KEY CITY BREWING COMPANY

KEY CITY BREWING COMPANY. Begun in 1852 by Ignatz SEEGER, the company was first known as the City Brewery. The "stone brewery" was located outside the city limits but was well known to visitors coming to the city along South Locust. The 1868-69 Dubuque City Directory listed the address as the west side of Locust south of Dodge.

For several years, Seeger manufactured beer, cream-ale, porter, and varieties of malt liquor. He then sold part of his interest in the company to the DUBUQUE JOINT BREWING COMPANY for $24,000. This company, which included Seeger, then operated the brewery until 1872 when it was leased to Ambrose Gleed who continued the business as GLEED'S BREWERY until 1876 when the business closed.

In 1878 the brewery and its equipment was sold to John PIER. The brewery's capacity was ten barrels daily, most of which was sold in Dubuque and throughout the county. Six men were employed for a total cost of $70 per week. The company's annual revenue approached $20,000.

The brewery was located at 136 Main and owned by Marcuiro Pussatori (Mercurio "Michael" Pusateri) whose usual occupation was that of a retail fruit dealer. (2) Other employees of Key City Brewing included August Blum, brewmaster; M. Ernest Becker, bookkeeper; and Anton J. Kunnert, driver. (3)

Key City Beer was available before Thanksgiving in 1933, which was announced in an advertisement in Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

Key City Brewing did not survive as an enterprise. In 1937, according to that year's city directory, the building at 136 Main was listed as vacant, and Mercurio "Michael" Pusateri was again in the retail fruit business, operating under the name Dubuque Fruit Co. (5)

The only physical remains of the Key City Brewing Company in Dubuque is this cave.

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Source:

1. Old Breweries. Online: http://www.oldbreweries.com/breweries-by-state/iowa/dubuque-ia-17-breweries/key-city-brewing-co-inc-ia-93/

Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. http://books.google.com/books?id=u9xDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA656&lpg=PA656&dq=IGNATZ+SEEGER&source=bl&ots=0CltEGFT1z&sig=0-EBpRHW69k6MDYykhvWzxg6_QM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FuTgT5bXFOXo2gX28q2rCw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=IGNATZ%20SEEGER&f=false