THE HISTORY OF CANTON BREWING CO.

Beginning in 1883

OTTO GIESSEN: BAVARIAN IMMIGRANT

The Canton Brewing Company was founded in 1883 by Otto Giessen from Bavaria, born in 1848. He was a bookkeeper when he first immigrated to Cleveland in 1865. He worked at a brewery in Akron and was replaced by Wilhelm Burkhardt when he came to Canton in 1873. He became partners with John Klopfenstein at Graber Brewery. Klopfenstein left the partnership a year later and founded Union Brewing Company. Giessen remained and operated Graber Brewery, later renamed Otto Giessen Brewery until it burned down in 1883. 

CANTON BREWING COMPANY

STARK-TUSCARAWAS BREWING COMPANY

In 1905, $3,000,000 was raised by the Stark-Tuscarawas Brewing Company to consolidate the Canton Brewing Company with the Dover Brewing Company, the New Philadelphia Brewing Company, the Massillon Schuster Brewing Company and the Stark Brewing Company into one. The new company's initial president was John Schuster and then in 1906 was taken over by John Rommel, William's thirty year old son. The overall capacity of this combined group was in excess of 100,000 barrels per year. 

CANTON BREWING COMPANY

CANTON BULLDOGS

One of these beers known as Cascade Beer named after the Cascade Hop, indigenous to Canton at the time, was the sponsor of Ralph Hay’s Canton Bulldogs the year prior to prohibition. It undoubtedly was the beer of choice in Ralph’s smoke filled dealership the night of September 17, 1920 when professional football was founded.