A Blatz from the Past

Valentin Blatz was the son of a prominent brewer in Germany, who, as a young man, decided to make his own way in the world in America. He arrived in 1848, and by 1851, he had settled in Milwaukee, WI and had married the widow of a Milwaukee brewer. The Blatz brewing empire was about to begin.

By all accounts, Blatz was an innovative and successful brewer, becoming one of America's first nationally known brands. We can only guess, but it's likely that Blatz was one of America's better beers in the 19th century.

Blatz was able to survive Prohibition, but it was clearly not the same brewery and simply could not compete in 1950s America. Blatz went out of business in 1959, and its assets, including its name, were purchased by the Pabst Brewing Company.

Today, Blatz is owned by Pabst, but brewed under contract by Miller.

Which makes one think, . . . if the Milwaukee Brewers baseball stadium, which is called Miller Park, was constructed 100 years earlier, would it have been called Blatz Park?