Gettelman Beer: Milwaukee's Forgotten Hometown Brew

Milwaukee was once the beer capital of America. Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, Miller — the city's breweries defined American lager for a century. But for many Milwaukee locals, none of those giants meant as much as a smaller, prouder operation: the M. Gettelman Brewing Company.

The Brewery

The M. Gettelman Brewing Company was founded in Milwaukee in 1856 by Adam Gettelman, a German immigrant who brought Old World brewing traditions to Wisconsin. For nearly a century, Gettelman operated as one of Milwaukee's independent breweries — smaller than the giants, but beloved by locals who preferred its straightforward, honest lager to the mass-market alternatives.

Gettelman's flagship beer was Milwaukee's Best — yes, that Milwaukee's Best, the one that eventually became a Miller product. Gettelman brewed it first, as a genuine expression of Milwaukee brewing craft, before the brand was absorbed and transformed into something very different.

The Acquisition

Miller Brewing Company acquired Gettelman in 1961, ending over a century of independent operation. The Gettelman name faded from Milwaukee's beer landscape, replaced by the Miller portfolio. For locals who remembered the original, it was the loss of something genuinely local in a city that was increasingly defined by national brands.

The Gettelman Beer Milwaukee Retro T-shirt, Can-Shaped Glass, Koozie, and Sticker are for everyone who raises a glass to Milwaukee's brewing heritage. Find them in the Milwaukee collection.