Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City)
Nevada City, California, USA · Est. 1862
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The biggest brewery in a gold-rush town that had five. The Nevada County Historical Archive holds an 1862 Nevada Journal advertisement for the Milwaukee Brewery at 16 Spring Street under L. W. Dreyfuss, and federal brewer returns list Dreyfuss at 833 barrels in 1878 and 702 in 1879 — roughly double Weiss and nearly six times Fogeli's U.S. Brewery. It was named for Milwaukee, two thousand miles away, which is what a Californian brewery called itself when it wanted you to know it made lager rather than ale.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1862Advertised at 16 Spring Street
Nevada Journal advertisement, under L. W. Dreyfuss.
- 1878833 barrels
The largest producer in Nevada City that year.
- 1879702 barrels
The later George Gehrig relationship remains unresolved.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://archive.nevadacountyhistory.org/search/?Id=19489&Mode=One+Page&PageNum=370 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 - historyProbable
Dated evidence as recorded in California Pass 187: 1862, 1878, 1879.
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 Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City)
- Who owns Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City)?
- Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Nevada City, California, USA.
- Is Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) independent?
- Yes. Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- Is Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) still open?
- No. Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) has closed. California Pass 187. Nevada County Historical Archive preserves an 1862 Nevada Journal advertisement for Milwaukee Brewery at 16 Spring Street under L. W. Dreyfuss. Federal brewer returns independently list Dreyfuss in Nevada City in 1878-79 with 833 and 702 barrels sold. Exact closure and later George Gehrig relationship remain held.
- When was Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) founded?
- Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City) was founded in 1862 in Nevada City, California, USA.
Drinking Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City)? Stamp it in your passport.
Discover it here — collect it in the Passport. Track every beer, earn stamps, and build your own beer passport.
Every brewery deserves its full story told.
If you're the owner or team behind Milwaukee Brewery (Nevada City), we'll build out your complete profile — history, the people, every beer — and feature you in a Tally's documentary. No cost, just your story.