Bob Smith of Culpepper Virginia 2009
We entertained six neighbors Saturday evening for a
Fauerbach event. As you can probably guess., the export and amber were huge
successes.
One gal, whose father owned a NYC Irish Pub, loved the export and her attorney husband, a former home brewer, couldn't say enough about the amber. Another couple, former UW Badgers, remembered the Fauerbach name and wished that you have a local distributor. Another neighbor, a former CIA agent, had to leave town and asked that I save a bottle of each for his return (which I did). We all agreed that you had an excellent product and have honored the Fauerbach tradition. It was clever of you to market the ice boat shirts as I can well remember the stories of the "Yellow Kid". That was a great photo of the steam locomotive at the brewery and, although I was quite young, I remember seeing it that way. I checked the roster of the C&NW RR for steam engine No. 143 and found that it had a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and was built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1890. It was a dual purpose (passenger and freight) loco used generally for light duty on branch lines. It had a life span of about 50 years so was probably scrapped right after WWII. The consensus was that we will reorder when we schedule our little special events, especially if the attendees will be Wisconsinites. Continued good fortune and may you experience heavy sales demand.
Bob Smith.
Dear Peter 4/13/2007
My husband Tom Esser started working for the Fauerbach Brewing Company in 1960. He had just returned from serving 6 months in the National Guard. He was offered a job with the brewery. His grandfather and father had owned a bar in Cross Plains and had Fauerbach on tap for many years. Shortly after starting, he was called up to service during the Berlin crisis, and was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington for a year. He was very grateful to the Fauerbach family for keeping his job open and was happy to return to begin a 42-year career selling Fauerbach beer and Pepsi Cola. The brewery sent many cases of beer on the train to Seattle with the troops. They were the only soldiers drinking Fauerbach in Seattle. After the brewery closed, he collected many souvenirs with the Fauerbach name. He enjoyed telling stories about his days working for the brewery. He would have enjoyed the rebirth of Fauerbach Beer.
Noreen Esser, Cross Plains, Wisconsin
 |
| Joseph Bossart, grandfather of contributor, Clayton Bossart |
Peter 4/6/2006
I started working with my dad in 1943, just out of 8th grade to help Dad on the delivery truck - the same age as he did. He took care of the horses then, so he must have seen his dad every day. The big difference was that he expected me to work and graduate from UW - which I did in Chemical Engineering.
I handled those monster kegs back then. As I remember, Fauerbach had a mixture of wooden and steel kegs in 1943, probably because they wanted to use those wooden kegs as long as they served purpose. Imagine that today! Both weighed about 200 in the 1/2 barrel size. Compared to 155 for aluminum. Both used some pitch inside. Wooden kegs were also water soaked to further prevent leakage.
We usually offloaded the kegs by guiding and dropping them as gently as one's strength allowed onto a bumper shaped pillow, usually made of heavy rope.
I vaguely remember some steel or wood kegs of full barrel size. The bars around the University preferred those: they sold a lot of tap beer! I did handle those 31 gallon steel kegs( about 310 pounds), when I was older.
Best Regards, Clay Bossart
Peter
I
can't
tell
you
how
much
I
enjoyed
your
online
presentation
of
the
Fauerbach
Brewery
history.
One
of
my
brothers
found
the
web
site
and
sent
me
an
email.
My
Father
worked
for
the
Fauerbach
Brewery
all
of
his
adult
life.
I
have
only
one
picture
of
him
at
work
so
your
web
site
is
very
informative
and
interesting.
I
remember
him
telling
us
about
the
ice
harvesting
and
I
believe
the
practice
was
later
followed
by
the
Oscar
Mayer
Co.
who
provided
the
ice
for
the
toboggan
slide
at
Olbrich
Park
on
Lake
Monona.
I
also
remember
my
husband
researching
ice
boating
when
he
became
interested
in
it
in
the
late
1960s.
Apparently
the
Fauerbach
Princess
was
quite
famous.
My
Father's
name
was
Odillo
Joseph
Schroeder
(O.J.)
and
he
remained
with
the
Pepsi
bottling
franchise
after
the
close
of
the
brewery
and
worked
till
he
was
75
in
1980.
He
was
always
very
proud
of
his
employment
at
Fauerbach
and
as
a
teenagers
we
were
very
'cool'
having
a
dad
working
at
Fauerbach
Brewery.
Thank
you,
your
work
on
this
web
site
is
very
much
appreciated.
Joy
Beck
______________________________________________________________________
Peter
I
remember
one
time
(I
was
13)
my
friends
and
I
climbed
up
to
the
roof
of
the
brewery
from
the
elevator
shaft
roof
and
we
were
caught
by
Karl
Fauerbach.
Karl
made
us
come
off
the
roof
and
explained
to
us
that
there
was
very
high
voltage
power
lines
up
there
and
we
could
be
killed.
He
did
not
call
the
police,
instead
he
gave
us
all
a
12
pack
of
Pepsi
from
the
place
next
door.
Or
was
it
an
8
pack?
I
remember
Karl
and
one
other
person
who
also
had
the
same
last
name
but
can't
recall
his
first
name.
But
I
do
remember
a
guy
named
Rusty
who
had
this
very
cool
wooden
boat
with
an
inboard
engine.
It
sounded
great.
He
used
it
to
get
back
and
forth
from
his
home
on
the
lakes
somewhere.
He
worked
on
ground
level
in
the
back
of
the
Brewery.
I
was
kicked
off
the
property
many
times
too.
But
I
loved
going
into
the
Pepsi
plant
when
they
were
bottling
it.
It
was
so
good
out
of
those
bottles.
Never
has
been
the
same
since
they
went
to
cans.
Never
got
any
beer
though,
didn't
like
it
then
and
still
don't.
But
Pepsi,
that's
a
different
story.
I
also
remember
the
guy
who
had
the
boathouse
next
door.
His
last
name
was
White.
Inside
the
brewery
was
the
best
looking
place
to
get
a
beer
that
I
ever
saw.
Even
though
I
never
got
a
chance
to
do
that.
I
miss
the
old
place.
It
sure
was
fun
to
fish
there
too.
I
lived
where
the
Elks
club
is
standing
now.
I
went
to
Central
High
school.
Say
"Hi"
to
Karl
and
ask
him
if
he
remembers
us
kids
on
the
roof.
Thanks
for
the
web
site.
Brings
back
good
memories.
Larry
Goad
Peter -
It was good to see your new website and view the images. I sure hope more images are forthcoming in the near future. Will keep checking your site to see. In 1957 your grandfather Karl hired me to work for the brewery but as a Pepsi Cola route salesman. I worked there for 18 years and made many good friends and have many fond memories. One thing that just came to mind was a sign your grandfather had posted in the drivers' check-in room. In order to understand the purpose and thought behind the sign,, it is important to be reminded that the brewmaster (then "Prib", Karl's oldest son) put all the short fills in a cooler in the old bar room every day and they were there for the taking for all employees whenever one had the urge for a beer. Many of us answered that urge with great frequency. Anyway this practice prompted your grandfather to post the following sign upstairs in the drivers check in room:
| Sign posted in the beer truck drivers' check-in room | |
|
"Regarding the free short-fills for the employees........... Nobody would criticize a person for wanting a little eye opener first thing in the morning. And a mid-morning break with a cold one is always a nice picker upper. And certainly the noon lunch tastes better when accompanied by a couple cold CB's. Then at mid-afternoon for your break a beer or two always goes good. And certainly at the end of a hard day's work you have earned the right to a couple before leaving for home. But this damn constant sip, sip, sip all day long has got to come to a halt !!" Karl Fauerbach
|
 |
Your great-uncle Dr. Louie was the last to run the Brewery as I remember. Your other great-uncle Bill worked in the office. They and your grandfather were all fine men. I count it as a privilege to have known them. It is a shame that great building had to come down. One can only imagine what an attraction it would be today with all it's ornate furnishings. What a spot it would have been for a micro-brewery, pub and restaurant !
Thanks for putting up such a nice tribute to your family and a great part of Madison's history.
Don Frye
Peter -
I am glad to hear you got a chuckle from the text of your grandpa's sign. Looking back a couple other memories come to mind. One is the gigantic urinals in the men's room off the bar room. They sure don't make them like that any more. You probably remember those, don't you ? Plus the beer taps on the giant keg behind the bar. And that beautiful mahogany bar. Perry Hibma ran a small marina just a ways down from the Brewery and when he thought the bar needed refinishing he would come by and sand it down and give it multiple coats of marine-grade varnish. Of course he could drink all the free CB he wanted from the short-fill cooler while he worked. So it seemed to need refinishing quite frequently!
Your grandfather had a maintenance man whose name was Roy Schott. He and your grandfather had a pretty close relationship. But old Roy had a bit of a downfall.
He liked to drink a little. (OK, old Roy liked to drink a lot.) And when he did he often became emboldened to the degree that he would give your grandfather a piece of his mind and summarily tell him just what he thought of him....in which wasn't always in the kindest manner. Your grandfather would then fire him on the spot. But old Roy would always show up for work the next day anyway and your grandfather would always re-hire him. This was a regular ritual and went on for years and was a source of amusement to us all.
Your website mentions the ice-boating. It was your great uncle Bill that was the ice boater back then, wasn't it ? And if memory serves me, your grandfather had two sons...Karl Jr. who we knew as "Prib" and Donald whose nickname was "Louie".
Another memory is the Fauerbach Cherokee Marsh cottage. We would have summer events there and make steaks on the big outdoor fireplace with the big steel grill built right into the masonry work. That was before there were Weber-type and gas grills. Those were great times and great T-bones !! And I seem to recall that one or more of the rooms of the Fauerbach cottage had oak paneling the was salvaged from the old Brewery beer vats when they were replaced with the more "modern" copper ones. Does your family still have that cottage? (Today the property is a Madison City Park. The Cottage is the Caretaker's home.)
Saturdays were not usually a work day. But some of us would come in anyway. There would always be plenty of ring baloney sliced up on the bar along with crackers, Dusseldorf mustard and of course CB beer. Other regulars that would drop by for this breakfast ritual included Don Schmidt from channel 15, Ardun Pope from the Dane County sheriff along with any number of off-duty Dane County police officers. It was a nice way to get together with a great bunch of good guys.
Best regards, Don Frye
From G. Forbes
Subject: Some childhood memories and the Fauerbach Brewery
It was 1938. My parents, my brother, and I lived on Jennifer Street
only 3 or 4 houses North of the brewery on the lake. When the weather
permitted, I would grab my 6 or 7 foot cane pole equipped with an equal
length of fish line and a homemade fly and walk to the edge of Lake
Monona behind the brewery. I would step into the lake that was about
waist deep on me (about 2ft). I would "cast" my fly out
into the lake and as often as not, a fish ended up on my stringer.
Now, you need to understand, we lived on the lake and I could just as
easily fished from the dock behind our house. But, this spot behind the
brewery was special. It was right at the exit of the tunnel used to
carry the wash water used to clean the brewing kettles between batches.
It was warm and contained beer residue and heaven only knows what else,
and the fish seem to love it.
Let me digress a moment and describe my lure. I was 8 years old and not experienced in anything, really, and certainly not fly tying. I made it from a couple pieces of white chicken feather, a hook, obviously, and some black and some white thread. I must have done it right because, every time I went fishing I came home with my stringer so full I had to carry it around my neck on my shoulders to bear the weight and to keep the fish from dragging on the pavement. (And, that is Not A Fish Story).
Now, back to the fishing. You couldn't keep a spot this productive a secret, so I always had to compete with 5 or 6 adults for a spot. They must have been well heeled, because I recall they all had waders, and some really nice store bought fishing gear. There were some Regulars that would move aside to let me have "my spot". I don't know if they were being generous or if they wanted to see if they could out fish me. Most of the time their dreams were dashed by this little 8 year old. I only recall one time when anyone of them caught more than I did.
I didn't have a feel for money at age 8, but I look back on those Depression days when I was frequently offered, and declined, $5.00 for my fly, Little did I realize that, at that time, $5.00 was, to many, nearly a week's pay. But I just couldn't part with my lucky fly any more than I could part with my lucky 'shooter' marble. Even at that age, I had scruples.
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