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Kaier’s Beer was brewed by The Charles D. Kaier Company in Mahanoy City, PA beginning in 1880 and closing its doors in 1968. Kaier was a German immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1857. By 1862, he had founded The Chas D. Kaier Co. in Mahanoy City, PA. What was initially a retail liquor business soon expanded into a successful brewery. They remained active during Prohibition, brewing both legal and illegal beer. During this time a legal drink could contain no greater than 0.5% alcohol by weight. By the early 1950’s Kaier’s was one of the largest breweries in Pennsylvania. In 1950, Kaier’s Beer won “The Star of Excellence” in Brussels, Belgium for the best beer in the American/Canadian beer category. The business was sold Philadelphia-based Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Co. in 1966. The new owners unfortunately closed their doors just two years later in 1968.

Permanent Collection