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This article was originally published in the Grand River Valley Review Vol. VIII, Number. 1

It later appeared in the Fall 1991 edition of NABA's
The Breweriana Collector magazine

All brewery photos & portraits, unless otherwise noted, compliments of Dr. Wilhelm W. Seeger, The Grand Rapids Public Museum, or the Michigan Room of the Grand Rapids Public Library. Dr. Seeger also wishes to thank Gordon Olson, The Grand Rapids City Historian for his help.

The Frey brothers - Charles, Christian
and Frederick - established the Coldbrook Brewery on Coldbrook Street in 1874. The following year John Adrion and Andrew
Greil set up the Valley City Brewery on Page between Tile and Plainfield; a short time later the city directory listed the owners of the establishment as John Adrion and Peter Kautenberger.

On January 1, 1876, Jacob Veit and Paul Rathman founded the Eagle Brewery on the city's west side at the corner of First and Stocking.

Workers of the The Frey Brothers'
Coldbrook Brewery posing for the
annual spring Bock Beer release

Veit & Rathman's Eagle Brewery

A year later, Adolph Goetz, former brewmaster at the Kusterer brewery, and Kossuth W. Tusch built the Cincinnati Brewery at 208 Grandville Avenue and
began advertising their lager beer as "equal to Cincinnati beer!" which, according to claims made by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed a national reputation for high quality. ( 8 )

In January of 1879 Goetz sold his interest in the Cincinnati Brewery to Kossuth's brother Frederick and left for Colorado
where he hoped to set up his own brewing business. His stay out west was brief, however, and he returned to Grand Rapids to become Kusterer's brewmaster once again.

Tusch's Cincinnati Brewery

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Revised: December 30, 2006