Breweries were plentiful throughout Michigan in 1917.  The Michigan Department of Labor documented 87 breweries during this time.  Some were under the same name located in different geographical areas of Michigan and others under the same name split the work between brewing and bottling.  The size ranged from two employees to over three hundred.  From brewing in barns to multistory brick buildings, there was a demand in all parts of Michigan for beer.  Information about these breweries can be found in the report to the left and an extracted table at the bottom of this post.  This 1918 report documents businesses in Michigan and provides vast amounts of statistics for things like hotels, prisons, restaurants, and so on.  It also lists code violations and what action needs to be taken to correct.

The significance of this report and its relationship to breweries is that it was published one month before the start of prohibition in Michigan.  With legislation potentially impacting their livelihood, the conversations of owners and employees must have been emotional.  To have an inspection and census done in 1917 ordering code violation corrections to outlawing the end product less than one year later had to be gut wrenching.

In the report, and at the bottom of this post, inspection dates, number of male and female employees, children working under age 16, and the major commodities offered are listed.  For the breweries, our own Huron County Brewing Company of Sebewaing is on the list with six employees that are all male.  In total for the 87 breweries in Michigan, there were 2,447 employees.  2,377 were male, 67 female, and 3 under the age of sixteen.  What did these people do for work after prohibition?  Many of the breweries closed while some re-tooled and made other products.  The top three brewery employers at the time were Stroh’s (318 employees), Goebel (204 employees), and Detroit Brewing Company (161 employees).  Pfeiffer was close to the top with 157 employees.  Fascinating information so far and there is much more information to glean from this fantastic report!

The table below is a list of all of the breweries extracted from the report with the related data.