Indianapolis Brewing Company

Indianapolis Brewing Company (IBC) was a historic brewery based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Established in 1887 through the combination of three local brewing businesses—C. F. Schmidt Brewing Company, Casper Maus Brewery, and P. Lieber Brewing Company City Brewery—it became one of the most important brewing enterprises in the state. The P. Lieber property served as the company’s principal brewing site, while the merged operations continued to be associated with the IBC name. The company operated at a time when Indianapolis was developing into a major Midwestern industrial and transportation center. IBC produced a broad portfolio of beers, including lagers and branded offerings such as Derbey, Progress, Burgomaster, Pilsner Club, Indiana Club, Crown Select, Lieber’s Gold Metal Beer, Circle City, and Duesseldorfer. The Duesseldorfer brand was especially prominent in the company’s promotional history, receiving medals at the 1900 Paris Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. IBC also operated its own rail line, helping it distribute beer and supplies from its Indianapolis facilities. The company’s history was disrupted by Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, when the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages were broadly restricted in the United States, the brewery shifted its production toward non-alcoholic malt extracts and Ozotonic, a tonic-style beverage. These products allowed the business to continue operating, although they differed substantially from its traditional beer portfolio. Following the repeal of Prohibition, the company changed its corporate name to Indiana Breweries, Inc. in 1933 and restored the Indianapolis Brewing Company name in 1935. IBC ultimately failed in the post-Prohibition period. In 1948, company president Lawrence Barden was convicted in connection with under-filled beer bottles and received a prison sentence. The company subsequently went bankrupt and closed. The original brewery therefore remains a defunct historical business rather than a continuously operating beer producer. The Indianapolis Brewing Company name later acquired a legacy value independent of the original company. In 1990, Thomas W. Peters and Richard W. Harris of Nap Town Brewing Company purchased rights to the name from Ben Domont and used historic recipes and labeling in a revived brewing operation. The revived business was described as Indiana’s only microbrewery at the time and produced fewer than 15,000 barrels annually. In 2023, Sun King Brewing used the Indianapolis Brewing Company name for a limited-edition lager, presenting it as a revival connected to Indianapolis brewing history rather than as uninterrupted continuation of the 1887 company. Papers relating to the original company are held by the Indiana State Library.

Indianapolis Brewing Company was established in Indianapolis in 1887 through the merger of three local brewing enterprises: C. F. Schmidt Brewing Company, Casper Maus Brewery, and P. Lieber Brewing Company City Brewery. The combined company retained the Indianapolis Brewing Company name and operated the three businesses as breweries under a common corporate identity. Its principal production site was the former P. Lieber property. One of the merged businesses, C. F. Schmidt Brewery, traced its own origins to 1858, when Christian Frederick Schmidt and Charles Jaeger founded it. The brewery occupied a site later associated with Eli Lilly and Company’s headquarters and was known particularly for lager production. The C. F. Schmidt operation closed on May 27, 1920, coinciding with the beginning of the national Prohibition era. IBC expanded into a significant regional brewer and was described as the largest brewery in Indiana. Its distribution infrastructure included a company-operated rail line, an important asset for moving beer and materials in an era when rail transportation was central to industrial distribution. The brewery’s portfolio included numerous named beers, among them Derbey, Progress, Burgomaster, Pilsner Club, Indiana Club, Crown Select, Lieber’s Gold Metal Beer, Circle City, and Duesseldorfer. Duesseldorfer was the company’s most decorated beer, receiving medals at the 1900 Paris Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Prohibition forced IBC to alter its commercial model. From 1920 until repeal in 1933, the brewery concentrated on non-alcoholic malt extracts and Ozotonic, a tonic beverage, rather than its conventional beer business. After Prohibition ended, the company changed its name to Indiana Breweries, Inc. in 1933. It returned to the Indianapolis Brewing Company name in 1935, reconnecting the post-Prohibition business with the established local brand. The company’s later history ended in legal and financial trouble. In 1948, IBC president Lawrence Barden was convicted of under-filling beer bottles and imprisoned. The company went bankrupt following the case and closed that year. This makes 1948 the endpoint of the original brewery’s operating history. The brand name did not disappear entirely. In 1990, Thomas W. Peters and Richard W. Harris, associated with Nap Town Brewing Company on North Post Road in Indianapolis, bought the rights to the Indianapolis Brewing Company name from Ben Domont. They revived the name, labels, and historic recipes in a microbrewery context. The operation was identified at the time as Indiana’s only microbrewery and produced fewer than 15,000 barrels per year. This was a later use of the historical name, not evidence that the original 1887 company had remained continuously active. In 2023, Sun King Brewing again used the Indianapolis Brewing Company name for a limited-edition lager. The release emphasized local brewing heritage and introduced the name to a new generation of consumers. Records of the original company are preserved in the Indianapolis Brewing Company papers collection at the Indiana State Library.

1. 2023Sun King releases a limited-edition lager

   Sun King Brewing used the historic Indianapolis Brewing Company name for a limited-edition lager.

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2. 1990Brand rights acquired for a microbrewery revival

   Nap Town Brewing Company principals Thomas W. Peters and Richard W. Harris acquired rights to the historic name and revived its recipes and labels.

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3. 1948Bankruptcy and closure

   After the conviction of president Lawrence Barden in the bottle under-filling case, IBC went bankrupt and ceased operations.

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4. 1935Indianapolis Brewing Company name restored

   The business returned to the Indianapolis Brewing Company name.

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5. 1933Corporate name changed to Indiana Breweries, Inc.

   Following the end of Prohibition, the company adopted the Indiana Breweries, Inc. name.

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6. 1920Prohibition changes the product mix

   IBC shifted its focus to non-alcoholic malt extracts and Ozotonic during Prohibition.

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7. 1904Duesseldorfer receives recognition at the St. Louis World’s Fair

   The Duesseldorfer beer received another medal at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

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8. 1900Duesseldorfer receives a Paris Exposition medal

   IBC’s Duesseldorfer beer won a medal at the Paris Exposition.

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9. 1887Indianapolis Brewing Company established

   C. F. Schmidt Brewing Company, Casper Maus Brewery, and P. Lieber Brewing Company City Brewery were combined under the Indianapolis Brewing Company identity.

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10. 1858C. F. Schmidt Brewery founded

    Christian Frederick Schmidt and Charles Jaeger founded the C. F. Schmidt Brewery, one of the businesses later associated with Indianapolis Brewing Company.

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A major regional Indianapolis brewery and heritage beer brand, known historically for lager production, award-winning beers, statewide scale, and later revival-oriented use of its name.

• DuesseldorferBeer

  A prominent Indianapolis Brewing Company beer and the brewery’s most award-winning named product. Duesseldorfer received medals at the 1900 Paris Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, giving IBC an internationally documented record of recognition during the early twentieth century.

• Pilsner ClubBeer

  A named beer in IBC’s historical portfolio. It represented the company’s lager-oriented brewing range and was sold alongside other Indianapolis Brewing Company brands during the brewery’s operating period.

• Crown SelectBeer

  A historical branded beer produced by Indianapolis Brewing Company. Available product records identify it as one of the company’s named offerings, although detailed formulation and distribution information is not established in the supplied sources.

• Lieber’s Gold Metal BeerBeer

  A beer carrying the Lieber brewing heritage within the broader IBC portfolio. The name linked the product to the P. Lieber Brewing Company operation that became part of the 1887 combination.

• Circle CityBeer

  A historical Indianapolis Brewing Company beer whose name referenced Indianapolis’s Circle City identity. It was one of several branded beers produced by the brewery during its operating history.

• OzotonicNon-alcoholic beverage1920

  A tonic-style non-alcoholic beverage produced by IBC during Prohibition. Along with malt extract, it became part of the brewery’s principal product focus while ordinary beer production and sales were restricted.

• Non-alcoholic malt extractMalt beverage ingredient1920

  Malt extract was among IBC’s main Prohibition-era products. It provided the brewery with a legal alternative to its conventional alcoholic beer business between 1920 and 1933.

• Indianapolis Brewing Company limited-edition lagerBeer2023

  A 2023 lager released by Sun King Brewing under the historic Indianapolis Brewing Company name. The product functioned as a heritage revival connected to the original brewery rather than as a product of the defunct 1887 company.

• 2023Limited-edition heritage lager releaseProduct launch

  Sun King Brewing sought to connect a new beer release with Indianapolis’s historical brewing culture.

  What changed. Sun King released a limited-edition lager using the Indianapolis Brewing Company name.

  Aftermath. The release renewed public attention to the historic IBC brand and its local brewing legacy.

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• 1990Acquisition of historical brand rightsM&A

  The original brewery had been defunct since its 1948 bankruptcy.

  What changed. Thomas W. Peters and Richard W. Harris of Nap Town Brewing Company purchased rights to the Indianapolis Brewing Company name from Ben Domont and revived its recipes and labels.

  Aftermath. The name returned to the Indiana brewing market in a microbrewery setting.

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• 1935Return to the Indianapolis Brewing Company nameStrategy

  The company had operated under the Indiana Breweries, Inc. name since 1933.

  What changed. Management resumed use of the Indianapolis Brewing Company identity.

  Aftermath. The original company continued until bankruptcy and closure in 1948.

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• 1933Adoption of the Indiana Breweries nameStrategy

  After Prohibition ended, the company reorganized its public identity.

  What changed. The business changed its name to Indiana Breweries, Inc.

  Aftermath. The Indianapolis Brewing Company name was restored two years later.

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• 1920Shift to Prohibition-era non-alcoholic productsStrategy

  The introduction of national Prohibition restricted the brewery’s traditional alcoholic beer business.

  What changed. IBC concentrated on non-alcoholic malt extracts and Ozotonic instead of ordinary beer.

  Aftermath. The company continued operating during Prohibition, but the supplied sources do not quantify the financial effect of the change.

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• 1948Under-filled beer bottle convictionControversy

  IBC president Lawrence Barden was convicted in connection with under-filling beer bottles and imprisoned. The episode was followed by the company’s bankruptcy and closure.

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• 2023Sun King Brewing releases limited-edition Indianapolis Brewing Company lager

  Sun King Brewing revived the historic name for a limited-edition lager, drawing on Indianapolis’s brewing heritage and the legacy of the original company.

  Product launchCampaign
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• 1990Historic Indianapolis Brewing Company name revived by Nap Town Brewing Company

  Thomas W. Peters and Richard W. Harris acquired rights to the Indianapolis Brewing Company name and used historic recipes and labels in a microbrewery revival.

  OtherProduct generation
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1. Indianapolis Brewing Company
2. Indianapolis Brewing Company papers, Indiana State Library