By Pamela Ciafardini Casebolt, Alexandria
The Wiedemann Brewing Company was founded in 1870 by German native George Wiedemann Sr. (born 1833), who had immigrated to America in 1853. Wiedemann formed it along with his business partner, Johannes Butscher, and named it The Butscher and Wiedemann Brewing Company. In 1878, Wiedemann became the sole owner. He built a new malt house at Monmouth and Liberty streets. Additionally, he rebuilt the entire brewery complex in 1888 on 5 acres at Sixth and Columbia streets in Newport. The brewery was constructed in the German Romanesque Revival architectural style by architect Charles Vogel.
The brewery building included a reception room, brew house, milling rooms, cold storage room, and engine and boiler rooms. The bottling room bottled 325,000 units per day. An additional building included the stable, which housed 150 horses to pull beer wagons to local taverns.
The Wiedemann product line in 1889 consisted of Standard Lager, Extra Pale Lager and Muechener, with distribution within Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio. After experiencing much growth in the 1890s and by adding to the facilities, the brewery had the capacity of holding 100,000 barrels a year. The Bavarian-style Deutsche Gast Haus, which served as a Bierstube (beer hall), was added to enable visitors to sample the brewery’s products.
George Wiedemann Sr. passed away in 1890, and his sons, Charles and George Jr., took over the business. By the 1900s, Wiedemann was the largest brewery south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.
To contribute to the local community and to provide recreation for its employees, Wiedemann established a baseball team known as The Brewers. The team played in Newport’s West End on Andrews Field (Wiedemann Park), which was built in 1908.
In 1912, Wiedemann brewery donated a bell made by the Verdin Bell Company for the belfry of St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Cote Brilliante.
World War I and Prohibition presented challenges for the company, with Carl Wiedemann, Charles’ son, at the helm. In 1927, the company was charged with a violation of the Volstead Act, and the business was closed. Carl served eight months in a federal penitentiary. The brewery reopened in 1933, and in 1937, it was reorganized by another of George Sr.’s grandsons, H. Tracy Balcom Jr. Wiedemann family members continued to operate, innovate and grow the business. In 1938, the brewery produced 150,000 barrels of beer, rising to 850,000 barrels by 1955.
Major changes in the beer industry during the 1950s led to the beginning of the consolidation of local beer businesses in favor of national brands. By 1967, Wiedemann still was a privately owned corporation producing 900,000 barrels of beer annually, with sales totaling $20 million and distribution within an eight-state region. Its product line consisted of Wiedemann Lager and Royal Amber beer.
In 1967, Wiedemann Brewery was purchased by G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Production remained in operation as the Wiedemann Division for Heileman until 1983. The Newport location was closed 1984. Wiedemann had been the largest employer in Newport, and its closing resulted in 400 regular employees and many seasonal workers losing their jobs. The buildings were demolished in 1995.
In addition to the brewery, the family owned three houses: 709 Overton, 401 Park Avenue and the beautiful Wiedemann Hill Mansion at 1102 Park Avenue, a 10,000-square-foot home that is a landmark in the historic Cote Brilliante neighborhood of Newport. The home and carriage house, designed by well-known local architect Samuel Hannaford, were completed in 1895. It remains today as a National Historic Landmark.