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My Connections to the Brewery — 14 Comments

  1. I enjoyed reading about the history of the Brewery and you family’s involvement. I am certain you have many good (and bad) memories of growing up next door to the Brewery. I liked the idea of the “free” dispenser along side the building. I certain it made for many “happy” customers.

    I can see how important the Brewery was to the small town. Both of my parents worked for a small confectionary store during the 20th century in Moline, Illinois. I worked at the store in the 60’s and early 70’s. The store was founded in 1908 and still exists today operated by the third generation. I have some great memories of the store.

    I am a collector of older beer cans and have a great interest in the cans with the colorful pheasant can produced by Sebewaing in the 50’s and early 60’s. I attend beer can shows and watch the sale of those cans online, but haven’t purchased a ‘clean’ one yet. If you encounter a collector willing to sell cans, please send them my way.

    Thanks for the article.

    • Dear Mr. Schenone,

      Thank you for your comments regarding the brewery and the connection to my family. I have spent the last week doing research, visiting Sebewaing, and gathering items to post on this site. I am excited about the content that I have acquired. There was not any revelations in my research as I had hoped, but enough detail that it should well surpass any book or on-line source that I am aware. What I feel is of significance to me is the circumstances surrounding the demise of the brewery and the role my grandfather played in trying to save it. The understanding I have today is much different and will be detailed out on this site in the weeks to come.

      Will do if I run across cans. My family has several cans and legit bottles that I would say are mint, but not anything anyone is willing to sell. Thanks again for your post and please be sure to check back in a few weeks as you may be quite surprised at the detail of the new content.

      Sincerely,

      Scott M. Thede

      • I remember Pa (otto) taking me in the brewery when I was young. It was a fascinating place. He would let me taste the beer right from the vat. There were always five or six guys in there telling stories and having a sample! Pa was a super grandfather and always fun to be with. Great job with the site Scott!

        • Thank you Terry.  I appreciate you posting your memories about our Grandfather (Pa) and the brewery.  I did not know that you were able to experience the brewery while it was in operation.  What wonderful memories these must be especially with Pa!  If you have any pictures of you and Pa or the brewery, they would be a great addition to the site.  Thanks again Terry and take care.

  2. Back in the 1960s when I was like 10 years old I remember my relatives talking about the Sebewaing Brewing Company. We were having a family reunion at my grandparents (White Lake Township) and we had family come down from the Saginaw area. The adults were talking about old times and us kids were listening. One thing I remember is them talking about one of our relatives being a brewer at the Sebewaing Brewing Company. Years later I asked my dad about it and he said that it was not true that the relatives from up north were big talkers. The last name could be May or Hart. Are there list of employees that worked at the company?

  3. I have mostly board members for some of the years, but not a complete list throughout the years. I could probably assemble a list of employees that were there from 1965-1966 via payroll checks. There were on average about 30 employees in during the late 50’s and early 60’s. At some point when I return to Sebewaing, I can put a list together of those employed before the closing.

  4. Awesome site… interesting stuff. I grew up in Owendale and the brewery closed before my time, but I remember family members talking how sad it was when it was eventually torn down. My step dad (Gary May) would tell story’s about sneaking in and “borrowing” beer when he was a young man LOL.

    Who owns the Label now? Is it still owned by some brewery? I remember a couple of years back we picked up some promotional Sebewaing beer (somebody brewed and sold it with the label anyway)

  5. Thank you Chad for the feedback. The labels are not owned by anyone as far as I know. The promotional brews of Sebewaing, Sport, and Golden Pheasant were for the 150th year celebration for the Village of Sebewaing. The brews were made by the now closed Michigan Brewery of Weberville, MI. I am certain that these three label brews of 2003 were not true label brews but substitutes, probably the closest match brew that brewery had at the time.

  6. I enjoyed reading about the old brewery although i was too young to have sampled the product when they were in operation. I also recall my father who was from Ownedale commenting that the quality of the beer declined which led to the demise of the brewery. I was wondering if you were able to find any of the recipes of the old brews, the Christmas special from the 1930’s would be interesting to recreate and i wondered if the hops were locally grown. Great Job putting this site together.

    • Thank you Larry for your comments.  I have read in a few sources where the changing of brewmasters, purchasing lower costs and likely lower quality ingrediants, and the reduced quality of the water were contributing factors in the decline of the brewery.  When in 1964, the new management that took over in 1962 changed the name to “The Michigan Brewing Company” it alienated loyal locals.  The Pride of Michigan label and campaign launched in 1964 under the new company name may have been poorly timed.  I do not believe that label was well liked.

      I do not have any of the recipes and over the past month, I have been making inquiries about the topic with no luck.  I am shocked that the recipe book was not part of my grandfather’s related items from the brewery.  I thought for sure these were in the family somewhere.

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