Placer's beer brewing came to a head in 1850s

As the early morning sun began casting its shadows over the Auburn Ravine nearly 150 years ago, Eliza Elliot, manager of the Empire Hotel, and Susan Smith, working at Diana?s Bowling Saloon, met on Washington Street. Both trudged uphill from the Sacramento Road, water jars in hand, a short distance to the community fresh water spring. Eliza?s 20 hogs were foraging nearby when George Bishop, the butcher, waved cheerfully from his slaughterhouse as the two women walked by. Eliza returned the greeting in spite of the fetid odor of decaying bones and flesh that wrinkled her nose.They stopped at the spring near the makeshift brewery and discussed the advisability of encouraging their customers to drink beer from Jake and Sam Kaiser?s partially constructed brewery. Why? Because the brewing and boiling would have killed any diseases remaining in the drink.At the time, water-related diseases, like diarrhea and cholera, were picking off one in every 10 miners in California. Water was plentiful ? three watercourses merged (as they do today under the buildings and streets) through the center of Auburn ? but water that was safe to drink was harder to find. The Auburn Ravine was both bath water and a sewage system for residents and stores in the early 1850s. But the spring above Rich Ravine creek alongside Brewery Lane was clear, fresh, safe for drinking, and excellent for beer making.The Kaiser Brewery by 1856 consisted of eight acres, a barn, a stable, and the brewery buildings. Jacob Kaiser sold it to Franklin Kaiser in January of 1857 for $3,000. But by June, Franklin had, for the same amount, sold it back to partners Jacob and Samuel Kaiser.Information on their activities can be gleamed from the Placer County Assessment Roll relating to paying property taxes. J. & S. Kaiser?s 1856 property values were $1,950. Jacob Kaiser had 40 acres in 1857, including the brewery on Rich Ravine, horses, mules and wagons, valued $5,245. In 1858, Jacob Kaiser had 25 acres and a brewery, at a value of $4,700. In 1859, Sam & Jacob owned the brewery and lot, with barley, wagons and horses ? value $1,950. On a downward business trend, Jacob eventually sold out.The 1857 lithograph of Auburn, in the lower right hand corner, shows a sketch of the Kaiser Brewery and can be viewed at the Auburn City Hall. Also, another brewery was owned by Schule & Hohl, and found listed in the Register of U. S. Breweries, in 1857. Five brewers resided in Michigan Bluff. Fred Shearer, Casper Schmidt, Fred Seiber, Franz William, and Charles Raabe. What does this information suggest? Perhaps that a lot of miners were drinking beer in the Foresthill area.In the Placer County Directory of 1861, there is no more listing of the Kaiser Brewery or individual listings. What happened to the brewery business? However, the directory had the following advertisement: Placer County Brewery and Meat Market, corner of Main and Sacramento Street (now Lincoln Way and Sacramento Streets). The owner was Frank Gross. In 1870, the Kaiser site was owned by Frank Lux, and renamed the Placer Brewery. Another Auburn brewery was near the flourmill on the west side of Auburn Ravine; the owner was possibly Jake Steiner.Other Kaiser Brewery owners were F. Krause, date unknown, and Julius Weber, 1890-95. According to an advertisement in the Placer Herald on July 10, 1897, Ferdinand Rechenmacher had bought the brewery on January 2, 1896, changing the name to Auburn Brewery. However, the venture never lived up to the financial expectations of the owner, and it closed permanently in 1905. Today, on the remaining two-acre site, only the front walls ? now overgrown with trees and vines ? remain. The Placer County Historical Society recently erected a second monument in front of the old Kaiser Brewery site. The fine natural spring used by the early ?49ers served our community for nearly 150 years, but it was tested several years ago, its waters were found to be unsafe for human consumption, and it was capped. Are there any breweries in Auburn today? Yes, we are fortunate to have a microbrewery. The Aero Brewing Company at 140 Cleveland Avenue has been in operation for over 6 years. Beer on premises, or BOP, is a Canadian brew-your-own process. It begins with six large copper kettles, 75 recipes, and all needed ingredients, plus bottles. Ales, lagers, pilsners, porter, stouts, you name it and you can brew it. More information is available on their Web site, www.aerobrewing.com. Cheers! Loreley Hodkin is Auburn?s historian.