News
19th August 1853
19th August 1853

Johannes Walther (John Walter) was born in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg. He was the son of a shoe-maker, and it is perhaps his father's profession that instilled in John the same wanderlust to which he and his brothers so obviously fell heir.
At age 14 John began his training in the beer-making business in Stuttgart. When he reached his majority in 1873 he and his brother George became the first of the five Walter Brothers to emigrate to America. They settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he both John and George jobbed in various breweries. John worked in succession at the Ph. Best/Fred. Pabst Brewery, the Fred. Miller brewery and finally the Jos. Schlitz brewery. After a year of this John left George and moved 100 miles west to Portage, Wisconsin. Here he met and married Miss Magdalena Lencher.
Although Mr. Walter had been domesticated he did not yet settle down. By 1880 John became employed at the Island City Brewery in Menasha. Magdalena, John and all of the brewery boys were boarded in the brewhouse.
A year later the Walter Family was off again to Spencer, Wisconsin where John purchased John Eichert's share in the town brewery, in doing became partner in the firm with Friedrich Kuethe. In 1883 Walter bought out Kuethe's share and thus, John Walter had established the first of many Walter family breweries in America.
However, this Walter Brewery would turn out to be shortest-lived, as it burned to the ground just six years later in February of 1889. In around 1879 both John's father Jacob and John's younger sister, Christine joined John and his wife in Spencer. Christine married John Eichert some time around 1880, after which the two families combined resources. Magdalena had relatives in the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin and it was decided that the family's next move would be there. Eau Claire means "Clear Water" in French so it was a natural location for a brewing family.
In January of 1890 the Walters and the Eicherts paid $8000 for Henry Huebner's Dells Brewery and renamed it John Walter & Co., City Brewery. Walter brought in another brother-in-law Jacob Doerrer to help manage the firm. They went at once to remodeling and expanding the facility, and despite a bad fire in 1892, the investment and hard work soon paid off.
The brewery became profitable and thrived until National Prohibition shut it down in 1920. John Walter died on May 8th of 1932 at the age of 78 years. Had he lived another sixteen months he would have seen beer kegs once again roll through his brewery door. As it was the Walter Brewing company reopened on December 5th 1933 and was once again beloved in central Wisconsin. The brewery finally closed in 1988.
Johannes Walther (John Walter) was born in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg. He was the son of a shoe-maker, and it is perhaps his father's profession that instilled in John the same wanderlust to wh... View More
News
2nd September 1859
2nd September 1859

Christiana Walther (Christine Walter) was born in Bergfelden, Kingdom of Württemberg. She was the daughter of a cobbler named Jakob Johann Walter. She emigrated to America sometime the late 1870s and met up with her brother John and his wife in Menasha.
In around 1879 John's family and Christine became acquainted with John Eichert, who was a hotel owner and had a partnership in a brewery in the Wisconsin town of Spencer. John Walter purchased John Eichert's share in the brewery in 1880, and Christine Walter and Eichert became married sometime around 1881. After the Spencer brewery burned in 1889, Christine and John Eichert took their three young children, left Spencer and followed John and his wife Magdalena 80 miles due west to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The next year the two families collaborated to purchase and renovate Henry Huebner's Dells Brewery. They renamed it John Walter's City Brewery, or the Walter Brewery for short. John Eichert died in January of 1894. Christine died of a heart attack just four years later on January 9th 1898. She was 38 years old. Their three young children were for a time looked after by John and Magdalena (who were childless) but eventually they left Wisconsin for warmer Los Angeles, California, a city where two of the Walter Brothers (the children's uncles) had established second homes.
The Walter Brewery in Eau Claire was a regional powerhouse for most of the 20th century. It finally closed in 1988, a full century after Christine Walter's death.
Christiana Walther (Christine Walter) was born in Bergfelden, Kingdom of Württemberg. She was the daughter of a cobbler named Jakob Johann Walter. She emigrated to America sometime the late 18... View More
1875 FoundedLeinenkugel & Welter (Henry Joseph Leinenkugel &Michael Welter)Hobart & Elm Streets
1877 Kohlenborn & QuickHobart & Elm Streets
1878 Dells Brewery, Henry Sommermeyer & Co.Hobart & Elm Streets
1882 Dells Brewery, Frank HuebnerHobart & Elm Streets
1883 Dells Brewery, Theresa LeinenkugelHobart & Elm Streets
1885 Empire Brewery, Theresa LeinenkugelHobart & Elm Streets
1888 John Walter & Co., City Brewery (Hobart & Elm)Hobart & Elm Streets
Logo
Begin: 1890 End 1915
1890 - 1915
Photos
Circa: 1900
Circa: 1900

Two loading dock workers.
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Circa: 1902
Advertisement
Circa: 1903
1909 John Walter & Co., City Brewery (318 Elm)318 Elm Street
Products
Bock Beer
1909-1915
Christmas Brew Special Beer
1909-1915
Export Beer
1909-1915
Special Brew
1909-1915
Standard Select
1909-1915
Photos
Circa: 1910
Circa: 1910

The John Walter & Co., City Brewery.
Photos
Circa: 1910
Circa: 1910

A player for the Walter's Brewery baseball team stands outside his home.
Logo
Begin: 1915 End 1920
1915 - 1920
1915 John Walter Brewing Co.318 Elm Street
Products
Family Beer
1915-1920
Special Beverage
1920-1933
Standard Select
1915-1920
Walter's Claro Health Tonic
1920-1933
Advertisement
Begin: 1919 End 1920
Advertisement
Begin: 1933 End 1920
1933 Walter Brewing Company318 Elm & 700 Barstow Streets
Products
Bavarian Style Beer
1969-1980
Beer (Generic)
1933-1985
Bock Beer
1933-1936
Breunig's Beer
1975-1990
Bub's Beer
1970-1987
Byerly's Beer
1971-1984
Holiday Brew
1933-1950
Lammer's Private Stock Beer
1971-1984
Master Brew Beer
1972-1991
Old Timer's Beer
1973-1991
Old Timer's Bock Beer
1933-1985
Schoen's Old Lager Beer
1970-1973
Super John's Beer
1971-1984
The Master Brew
1933-1985
Vienna All Malt Beer
1952-1955
Walter's Beer that is Beer
1933-1950
Walter's Family Beer
1933-1950
Walter's Pilsener Beer
1933-1950
Walter's Beer
1933-1991
Walter's Special Beer
1933-1985
White Bear Beer
1974-1989
News
26th April 1936
26th April 1936
The Walter Brewery of Eau Claire Wisconsin scored a nice write up in the local newspaper.
From the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
The Walter Brewery of Eau Claire Wisconsin scored a nice write up in the local newspaper.
From the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
1938Capacity 75000 Barrels
1939Capacity 75000 Barrels
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1940
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1941
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1942
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1945
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1946
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1948
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1949
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1951
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1952
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1956
1963 White Bear Brewing Company (Aka of Walter Brewing Co.)318 Elm & 700 Barstow Streets
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1965
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1966
1985 Maine Coast Brewing Co. (Aka of Walter Brewing Co.)318 Elm & 700 Barstow Streets
Products
Portland Lager Beer
1985-1988
1986 Vienna Brewery (Aka of Walter Brewing Co.)318 Elm & 700 Barstow Streets
Products
Vienna All Malt Lager Beer
1976-1978
1988 ClosedGolden Brewing Company (Aka of Walter Brewing Co.)