× Expand Courtesy Griesedieck Brothers

Courtesy Griesedieck Brothers

The decade is ending with the return of one of the great names in St. Louis brewing history: Griesedieck Brothers Brewery, which recently launched production at 1240 Switzer Avenue, in the Baden neighborhood. The brand was last brewed in St. Louis in 1960.

Griesedieck Brothers has just started brewing on its 15-barrel system at its new north city facility. For now, the space will be used only as a brewing facility, but the brewery has plans to eventually add a tasting room. The company also sells three distilled spirits, which are currently bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky. That operation may be also moved to St. Louis in the future.

Courtesy Griesedieck Brothers

The Griesedieck family revived the brand in 2002, but it's been a long, slow road to return brewing operations to St. Louis. Griesedieck beers have been available locally, but since 2005, both draft and bottled beer production have been outsourced to Wisconsin-based Sand Creek Brewing Company. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported in 2011 that owner Ray Griesedieck and his son Bob had plans to restart brewing in St. Louis. In September 2016, the Griesediecks confirmed that the new brewery would be located at 1240 Switzer, but the original target launch of June 2017 came and went.

× Expand Courtesy Griesedieck Brothers

“We had a bit of renovation to take care of on the building’s interior, as we wanted to make sure our brewery has the ‘old brewery’ feel to it,” Ray Griesedieck said in a statement. “About this time last year, we were able to get steam, electrical, and water all hooked up and started truly testing the equipment this past summer.”

Initially, the brewery will produce Griesedieck Brothers’ Golden Pilsener and Unfiltered Bavarian-Style Wheat, but with that 15-barrel system, the menu of beers will expand soon.

Photo by George Mahe

The first Griesedieck brewery in St. Louis opened in 1878, but the family’s brewing associations go back to early-18th century Germany. By the mid-20th century, Griesedieck’s St. Louis operation included three major breweries: Griesedieck Brothers, Griesedieck Western (which produced Stag), and Falstaff. By the 1950s, though, the Griesedieck brand was in decline. As consolidation took hold of the beer industry nationwide in the 1950s, the brand was sold to Falstaff in 1957, before being retired in 1960. (Read more about the Griesedieck Brothers’ story in SLM contributor Chris Naffziger’s series on the history of Falstaff.)