George Auer was born in Wurttemberg, Germany. He emigrated to America in the middle of the 19th Century and settled in New Orleans, Louisiana on or about 1852. Here he met Frederika Freimuth and married her in her home-town of Gretna on the 28th of January, 1859. Their union produced three children. In 1867 Auer established the Eagle Brewery and Coffeehouse at 540-542 Tchoupitoulas where he produced City Beer. The business was a success and Auer grew wealthy and rose in prominence in the growing town of New Orleans. In the 1870s he became a board member of the Metropolitan Bank. On December 21, 1882 Auer was in the process of enlarging the brewhouse when he suddenly died. He was 52 years of age. Upon George's death his widow took up the reins of the brewery and managed it until her own sudden death less than two years later. The Eagle Brewery lasted two more years under the guidance of their oldest son, George Clement, before closing for good in 1887.

After the death of her husband George, Frederica (Freimuth) Auer was compelled to run a notice in the Times-Picayune to proclaim that in defiance of rumors, and despite the hopes of competing New Orleans beer-makers, she will continue to manage the Eagle Brewery and Coffeehouse. Fredericka's tenure as proprietress of the Eagle would be a short one, as she herself passed away just a few months later, on May the 10th, 1885.