Hollister Brewery
Hollister, California, USA · Est. 1897
Tally's Take
Why this matters
California Pass 187. Monterey County Historical Society's Pat Hathaway/California Views collection preserves a historical photograph explicitly identified as Hollister Brewery on San Benito Street. Specialist beer-history research reproduces a June 9, 1917 Hollister Free Lance advertisement for Wahl's Bock Beer and identifies Hollister Brewery as founded around 1897 by Adolph Wahl (Frederick Adolf Wahl). Because the exact 1897 formation notice and closure record have not yet been recovered from a primary archive, the founding year is retained at HIGH confidence and closure remains UNKNOWN. A separate 1878-79 national brewer return lists Henry Narcoe brewing in Hollister; Pass 103 does not assume Narcoe's operation was the same lineage.
The Beer Library
Beers
Wahl's Bock Beer
Year-RoundBock
California Pass 187. Aliases: Wahls Bock Beer. Beer historian Jay Brooks reproduces and dates a June 9, 1917 Hollister Free Lance advertisement for Wahl's Bock Beer from Hollister Brewery. The source is a specialist reproduction of the historical ad rather than the newspaper archive itself, so confidence is HIGH rather than VERY HIGH. ABV remains UNKNOWN.
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Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://montereycountyhistoricalsociety.pixels.com/featured/hollister-brewery-on-san-benito-st-with-two-cars-california-views-archives-mr-pat-hathaway-archives.html for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's California master, Pass 187 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Hollister Brewery
- Is Hollister Brewery still open?
- No. Hollister Brewery has closed. California Pass 187. Monterey County Historical Society's Pat Hathaway/California Views collection preserves a historical photograph explicitly identified as Hollister Brewery on San Benito Street. Specialist beer-history research reproduces a June 9, 1917 Hollister Free Lance advertisement for Wahl's Bock Beer and identifies Hollister Brewery as founded around 1897 by Adolph Wahl (Frederick Adolf Wahl). Because the exact 1897 formation notice and closure record have not yet been recovered from a primary archive, the founding year is retained at HIGH confidence and closure remains UNKNOWN. A separate 1878-79 national brewer return lists Henry Narcoe brewing in Hollister; Pass 103 does not assume Narcoe's operation was the same lineage.
- When was Hollister Brewery founded?
- Hollister Brewery was founded in 1897 in Hollister, California, USA.
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