While growing up on Mauston's west side there was an unusual residence in the authors neighborhood. Located under the home were arched stone cellars which gave one the distinct feeling of a dungeon in some medieval castle. Rumors of a tunnel to a nearby home only heightened the mystery. As an adult the author discovered, by chance, that those underground vaults were the aging cellars of a brewery. Further research uncovered that the brewery was established north of town in 1858 and moved to Mauston in 1868. The business brewed beer for almost 50 years before going bankrupt in 1916. It became a pickle factory in 1918 and burned to the ground in 1922. A brick home was built on the foundation in 1928 and soon the Mauston Brewery became a forgotten chapter in local history.
Now, over a hundred years later the complete story of the Mauston Brewery is told once again. Included is a firsthand account of brewery operations as well as old news stories, advertising, maps, census records and historic photographs.
Soft bound, 56 pages.
