Valentin Blatz

Valentin Blatz (October 1, 1826 – May 26, 1894) was a German-American brewer and banker.[1] He was born in Miltenberg, Bavaria[2] and worked at his father's brewery in his youth. In August 1848 Blatz immigrated to America and by 1849 had moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Valentin Blatz
1877 portrait
Born(1826-10-01)October 1, 1826
Miltenberg, Bavaria
DiedMay 26, 1894(1894-05-26) (aged 67)
St. Paul, Minnesota
OccupationBrewer
Known forBlatz beer

Blatz established a brewery next to Johann Braun's City Brewery in 1850 and merged both breweries upon Braun's death in 1852. He also married Braun's widow.

The brewery produced Milwaukee's first individually bottled beer in 1874. It incorporated as the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company in 1889 and by the 1900s was the city's third largest brewer.

He was active in many organizations such as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Blatz was a freemason and member of Aurora Lodge No.30 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[3]

Blatz died in St. Paul, Minnesota, while returning home to Milwaukee from a trip to California. He was survived by a wife, three sons, and two daughters. He is buried in a massive family mausoleum at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.

See also

References
  1. Historic Beer Birthday: Valentin Blatz
  2. Brenda Magee. Brewing in Milwaukee. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2014, p. 53.
  3. Denslow, William R. (1957). 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Columbia, Missouri, USA: Missouri Lodge of Research. (digital document by phoenixmasonry: vol. 1)
  • Valentin Blatz home (1886 engraving)
  • Blatz brewery (1886 engraving)
  • Mausoleum in Forest Home Cemetery
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