Union Brewery
Arcata, California, USA · Est. 1857
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Humboldt County's first brewery. The Clarke Historical Museum dates it to Union — the town later renamed Arcata — opening in 1857 and closing in 1859, and Humboldt Historian research identifies it as Gustave Stanislowsky's, constructed in late 1856 and opened that January. It was leased on to Theodore Wollweber and then to Hiram Wood, and its advertising sold lager and ale made by experienced European brewers, which on the Humboldt coast in 1857 was a real claim to be making. Two years — and the brewhouse outlived the business, because John Wagner opened the Arcata Brewery and Distillery in the same building the following year.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1856Constructed
Gustave Stanislowsky's Union Brewery, built late 1856.
- 1857Opens
January 1857; Humboldt County's first brewery. Later leased to Theodore Wollweber, then Hiram Wood.
- 1859Closed
The brewhouse was reused within the year.
The Beer Library
Beers
Lager
Year-RoundLager
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2024/aug/3/humboldt-history/. Humboldt Historian research reports period advertising for Union Brewery claiming its lager was unsurpassed in California. No formal brand or ABV is stated.
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Year-RoundAle
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2024/aug/3/humboldt-history/. Humboldt Historian research reports period advertising for Union Brewery claiming its ale was unsurpassed in California. No formal brand or ABV is stated.
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Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://www.clarkemuseum.org/food-and-drink-of-humboldt-county.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 - historyProbable
Dated evidence as recorded in California Pass 187: 1856, 1857, 1859.
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 Union Brewery
- Is Union Brewery still open?
- No. Union Brewery has closed. California Pass 187. Clarke Historical Museum identifies Humboldt County's first brewery as opening in Union (later Arcata) in 1857 and closing in 1859. Humboldt Historian research, reprinted by Lost Coast Outpost, identifies it as Gustave Stanislowsky's Union Brewery, constructed in late 1856 and opened in January 1857; it was later leased to Theodore Wollweber and then Hiram Wood. Historical advertising described lager and ale made by experienced European brewers. The later Arcata Brewery and Distillery occupied the former Union Brewery brewhouse and is preserved as a distinct successor entity.
- When was Union Brewery founded?
- Union Brewery was founded in 1857 in Arcata, California, USA.
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