Minnesota's Oldest Beer: Yoerg's
You’ve heard of Schmidt and Hamm’s, Grain Belt and Schell’s. They’re all great, historic, Minnesota beer brands. But the oldest, the original, the first doesn’t really roll off the tongue the same way - Yoerg’s.
Anthony Yoerg
Anthony Yoerg opened a Bavarian-style lager brewery in Saint Paul in 1848. It was located just below where the Xcel Center and Science Museum sit today. He cooled his beer in caves that he carved out of the sandstone bluffs. A close neighbor to Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey’s mansion, he met and married the Ramsey childrens’ nanny, Alvina (sometimes spelled Elovena) Seitzinger. Their wedding was held in the home of soon-to-be congressman Henry Mower Rice. This is a testament to just how important and esteemed a brewer and businessman Anthony Yoerg was considered to be.
Expansion
By 1871, the Yoerg family moved across the river for more space. Yoerg built a stone brewery into the side of the bluff on the West Side, again carving out caves deep into the sandstone. The family homes were built on the blufftop directly above the brewery making for an easy commute.
1885 was a booming year for the Yoerg’s - they built a new saloon, remodeled and updated the brewery. They also cemented their connections to other prominent brewing families when their son William married Augusta Schell - the daughter of the Schell’s brewery founder.
Next Generation
The 2nd generation of Yoerg’s took over managing the brewery - bottling milk and soft drinks during Prohibition - until they could get back to beer in 1933.
Determined to stick with their traditional but more expensive lager recipe, Yoerg couldn’t compete with brewers using cheaper corn syrup sweeteners. Already struggling to stay afloat, massive flooding in 1952 left them literally underwater and they were forced to close down.
In 2018, the Yoerg name was brought back to life with a saloon on Dayton’s Bluff, reviving the recipes and Bavarian vibe of the almost forgotten Yoerg brand.
So while it hasn’t been continuous, the Yoerg brand is the oldest Minnesota beer brand still on the market today.
Sorting it out
It’s always a struggle sorting out the “firsts” and the “oldests”.
The Waldmann Brewery building was first opened in 1857. So, while Yoerg’s is the oldest beer in Saint Paul, Waldmann’s is the oldest existing brewery. (Neither have been in continuous operation since their opening).
North Star Brewing opened in 1855, but neither beer or brewery are operating anymore.
Gluek Brewing was founded in 1857 and is the oldest beer brand in Minneapolis (not continuously).The brewery closed in 1964. The downtown restaurant, Gluek’s Restaurant and Bar, opened in 1902 and is the oldest restaurant in Minneapolis. The beer was brought back in 2017.
Schell’s began brewing in New Ulm in 1860. They are the oldest continuously brewed beer in the state.
Hamm’s opened their first brewery in Saint Paul in 1865.
Schmidt opened their brewery in Saint Paul in 1884. If you count the Stahlmann Cave Brewery that later became the St. Paul Brewing Co. that became the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company - that brand dates back to 1855.
Grain Belt Beer, a brand brewed by the Minneapolis Brewing Company, first appeared in 1893. One of the breweries that make up Minneapolis Brewing, John Orth Brewing, first started making beer in 1850.
