F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company factory photographs

The F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company was established in 1842 by brothers Frederick and Maximilian Schaefer. Natives of Prussia (now part of Germany), Frederick and Maximilian immigrated to the United States in 1838 and 1839, respectively. Frederick began working for a brewer in Manhattan and by 1842 the brothers were able to buy the small brewery where Frederick worked. With Schaefer Beer, the brothers introduced lager to the United States. Schaefer beer was brewed in Manhattan until Maximilian's son, Rudolph J. Schaefer, assumed presidency of the company and built a modern factory in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The new factory, completed circa 1916, was located between the East River, Kent Avenue, South Ninth Street, and South Tenth Street. As the company grew, it acquired or built factories in Albany, N.Y., Cleveland, Baltimore, and Allentown, PA. The Brooklyn factory was closed in 1976. The company was acquired by Stroh Brewery Company in 1981, which in turn was acquired by Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.