insurance and debt collectors came after the business and house. The brewery closed and the house was sold.
By 1958, all of the brewery outbuildings were gone and the mansion had some surprising new owners: The Hazelden Foundation made it a recovery house for men struggling with alcohol addiction. Hazelden was founded in 1949 in Center City, Minnesota and the mansion was an extension into the city. The story goes that one of the first men’s group recovery meetings was interrupted by an “urban explorer” coming up through the floor via one of the tunnels in the bluffs. (Before you start planning an exploration of your own, the tunnels were sealed off during extensive renovations of the campus in 2016).
I don’t know if “ironic” is the right word, but the mansion built by a brewer is now a part of one of the most respected addiction treatment centers in the world.
Maybe it’s time for your own plot twist? If you, or someone you care about, needs help the Hazelden website has just enormous amounts of information and resources available to help.
