The brewery on the site that would become known as the Jackson Brewery was originally owned by a man named Schmelzer, as early as 1929 (incidentally the same year in which Andrew Jackson took the presidential office). Schmelzer then sold it to a fellow German by the name of Klopf. Herr Klopf owned the brewery until selling it in 1854.
In 1854 the Kleiner brothers, Meinrad and Fridolin, purchased the Jackson Brewery, Meinrad being the brewmaster under Klopf. Meinrad contnued to oversee brewing operations, and each of the brothers reportedly worked twelve hour shifts in order to ensure profitability. The Kleiner brothers reinvested their profits and purchased adjoining properties to expand the brewery, with the original building became the offices. The brewery complex spanned 500 feet on what is today McMicken Avenue, and reached 550 feet in depth, back to what is Clifton Avenue today. The complex was bisected by Mohawk Street, on which the main brew house was constructed in 1859.
Excerpt from The Cincinnati Enquirer Tue, May 30, 1882, Page 8
By 1871 the Jackson Brewery was the fifth largest in Cincinnati in terms of production, and the Kleiner brothers would both die shortly after that time. George Weber gained control of the brewery in 1873 with an investment of $285,000. For the next decade the company would experience a continued moderate success, however this profitability did not come without it’s fair share of conflict.
George Weber and his asignee, Leo A. Brigel, experienced a relationship fraught with discord, which resulted in a physical confrontation on more than one occasion. Despite the friction in the relationship, the two would remain business partners, and in 1884 incorporated under the banner of the George Weber Brewing Company.
Excerpt From The Cincinnati Enquirer Thu, May 23, 1878, Page 5
