John Mannheim was born in Kärlich, Germany. His first listed residence was Dubuque, Iowa where he ran a hotel in 1856. In 1857 he moved up river to Chatfield, Minnesota where he ran a variety store. In 1860 he listed himself as a brewer in the Minnesota state census. In 1870 he was listed in the Virginia City Montana census as a baker. By 1874 Mannheim had reverted back to the career of brewing. Mannheim died in 1880. His brewery was sold to Frank Gilig and survived for seven more years when it was burned down and never rebuilt.