Gurdon Satterlee Fanning was born in Auburn New York, son of a grocery man. After graduating at Auburn Academy, he was for six years a baggageman and freight master on the N.Y. C. & H.R. Railroad. Fanning was drafted late into the Civil War, but due to the Lee's surrender at Appomattox his time of service was only five days.

In 1864 he and Norman H. Kennedy opened an ale brewery at 3 and 5 Garden Street in Auburn. Fanning bought out his partner's stake four years later. For 30 years thereafter he ran the brewery as a sole proprietor. In 1878 Fanning added lager beer to his production, which increased his brewery's capacity to 17,000 barrels per annum. Fanning retired at age 60 in 1898 and the brewery closed. He died on December 26th, 1920 at age 82 years.