Torch Lake Brewery
Bosch Brewing Co.

10 Aug 2021, last revised 26 Feb 2023

Joseph Bosch

Perhaps the most celebrated name in Copper Country brewing history is that of Joseph Bosch. Born into a family well adept at the art of good beer making, Joseph carried on the family trade by learning the brewing business under his father. He accumulated additional knowledge and experience on his own, which eventually led him to establish a small brewery in Lake Linden in 1874 (1,2). This small enterprise would grow to produce preferred varieties of beer recognized throughout the Upper Peninsula for 99 years. This record will remain as a lasting tribute to Joseph Bosch and to all those people associated with the Bosch Brewing Company.

Joseph Bosch was born in Baden, Germany on 11 Feb 1850 and immigrated to New York in 1854 with his family at the age of four (2,5). In 1862, when he was 12 years old, they moved to Port Washington, Wisconsin where he worked under his father in the brewing industry (2,5). In 1867, they moved to Torch Lake (5), where Joseph erected the first house in Lake Linden and worked at the Calumet & Hecla stamp mill for four years (2,3). To gain better knowledge of the brewing business, he moved to Milwaukee, WI to work at Schlitz Brewery, and then to Cleveland, OH and Louisville, KY (2). He returned to Lake Linden in 1874 and established his brewery (2).

Bosch operated the brewery on his own for the first two years (1,2), and produced 1,717 barrels of beer in his first year (1). In 1876, he partnered with Joseph Wertin & Sons of Hancock (3) and called the firm Joseph Bosch & Co. (2). This partnership may have stemmed from Bosch being married to Joseph Wertin's daughter, Mary, in 1875 (2,3). The firm of Wertin & Sons operated a general store in Calumet (8) and then a second store in Hancock (9). In 1877, the brewery produced and sold 2,124 barrels of beer (15). By 1883, they were producing 4,000 barrels per year, one-fourth of which was bottled (3). Bottling started in 1877-1878, as indicated by the bottles, following the advent of pasteurization. The bottles during this partnership bear the name, TORCH LAKE BREWERY. The firm name was specified on the bottles as J. BOSCH & CO., JOS. BOSCH & CO., or JOSEPH BOSCH & CO.

First Brewery Building

Second Brewery Building - built in 1887

Bottling House

Bosch Wagon

In 1886, the plant was enlarged to meet the growing demand (1). A 790-ft deep artesian well was bored and its water, claimed to treat kidney, liver, and stomach troubles, was used in brewing (1). On 20 May 1887, fire destroyed nearly all of Lake Linden including every building belonging to the firm (1), but the artesian well was saved (27). The fire started in Neumann & Trelease's store (28). The brewery was rebuilt and started selling beer again by Oct 1887 (1). In 1889, the brewery's production ranked 11th within the state of Michigan (29). The Sanborn map places the brewery on the southeast corner of Center St. and Schoolcraft St.

Sanborn map - Sep 1885 (pre-fire)

Sanborn map - Sep 1893 (post-fire)

Sanborn map - Jul 1900

In May 1891, Bosch had plans to wire the brewery, bottling works, and office for electric lights (18). In 1892, the brewery expanded with new kettles and mash tubs, and a refrigerator that maintained the desired temperature for fermentation and storage, thus eliminating the need for ice (1). The improvements doubled the storage capacity of the brewery (22). In Aug 1896, a new bottling works was near completion (30). It was constructed of Portage Lake sandstone and the floor was caulked and waterproof (30). It was equipped with a patent bottle cleaning machine with a capacity of 3,000 bottles per hour and a steam corker or sealer (30). This building is shown on the 1900 Sanborn map.

In Nov 1892, the company claimed that a few competitors imitated their labels sufficiently enough to deceive some customers into believing they were purchasing Torch Lake beer (23). In late Nov 1892, they announced that all their bottles now bear a trademark, as shown in the advertisement (24).

Newspaper ad - Aug 1892

Newspaper ad - Nov 1892

George Wertin died in 1890 (7) and Joseph Wertin Sr. died in 1893 (1), and Bosch purchased his interest and that of Joseph Wertin Jr. (2). On 01 Mar 1894, Bosch formed a stock company, the Bosch Brewing Co., for which he maintained controlling interest and served as president (1,2,5,26). We see this change reflected on the bottles now being embossed, BOSCH BREWING CO. / LAKE LINDEN, MICH.

Jos. Bosch & Co. released Bavarian beer in Jan-Feb 1892 (19), and then about a month later, changed its name to Ulmer to distinguish it from the Bavarian beers of other breweries (16,20). The company released Export beer in Feb-Mar 1892 as a low-alcohol beer brewed from only malt and hops (21), and Bock beer in Apr-May 1892 made from selected malt and imported hops (17).

The company pamphlet descibed the three types of beer produced by 1899 (1):

"Superior Stock", a beer second to none, is brewed from the choicest imported hops and malt especially manufactured for this Company. The "Ulmer" is a rich, dark and heavy beer, brewed after the Bavarian process. The "Export" is a mild, light beer, but highly nutritious.

Newspaper ad - Oct 1899

Newspaper ad - Jan 1893

Newspaper ad - Jun 1899

The company stated that bottling was the most substantial aspect that extended its reach (1). Superior Stock and Ulmer were sold in kegs and bottles, while Export was only sold in bottles (1). In Jun 1893, the company announced that Superior Stock can now be found in pint bottles, with a 24-bottle case selling for $1.25 (25). By 1899, the company bottled 1,063,452 bottles and thousands of kegs of its number one beer, Superior Stock (1). The company had branches and storehouses in Hancock, Calumet, Ishpeming, Eagle Harbor, and Baraga (1). In the late 1890s, the embossing on the bottles changed to the script Bosch design. In Dec 1899, the company launched Gilt Edge and marketed it clear white bottles (recognized as aqua glass today). More beer varieties soon followed. In 1902, annual production was about 20,000 barrels (10).

Newspaper ad - Dec 1899

Newspaper ad - Jun 1902

Newspaper ad - Mar 1903

Newspaper ad - Feb 1912

Aside from brewing, Joseph Bosch was a prominent member of the community. He helped to organize the First National Bank of Lake Linden in 1888 and then became its president (2). He became a partner in a general merchandise store in Lake Linden, which was purchased from D. W. Sutter in 1885 (5). He served as mayor of Lake Linden for four years (5). He was known to have a charitable disposition: giving his time freely to worthy enterprises, extending a helping hand to the needy (2), and contributing to the development of Lake Linden and neighboring towns (5).

In Aug 1907, Bosch installed an automatic bottle filling machine from the Bishop & Babcock Co. (31). It could fill 72 pint bottles or 48 quart bottles per minute, and was said to be sanitary because the workers did not touch the bottles during filling (31). The brewery and its bottling works had 24 employees in 1905 (12) and 44 in 1913 (13).

When Prohibition hit Michigan in 1918, Bosch was listed as manufacturing "soft drinks" (14), but then shortly suspended operations (4). After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Bosch re-opened at the Scheuermann plant in Houghton (4). Joseph Bosch died on 09 Jan 1937 at the age of 86 (4) and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Lake Linden (6). His business continued to operate in Houghton, with peak sales of 100,000 barrels per year occurring from 1955 to 1961 (11). Sales then dwindled down to only 22,000 barrels in 1972 (11). The brewery closed on 28 Sep 1973, marking 99 years of existence (4). It suffered from higher grain prices, high taxes, and shrinking patronage; and couldn't compete with regional giants like Pabst, Stroh, and Anheuser-Busch (4,11).

Beer bottle label

Beer bottle label

Beer bottle label

Beer bottle label

References

1. anonymous. 1899. Compliments of The Bosch Brewing Co.: Bottlers and Brewers of Fine Lager Beer, Lake Linden, Michigan. Mining Journal Print, Marquette. (company pamphlet)
2. anonymous. 1903. Biographical Record: Houghton, Baraga and Marquette Counties, Michigan. Biographical Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
3. anonymous. 1883. The History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Western Historical Company. Chicago, IL.
4. Monette, C. J. 1978. Joseph Bosch and the Bosch Brewing Company. Welden H. Curtin. Lake Linden, MI.
5. Sawyer, A. L. 1911. A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and its People. The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
6. Find a Grave. accessed Aug 2021. Joseph Bosch. findagrave.com/memorial/167328156/joseph-bosch
7. Find a Grave. accessed Oct 2021. George Wertin. findagrave.com/memorial/193883878/george-wertin
8. R. L. Polk & Co. 1877. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1877. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1879. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1879. The Detroit Free Press Company. Detroit, MI.
10. anonymous. 1903. One Hundred Years of Brewing. H. S. Rich & Co., Publishers. Chicago and New York.
11. Kent, E. (1973, Oct 03). Brewery Closes after 99 Years. Michigan Tech Lode. p. 8.
12. Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1906. State of Michigan Twenty-Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics Including the Thirteenth Annual Report of State Inspection of Factories. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
13. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1914. Thirty-First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
14. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1919. Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Fort Wayne Printing Co. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
15. anonymous. (1879, Jul 24). Amount of Lager Beer Made and Sold in this District Last Year. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
16. anonymous. (1892, Mar 03). Our Merchants. Michigan Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 5.
17. anonymous. (1892, Apr 28). untitled. Michigan Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 1.
18. anonymous. (1891, May 19). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
19. anonymous. (1892, Feb 02). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
20. anonymous. (1892, Mar 01). Have changed the name. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
21. anonymous. (1892, Mar 01). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
22. anonymous. (1892, Aug 30). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
23. anonymous. (1892, Nov 01). Imitation is the Sincerest Flattery. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
24. anonymous. (1892, Nov 29). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
25. anonymous. (1893, Jun 13). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
26. anonymous. (1894, Feb 27). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
27. anonymous. (1887, Jun 07). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 2.
28. anonymous. (1887, May 24). Lake Linden's Calamity. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 2.
29. anonymous. (1889, Jul 02). The Torch Lake Brewery. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
30. anonymous. (1896, Aug 11). Second to None. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
31. anonymous. (1907, Aug 03). Bottle Filler is Sanitary. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.