A. Haas Brewing Co.

12 Aug 2021, last revised 26 Feb 2023

Adam Haas was a pioneer of the Copper County. He was born in Bavaria, Germany on 22 Jan 1822 and learned the cabinet-making trade (1). In 1852, he immigrated to Houghton, remained for a few months, and then moved north where he operated a boat service between Houghton and Eagle River (1). In 1854, he returned to Houghton and operated a liquor store (1).

Haas brewery c.1905

Newspaper ad - Dec 1874

In 1859, Haas started his brewery in a log building on the northeast corner of Shelden St. and Dodge St. with a capacity of 500 barrels per year (1). The Michigan State directory listed him as a brewer and wine and liquor dealer in 1859 (14), and for a brewery and saloon in 1873 (15). He enlarged the brewery with framed additions, and then in 1875, he built a stone building, expanding capacity to 6,000 barrels per year (1). Actual production and sales in 1877 was a bit more than 3,000 barrels (20).

Sanborn map - June 1888

Sanborn map - Aug 1893

Sanborn map - Feb 1908

Adam Haas died on 11 Jan 1879 at the age of 56 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (8). Shortly after his death, the A. Haas Brewing Co. was organized, consisting of his widow, Eva Haas and his sons, Joseph and Adolph Haas (1). They were listed for the A. Haas Brewing Co. in the directories of 1881, 1883, and 1887 (9,10,11). Bottling, like with other pioneer breweries in the Copper Country, started from about 1879-80, as indicated by the bottles. We find that all the bottles were embossed with the name, A. HAAS BREWING CO. / HOUGHTON, MICH.

Polk directory ad - 1883

Polk directory ad - 1887

In Oct 1879, the Haas company purchased the old Hahn brewery (25), which started in 1858 (4), burned in Jul 1873 (26), and was rebuilt but closed in 1875 (1). The mammoth stone building of the Hahn brewery (25) was located near the courthouse (23), and the 1888 Sanborn map shows a building labeled, "Formerly Haas' Brewery" on the southeast corner of Dodge St. and Montezuma Ave., although it should have stated, "Formerly Hahn's Brewery" since Haas still owned the building at this time.

Eva Haas died on 16 Nov 1886 at the age of 61 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (12). According to ads in the Holland directory, the company was incorporated in 1887 (7). Joseph Haas was president, Adolph Haas was vice-president, and their brother-in-law (1), Christof Fox was secretary and treasurer (7). The daughters formed the board of directors (2).

Holland directory ad - 1887

Polk directory ad - 1895

Business was growing and the company required continual improvements and expansions. In Sep 1887, electric lights were added to the company office, along with other Houghton and Hancock businesses (28). In Nov 1887, the brewery added a new steam boiler, a new beer kettle, and fifteen large fermentation casks (29). In Nov 1888, new fermenting tubs were added (27). By Mar 1888, two teams were hauling beer from Baraga to Ontonagon, with each team taking 25 kegs per load, and transportation from Houghton to Baraga was by rail (30). In Apr-May 1889, the company refitted the old Hahn brewery with a new roof to replace the roof previously destroyed by fire (21,22). Following annual increases in production, in Jan 1890, the company ordered new vats for the upper building to increase storage capacity by 1,000 barrels (23). The Shelden St. brewery, were brewing occurred, had no more room for vats (23). The water for brewing came from the celebrated Huron spring (23). In May 1893, the company launched bock beer (24). The company expected to have an ice machine operating by Apr 1897 (31), and installed an improved bottling machine that used water pressure by Jun 1897 (32). In Feb 1900, the company made extensive improvements, including installing new machinery and storage vats that increased capacity by 500 barrels (33).

Newspaper ad - Sep 1899

Newspaper ad - Apr 1914

In Aug 1901, the business was sold for $125,000 to a stock company comprised of local businessmen (3), and they operated the brewery under the same firm name (2). The capacity of the brewery increased to about 25,000 barrels annually soon after the turn of the century (4). The company had 10 employees in 1904 (16), up to 32 in 1909 (17), and 28 in 1917 (18).

When Prohibition hit Michigan in 1918 (4), the brewery was listed for "soft drinks" with only four employees (19), but then suspended operations (4). After the repeal of Prohibition, the brewery reopened on 21 Aug 1933, and about eight years later, it moved into the former Park Brewing Company facility in Hancock (4). Local interests purchased the brewery in 1952 and operated it as the Copper Country Brewing Co. until it finally closed in 1954 (5). Another old pioneer brewery passed into history after being in existence for 95 years, leaving behind a story to be told and wonderful old bottle artifacts to help interpret that story.

Beer bottle label

Beer bottle label

References

1. anonymous. 1883. History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Western Historical Company. Chicago, IL.
2. anonymous. 1903. Biographical Record: Houghton, Baraga and Marquette Counties, Michigan. Biographical Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
3. anonymous. (1901, Aug 03). Peninsular News. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
4. Magnaghi, R. M. 2015. Upper Peninsula Beer: A History of Brewing Above the Bridge. American Palate. Charleston, SC.
5. Nancarrow, A., V. Elizabeth, and Houghton Centennial Committee. 1961. Houghton Centennial Souvenir History and Program. City of Houghton, MI.
6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1897. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1897. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
7. Holland, A. H. 1887. Hand-book and Guide to Houghton, Mich. Mining Journal Book and Job Print. Marquette, MI.
8. Find a Grave. accessed Aug 2021. Adam Haas. findagrave.com/memorial/102480545/adam-haas
9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1881. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1881. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
10. R. L. Polk & Co. 1883. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1883. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
11. R. L. Polk & Co. 1887. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1887-88. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
12. Find a Grave. accessed Oct 2021. Eva Haas. findagrave.com/memorial/106049847/eva-haas
13. R. L. Polk & Co. 1891. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1891-92. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
14. G. W. Hawes. 1859. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1860. F. Raymond & Co. Detroit, MI.
15. J. E. Scripps and R. L. Polk & Co. 1873. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1873. Tribune Book and Job Office. Detroit, MI.
16. Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1905. State of Michigan Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics Including the Twelfth Annual Report of State Inspection of Factories. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
17. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1910. First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
18. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1917. Thirty-Fourth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
19. 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.
20. anonymous. (1879, Jul 24). Amount of Lager Beer Made and Sold in this District Last Year. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
21. anonymous. (1889, Apr 23). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
22. anonymous. (1889, May 14). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
23. anonymous. (1890, Jan 09). untitled. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
24. anonymous. (1893, May 23). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
25. anonymous. (1879, Oct 16). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
26. anonymous. (1873, Jul 31). Disasterous Fire. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
27. anonymous. (1888, Nov 22). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 1.
28. anonymous. (1887, Sep 01). Local Items. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
29. anonymous. (1887, Dec 01). Local Items. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 1.
30. anonymous. (1888, Mar 08). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
31. anonymous. (1897, Mar 25). Twin City Notes. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
32. anonymous. (1897, Jun 24). Additional Twin City Notes. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
33. anonymous. (1900, Feb 02). On Portage Lake. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.