Jacob Best

Who was Jacob Best?

Jacob Best, Sr. was a German-American brewer who founded what would later become known as the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, where he learned the trade and ran a small brewery in Mettenheim, Rhenish Hesse, until immigrating to Milwaukee in 1844 to join his sons.

In Milwaukee, Jacob Best founded a brewery on Chestnut Street Hill called Empire Brewery, which he ran with his sons, Phillip, Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz. Charles and Lorenz soon withdrew from the company, with Charles establishing the Plank Road Brewery. His daughter Margaretha married Mortiz Schoeffler, a prominent newspaper editor who founded The Wisconsin Banner. Empire Brewery produced 300 barrels in its first year of operation. The name was changed to Best and Company and became one of the most successful breweries in Milwaukee.

After Jacob, Sr. retired in 1853, Phillip and Jacob, Jr. continued operations as a partnership until eventually falling under the control of Phillip's daughter, Lisette Schandein, and son-in-law, Captain Frederick Pabst.