Selig Manilla of the Manilla Anchor Brewery of Dobbs Ferry, New York, was born in Germany.  After completing his primary education he found employment in Johann Hoff's Malt Extract Company in Berlin.  At age sixteen Manilla quit his job and emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in New York City.

Manilla was soon hired by the Lion Brewery, and in 15 years of employment in that sprawling successful brewery he mastered the art and business of brewing on a large scale.  From there he joined the W. G. Abbott Brewing Company as director and began a partnership with maltster Matthew White.  In 1873 Manilla married Sarah Sternheimer and together they had one child, Amelia.  They also raised three children from Selig's brother Isaac, who had passed away in around 1883.

In 1890 the Manilla family moved to Springfield Massachusetts, where Selig purchased Max Lutz's brewery for $60,000. Under Manilla's direction the now-named Springfield Brewery grew tenfold in output, from 7,000 bbls to 72,000 bbls/year just four years later.  Their flagship brand was Tivoli, and it became so popular that it was said to have been "shipped to every corner of the globe."

In 1899 the Springfield Brewery, the Highland Brewing Co. of Springfield, the Hampden Brewing Co. of Holyoke Mass., and the Consumer's Brewery of Chicopee Mass were purchased by investors and consolidated into the Springfield Breweries Company.  Manilla was kept on as president, but bureaucracy of the partnership apparently did not suit him, and in 1900 he moved back to New York.   There he purchased the Anchor Brewing Co. in Dobbs Ferry.  Manilla operated the brewery successfully for eight years and retired at age 62 in 1907.  

Selig Manilla died just two years later on December 26, 1909.  He is buried at Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn.