Sterling Brewery

RAZED Sterling Brewery View all images of Sterling Brewery

a.k.a. Fulton Avenue Brewery

Quick Timeline

1863	brewery is built
1877	Ulmer & Hoedt buy brewery
1884	UlmerReitman & Schulte
1886	Renamed Fulton Ave Brewery
1894	Becomes part of the Evansville Brewing Association
c1920	Sterling Brewery
1972	Bought by G Heileman Brewery
1988	Becomes Evansville Brewing Co
1998	Brewery is razed

Location

Architecture

History

Brewery is built at 330-430 Fulton Ave in 1863 on site of Great Western Mills (date overlap)

Ulmer & Hoedt buy brewery in 1877 and move in.

build new brewery across st in 1881 Later Ulmer and Schulte. Reitman? and Schulte ulmer still around when renamed fulton in 1886

half torn down for new stock house (corner) c1890 ?

Hartmetz and Son Brewery, Evansville Brewery and Fulton Brewery merged to form the Evansville Brewing Association in 1893 in an effort to protect small breweries. This association was reportedly the result of a price war between the larger F.W. Cook Brewery and the non-affiliated breweries in town. The main office went to the Fulton Avenue Brewery and the others were eventually closed.

1911 stock house built (here or evv brewery)

A huge bottling plant at Indiana St and Fifth Ave (still standing) was completed June 1, 1914.

Like many others during Prohibition, the company renamed itself Sterling Products Co. They made soft drinks, near beer, and malt extract (which was used by illicit homebrewers). It became Sterling Brewers Inc after Prohibition was over in 1933. Offices built 1954 probably old offices at 330-2 were razed for penn expy

Sterling merged with the Associated Brewing Co. group of Michigan in 1968. Officially it was named Sterling Brewers Association.

In 1972, G. Heileman brewery (LaCrosse, WI) bought the company. The plant was used to make many of the brands they acquired from other breweries including Cooks from Evansville, Champagne Velvet from Terre Haute, and Drewrys from South Bend and others.

Heileman closed the plant due to over capacity in its other plants and sold the brewery in 1988. The Evansville Brewing Company, led by three local investors, John Durnin, Mark Mattingly, and John Bzeznski, re-opened the brewery on September 21, 1988. The three founders wanted to retain the employee base of the plant of about 90 people, and the brewery had a 1,200,000 barrel annual capacity. By 1994, Evansville Brewing sold almost 40% of its beer overseas.

The brewery declared bankruptcy and closed on October 1, 1997. The brands, including Sterling, were sold to Pittsburgh Brewing. Sadly, the brewery was razed in December 1998 and now is a vacant lot. It was the last brewery standing in Evansville

Comments

The brewery at Fulton Ave and Lloyd was the site of the first electric lights in Evansville in October 1880.

Around 1935, the brewery sponsored a semi-pro "colored" baseball team called the Sterling Beers.

Sterling had a Rathskeller

Mickey's, famous for the "big mouth" bottles, originated at Sterling Brewery and is reputed to be named after the wife of the president of Sterling Brewers. It is now part of Pabst via Stroh's.

See also

Research notes

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