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History of the Minhas Brewery

Presidents and Owners of the Brewery

Contribution to our history

The Minhas Brewery is the oldest brewery in the Midwest and the second oldest in the U.S. In the last 160 years, it has been owned by the most prominent citizens in the area. It was first inherited by the 1st and 2nd generation of immigrants from Switzerland, France, Germany, Britain, and Denmark. Now, the brewery is owned by two siblings from Canada: Manjit and Ravinder Minhas. Upon purchasing the brewery, they became known as the Youngest Brewery Owners in the World.

Jacob Hefty

  • Founded by Mr. Bissinger, 1845.
  • Recently after founding, John Knipschield purchased Brewery.
  • Jacob Hefty owned Brewery from 1865-1885
  • Adam Blumer from Switzerland became sole owner in 1892.
  • In 1906 the Brewery was renamed to the Blumer Brewing Company.
  • After the death of his father, Adam, Fred Blumer took over the Brewery.
  • We learned how the Brewery evolved and the longevity of the building. It is often strange to think that a small town of Monroe was actually affected by prohibition, and the Brewery was able to continue after the hard times and remain a profitable company that continued to expand.

Adam Blumer

The MOVIE! Blumer Kidnapping and Prohibition Story

Fred Blumer

Recently, Monroe filmed a movie at the Brewery reflecting the time of Fred's kidnapping. The movie is a conversation between Fred and his grand daughter Sue Wubbema.

From reading the movie's script we also learned about....

  • Fred's secrecy when discussing his kidnapping.
  • That the Courthouse was used as a lookout tower for Federal Agents.
  • Over 12,000 people died from alcohol poisoning due to moonshiners lack of knowledge on properly making liquor.
  • Owned the Brewery from 1918-1938. Prohibition years were 1920-1933.
  • Born: May 19, 1879
  • Died: May 7, 1956
  • Married to Bessie Blumer and had one daughter by the name of Marion.
  • Nominated area post master for Monroe but was rejected by Senate.
  • Vice President of the First National Bank of Monroe for several years

Fred's Ownership of the Brewery

Unfortunately, Fred received ownership of the brewery during the times of prohibition. He changed the companies name to Blumer Products Company and began selling ice cream, non-alcoholic beer, and distributed machinery and tractors to help his business thrive. In 1933, when prohibition was appealed he began selling Blumer's Golden Glow "Real Beer." He was hoping for an optimistic future with the re-introduction to alcohol, but profits struggled over the next five years, and Fred resigned in 1938.

The Kidnapping!

  • Kidnapped in April 1931 and was driven 20 miles South from home to a hideout in Freeport.
  • Kidnapped for one week and was kept blind-folded and shackled.
  • Possible kidnappers: Baby Face Nelson, Al Capone.
  • Ransom originally set at $150,000
  • After the kidnappers realized that the Blumer family had little money, they lowered the ransom to $6,000

Minhas Brewery and the Fred Blumer KIDNAPPING!

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