Walter Brewing Company

The Walter Brewing Company was founded in Pueblo, Colorado in 1898. The Walter Brewing Co. in Eau Claire was founded in 1889, a prior endeavor in Spencer, WI succumbed to fire which prompted the move to Eau Claire. Their famous Pueblo Brewery had changed hands at least sixteen times in the thirty years before Walter's was founded.

The Walter brothers, Johannes, Georg, Martin, Christian and Matthaus, emigrated from their hometown of Bergfelden, Germany and came to America to find a better life than what they could find in Germany. Their path led them from Hamburg, Germany, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and lastly to Wisconsin. Wisconsin had a large German immigrant population at the time and the region reminded them of their home in the Black Forest region of Germany. Their father was a cobbler, family legend purportedly them having expanding on their knowledge of the brewing trade at Miller in Milwaukee before striking out on their own.

Martin Walter's company began making beer in Pueblo, CO in 1898 and continued until 1975. Martin headed westward with his family earlier due to the Menasha, WI brewery unable to support the financial needs of an ever growing family from 3 (Martin, Matthaus and Christian) of the 5 Walter Brothers. He settled on Pueblo and began his endeavor to expand the family business. The company faced several small recessions during its existence, including the closing of the plant during state and federal Prohibition after 1915. Martin died before prohibition, reportedly due to heart ailments.

After prohibition, Martin II joined his Wisconsin cousins from Appleton, WI to buy their namesake uncle's company from John's widow, The John Walter Brewing Company, and reopen the Eau Claire, Wisconsin institution as The Walter Brewing Company. The Pueblo company was awarded a "Gold Award" in 1956 and the "Excellence of Quality" award in 1972 by the Brewers Association of America. The Walter Brewing Company of Pueblo closed permanently on January 3, 1975.

Subsequently, in 1975, The Walter Brewing Company of Eau Claire acquired the Pueblo labeling from General Brewing and introduced the slightly modified Pueblo label to the regional market it served in 1976. Walter's of Eau Claire also won awards for its quality in 1975 but was often considered a cheap local beer by many of its local detractors who preferred the status of the brews from large corporate brewers, Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst and such.

...
Wikipedia