Jacob Zoelly was born in Germany. His family emigrated to America in the early 1800s and settled in Pennsylvania. He married in 1834 and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Sometime before 1849 he opened up a brewery and coffee shop in that city in which he sold "City Beer", a cheaply brewed beer made for immediate consumption. In 1869, Zoelly sold his firm to a trio of partners that included John Weckerling. Jacob Zoelly died on April 28, 1880. His brewery was eventually renamed the Weckerling Brewery and was absorbed into the New Orleans Brewing Association combine which closed the plant in 1911.

Johannes Joseph "John" Weckerling Sr. was born in Kirrweiler, Kusel, Germany. He emigrated to America in 1841 and settled in New Orleans, where he engaged in the shoe business. In 1870 he retired from that occupation and purchased Jacob Zoelly's Coffeehouse & Brewery on Delord Street. Weckerling renamed it the Louisiana Brewery. and ran it for the next 18 years. In 1884 a group of investors came together and organized the Louisiana Brewing Company, also in New Orleans. Weckerling was obliged to change the name of his firm once again, this time to simply Weckerling Brewing Company. Ultimately in 1890 both firms would be swept into the New Orleans Brewing Association conglomerate. Weckerling, then in his 70s, retired from the business. He died on the 23rd of December, 1908 at 87 years of age.

The New Orleans Times-Democrat announces an open house for the Weckerling Brewery.

The New Orleans Times Picayune publishes a history and summary of the operations of the Weckerling Brewing Company.