1859 to about 1863

P. Lieber Brewing Company

About 1863 - 1887

C. F. Schmidt Brewing Company

1850 - 1887

Casper Maus Brewery

1868 (1870?) - 1887

Indianapolis Brewing Company

1887 - 1948

(photos courtesy
Bruce Mobley)

Circle City shirt courtesy Yesterbeer

The 1870 Indianapolis City Directory lists Joseph Geis as the brewer. The maximum production was 20,000 bbls.

Lieber beers were bottled by Jacob Metzger and Company. Jacob Metzger, a German immigrant and father-in-law of Herman Lieber, bottlied Metzger and Tafel brand beers also brewed by Lieber. He also bottled Budweiser, Bass Ale, and Guinness Extra Stout. This company existed until 1896 and may have produced some beer on its own.

Founded by Christian Frederick Schmidt and Charles Jaeger, the C.F. Schmidt brewery was located at the south end of Alabama Street (although some references say it was located at "Wyoming St. at High". Jaeger soon sold his interest to Schmidt, thinking Schmidt's management was not sound. They made about 1500 barrels per year.

Note that this picture of the C.F. Schmidt brewery is a stock image of a non-existent brewery used in many advertising images by many breweries.

"By the outbreak of the Civil War, Schmidt Brewery was producing a superior lager beer, and soon was supplying troops stationed in Indianapolis." - Nuvo, June 8, 2005.

The 1870 Indianapolis City Directory has an ad for C. F. Schmidt, Brewer of Lager Beer, Smith's Square, Indianapolis. The directory lists John Buhier, Louis Ehrmann, Ernest Ihrzohn, Henry Metzger, and Joseph Resoh as the brewers.

C.F. Schmidt died in 1872 and his widow, Caroline, operated the business with her brother, William Fieber until 1877 when her sons, John W and Edward Schmidt took it over until it was incorporated into the Indianapolis Brewing Company.

"Mr. Bosenberg is sole agent for the justly celebrated C. F. Smith's (sic) Lager Beer, manufactured at Indianapolis, Indiana. The qualities for which this beer is most distinguished are its healthfulness, purity, brilliancy of color, richness of flavor &c, the result of excellent water, intelligent care of its brewers conjoined to the use of apparatus possessing all the best modern improvements made in this country or elsewhere, and to the superior quality and quantity of the ingredients used. No claims are made for this beer that cannot be substantiated." - Rochester Sentinel, Feb 29, 1888

Casper Maus, an immigrant from Eberbach, near Metz in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France in 1835, moved to Indianapolis in 1864 from New Alsace in Dearborn County to get away from pro-Confederate interests during the Civil War. His grist mill there was burned by the Knights of the Golden Circle, a Klan-like organization. biography

His son, Frank Maus Fauvre, was married to Lillian Schnull of the Vonnegut and Lieber families. Beverly Fauvre writes "Frank studied law before joining the family brewery business. After the brewery was sold, Frank became an investor with numerous interests (including the Indianapolis Brewing Co., the Broad Ripple Natural Gas Co., and an interurban running from Indianapolis to Greenfield.) The Maus family name was legally changed to Maus Fauvre (another family name) 1911, due to a combination of anti-German sentiment at the time and the fact that Maus is pronounced and means mouse in German."

The Casper Maus brewery was located at the corner of New York St & Agnes (now University Boulevard) and was torn down in 1958 to make a parking lot.

It's known that they made " C. Maus's Bock Beer". Joseph Maus was listed as the brewer in 1870.

It is possible C. Maus beer was bottled by C. Habich & Co. Before 1990 it was normal to have another firm bottle the beer that was delivered in casks with tax stamps applied at the brewery.

Maus died in 1876 and the family still owned the brewery when it was sold to the merger.

These three brewing companies formed the basis of the Indianapolis Brewing Company started by an "English syndicate" in 1887. Each brewery continued to operate from their own plants until at least 1889.

Peter Lieber was the president of the new company. Albert Lieber, Peter Lieber's son was the first managing director. They both were Republicans but changed allegiance because of a temperance plank in the party's platform. Peter was very involved in Democratic politics and was the messenger who took Indiana's electoral votes to Congress one year. Peter was appointed Counsel to Duesseldorf in 1893 by President Grover Cleveland.

Albert Lieber was President of the Indiana State Brewers' Association in about 1918.

The Daily Herald of Delphos, Ohio, July 15, 1896, reported a fire in Lieber's brewery "on Madison" and said "Lieber's brewery is one of the three in this city controlled by the Indianapolis Brewing owned by an English syndicate."

The C. Maus plant was converted into a distillery in early 1900.

Dusseldorfer beer won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900; The Grand Prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, in 1904; and a gold medal at Liege, Belgium in 1906.

John W. Schmidt died in Feb, 1914. He sold his interest in the brewing business in 1890 according to his obituary in the Indianapolis Star, Feb, 23, 1914.

They made Ozotonic and malt extract before and during prohibition.

C. F. Schmidt plant at McCarty and High Streets closed on May 27, 1920 after 70 years of brewing.

Reincorporated as Indiana Breweries, Inc. after prohibition (1933). Renamed back to Indianapolis Brewing Co in 1935. They had a production capacity of 100,000 bbls annually.

The Indianapolis Encyclopedia (1994) reports that the IBC closed in the 1940s when the president, Lawrence Barden, went to jail for short-filling bottles.

Brands through the years include Tafel, Circle City, Crown Select, De Luxe Bock, Duesseldorfer, Lieber's Gold Medal Beer ("Tastes Right, Named Right"), Tonica, Burgomaster, Derby, Pilsner Club, Indiana Club, October Ale, Derbey, and Progress Beer.

Located on the northwest corner of what is now New York and University Boulevard on the IUPUI campus.

They won a gold medal for their Duesseldorfer in Paris in 1900. There was a "magnificent industrial parade" when they returned with the medal. They also won the grand prize gold at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather was Albert Lieber. The recipe for a dark lager beer that Peter Lieber devised was brewed by Wyncoop Brewing, Denver, in 1996 to celebrate the new library there. It was called Kurt's Mile-High Malt. A "secret ingredient" of the brew was coffee.

The company put out a set of baseball trading cards in 1916.

In 1938 they appealed a case to the US Supreme Court to fight Michigan's beer importation laws. They lost. This case has been referenced many times including G. Heilman's bankruptcy and many cases about mail-order beer and wine sales.

Home of John William Schmidt,
president of the Indianapolis Brewing Company.
Built in 1890.

Coin minted for IBC's Gold Medal Beer.

By 1880 - 1920

(photo courtesy Bruce Mobley)

There are records of a Frank Prange being a stockholder in this company sometime after 1880 and a building being built for the company sometime after 1883.

Hermann Gaul designed the factory structure of Home Brewing Company at 38 Shelby St. as well as the Saint Mary Church at 317 N. New Jersey St.

They issued an expansion of $200,000 of capital stock in 1903.

From a high production capacity of 35,000 bbls, Home Brewing did not make it through prohibition.

Before 1897 - 1917

(photo courtesy Bruce Mobley)

Joseph C. Schaf was president in 1910.

The brewery was located at Market and Missouri Streets. It produced about 30,000 bbls per year.

Sponsored the Indianapolis ABC's Negro National League baseball team starting in 1905. Note that this was not the "brewery team" or owned by the brewery. In fact the brewery went out of business before the National Negro League was formed.

The ABC's were previously the Birmingham Giants and seem to have moved to Indiana in 1902. In 1914 they played in West Baden, IN. They won the Colored World Championship in 1916 and were in the Negro National League when it formed in 1920. The manager of the ABCs, Charles I. Taylor, bought an interest in the brewery but died in 1922. The team was disbanded in 1927. more info

There is no record of the brewery after prohibition.

The Indianapolis ABCs at Washington Park in 1922.

Richard Lieber Brewing Corp.

Ajax Brewing Corp.

1905 - 1941

Capital City Brewing Co. 1904 - 1915
Citizens Brewing Co. 1915 - 1918
Richard Lieber Brewing Corp. 1934 - 1935
Lieber Brewing Corp. 1935 - 1937
Phoenix Brewing Corp. 1937 - 1938
Ajax Brewing Corp. 1938 - 1941

Brand names: Imperial, Duselager

Located at 1224 S. West St.

The Capital City Brewing Co. filed $250,000 in capital stock on Aug 6, 1904.

Charles Krauss was president of the Capital City Brewing Company in 1910.

Richard Lieber was born in Dusseldorf, a nephew of Peter and Hermann Lieber. He moved to Indianapolis to live with an uncle in 1891 and worked as a reporter on his father-in-law's Indiana Tribune until that newspaper was sold in 1907.

He was the director of the Indiana Department of Conservation until 1933 when he bought the remnants of Citizens Brewing that  had made soft drinks during prohibition. This expanded to beer after prohibition.

A correspondent writes "My mother was going through an old box and discovered  numerous items from our family's history. Among these items are stock  certificates for 'Lieber Brewing Corporation'. They are dated January 1935.

He is known as the father of the Indiana State Park system. He had traveled with Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir to the western to-be-parklands in California. He was also instrumental in contracting with Bruno Schmitz to build the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in Indianapolis. Lieber State Park is named after him.

This brewery was sold to Rene Faux in about 1840 and it closed about 2 years later.

(photo courtesy Bruce Mobley)

It also lists a George Gaar, forman at J.P. Michael's brewery.

• Union Beer Brewery on "Madison Road, S. of city." owned by Conrad Sponsel and Peter Balz. They are reported to have had a production of 1,675 bbls per annum and closed before 1875.
• F. and H.H. Harting as the principals of Harting & Bros. Brewery. Henry Kriger and Leonard Schmidt, brewers. They are reported to have had a production of 1,065 bbls per annum and closed before 1875.
• Indianapolis Brewery, 309 W. Washington. J. P. Meikel, proprietor. Otto Jager and Jacob Walter, brewers.

1989 - 1997

Known familiarly as the Naptown Brewery.

Sold under brand names Duesseldorfer and Main Street.

They also produced "contract" beers for Pike Place in Oregon and O'Malleys for the Fort Wayne Brewing Company.

When the brewery closed, the facility was purchased by the Oaken Barrel Brewing Company of Greenwood, IN who used it until 2003.

1990 - Present

Founded by John Hill, an immigrant from Yorkshire, England.

The company was organized in two parts, the BRBC and the Broad Ripple Brewpub, since Indiana state law didn't yet allow for brewpubs.

The first brewer, Greg Emig, left in 1993 to found the Lafayette Brewing Co. The second brewer, Ted Miller founded the Brugge Brasserie in 2005 (below). The third brewer is Kevin Matalucci.

1995 - Present

1996 - 2001

It closed the food operations on April 19, 1999 and tried to make it as a regional brewer.

1996 - Present

1996 - Present

2005 - Present

Brewpub. Part of the Rock Bottom chain out of Louisville, CO.

A second Rock Bottom was opened with its own brewery in 2005 near 86th St between Township Line Rd. and Michigan Rd.
 

1996 - 1998

1997 - 1999

Some of the equipment ended up at the Cumberland brewpub in Louisville.

1998 - 1999?

2005 - Present

Brewpub. Started by Ted Miller, formerly the brewer at the Broad Ripple Brewpub and located only 4 blocks away. Belgian beers are the specialty.

Notably, Abraham Benrubi, a Hollywood TV actor known for a roll in "ER" is a part-owner of the brewery.

2008 - Present

Wabash Valley Beers are contract-brewed by Vigo Brewery in Terre Haute for the distributor, World Class Beverages, of Indianapolis. They are sold in 12-oz bottles and kegs.

World Class Beverages is a very active distributor of Craft Beer and covers the entire state of Indiana. They are owned by Monarch Beverage, the Miller and Coors distributor for central Indiana.

2009 - Present

Sun King distributes beer in kegs for pubs in central Indiana.