Inside the Abandoned Calumet Brewing Company, Keweenaw Peninsula
When the Miswald Brothers Brewery in Ontonagon burned down in 1899, local businessmen realized they better get another brewery built to satisfy the thirsty miners and lumberjacks in the western part of the Upper Peninsula. Thus, the Calumet Brewing Company was established.
The new brewery’s plans were announced in October 1899 when seven lots in Lake View were purchased. Ground was broken on October 25, 1899 and construction began the following month. What I liked about it was,they were able to tap into the Tamarack water works and use water from Lake Superior. On January 11, 1900, construction was finished.
The company also built a residence building for employees (employee count: 13); with on-site living for employees, they started cranking out the brew, beginning on May 22, 1900. These first brewing attempts were enjoyed by the staff, and the first market brew appeared in June.
Calumet beer boasted as being "free of all injurious drugs" with "the ingredients are all pure". The Calumet brews were extremely popular and up to 20,000 barrels per year were made. With more and more business, in 1907 the company had to construct two new buildings.
With such extreme popularity and sales, why did it go belly-up in 1923?
You can thank – or blame – Prohibition. When it commenced in Michigan on May 1, 1918, the brewery made an attempt to stay alive by brewing near-beer until April 1919. They switched to making and soft drinks until the company officially called it quits on August 13, 1923.
Today, the ruins have wisely been saved and are visible along Tamarack Waterworks Road in the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Abandoned Calumet Brewing Company