Electric City Brewing Co. aka Helf Bros. Brewing Co. aka Regenfuss Brewing Co. aka Mellow Brew Brewing Co. 729 Desnoyer St., Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Trade Names for the Brewery at 729 Desnoyer St., Kaukauna, Wisconsin:
(John) Helf & (Charles H.) Ristau, City Brewery (729 Desnoyer St) 1893-1897
Helf Bros. Brewing Co. (John & Peter) 1897-1902
Peter Helf 1902-1906
Regenfuss Brewing Co. (North Kaukauna) 1906-1920
Granted permit L-53 for producing de-alcoholized beer during Prohibition
Regenfuss Brewing Co. 1920-1933
Granted brewery permit WIS-U-702A in 1933
Electric City Brewing Co., 1933-1947
aka: Mellow Brew Brewing Co. 1939
Closed in 1947

This is a minor updated history taken from excerpts of a “The Breweriana Collector” Summer 1996 article and used with the authors Michael Francis’ permission. Much thanks goes out to Michael Francis for all of his brewriana shared.

Early Kaukauna Brewing History
In 1885, Michael Kline sold his interests in his father’s flour mill and with the assistance of his partner, Adam Hiltz, built the first brewery in what was then known as South Kaukauna. The brewery had a capacity of 120 barrels per month, and was erected at an expense of about $5,000. Later that year Kline and Hiltz leased the brewery to Jacob and John Helf. The Helf brothers purchased it in 1889 for $3,500 and remodeled and greatly expanded the plant, also known as the Kaukauna Brewery, to a production capacity of 5,000 barrels of beer annually.
Jacob Helf took on a new partner by the name of John Brill in 1893, to help with the southside brewery, after his brother John Peter left the partnership to build a new brewery on the northside of town with his new partner Charles Ristau. This period of having two operating independent breweries in Kaukauna lasted less than two years. On August of 1895, the Helf and Brill brewery was destroyed by fire. Helf and Brill immediately began rebuilding their brewery on the same site. Although substantially smaller than the previous brewery, the new plant had the same production capacity.

After the new brewery was finished, Jacob and John Helf bought out their partners and formed the Helf Brothers Brewing Company. Both the north and southside breweries were part of this corporation, but as part of the agreement between the brothers, once the southside brewery was back in operation, only the malt house was operated at the northside location.

The Helf Brothers Brewing Company lasted until June 1902 when Jacob and John once again dissolved their partnership and operated their own independent breweries. John Helf restarted the northside brewery with an annual capacity of 3,000 barrels, and built a bottling house at the site. This brewery was also known as the City Brewery. In 1906 John Helf sold the City Brewery to John Regenfuss for $8,300 and moved to Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Jacob Helf operated the southside brewery, known once again as the Kaukauna Brewery, until his death in 1908. Jacob Helf’s widow continued brewing until 1912, when the property was sold back to Jacob’s former partner John Brill. The brewery building was razed shortly thereafter. The property then passed back to Michael Kline, one of the original owners of the southside brewery and became part of his dairy farm.

Regenfuss Brewing Company
Previous to purchasing the old city brewery from J.P. Helf, John Regenfuss worked for the Walter Brewing Company of Menasha, and was therefore quite familiar with brewing industry. He and his brother Jacob formed the Regenfuss Brewing Co. in 1906 with $20,000 of capital stock. The officers of the company were: John Regenfuss, president; his brother Jacob, vice-president; his wife Mary secretary-treasurer. Under the Regenfuss ownership, the old brewery underwent almost constant enlargement and modernization. By 1910, the brewery’s capacity had increased from 3,000 barrels to more than 8,000 barrels annually, and by the time Prohibition started in 1920, capacity was up to 15,000 barrels and provided employment for more than 10 families.

1910 saw the introduction of Pearl Foam Beer, the Regenfuss Brewery’s first name brand. Its slogan was “The Beer That Makes You Smile.” Pearl Foam was originally the brewery export brand while Regenfuss Beer was sold locally. This changed in 1915 with the introduction of Muenchener Kind’l Brau export beer, the second and last name of Regenfuss. From then on, Pearl Foam was known as the local table beer, while Muenchener Kind’l Brau was elevated to the level of fancy export. The Regenfuss Brewing Co. survived Prohibition by using the brewery to produce near beer, soft drinks, and malt. John Regenfuss ran the corporation until his retirement in 1929 due to ill health. His daughter Marie managed the plant until the brewery was sold in April 1933 to Theodore Oudenhoven and Arthur Jones. John Regenfuss never lived to see the resumption of brewing in Kaukauna. He died in 1932 at the age of 73.

Electric City Brewing Company
Immediately upon taking possession of the old brewery, the new owners began the enormous task of remodeling and enlarging the plant. A crew of 15 men worked until early August getting the plant ready to operate. On August 3, 1933 after receipt of its federal permit, the old Regenfuss Brewing Co. began the manufacture of its first beer in nearly 14 years.

Before Septeber 1, when public sales of beer were due to begin, Jones and Oudenhoven decided that the change in its ownership necessitated a name change as well to Electric City Brewing Company. Kaukauna had been known for many years as the Electric City because of its early use of hydroelectric power.
The first brand name introduced by the Electric City Brewing Co. was a resurrection of Regenfuss’ Pearl Foam Beer, chosen because it carried name recognition within the community. Pearl Foam was only produced until 1934 when Electric City Lager was introduced. This brand was a local favorite because of the use of the Electric City name, as well as the attractive lightning bolt design for its advertising that even now is still associated with the City of Kaukauna.

The brewery’s management want to expand the sales territory beyond the confines of the Kaukauna area, so in 1936 the Electric City Brewery attempted to develop a brand that would have a wider appeal than one simply named for the brewery’s home city. Their first try was with Bohemian Style Brew. Little is known about this short-lived brand. No labels or advertising, except for one newspaper ad announcing its introduction, is known to exist.
In late 1936, Electric City introduced what would become its mainstay for the remaining 11 years of operation – Mellow Brew Beer. This beer not only found a market in the Kaukauna area but also as far north as Antigo, along the lakefront of Lake Michigan, as well as in Milwaukee. Due to Mellow Brew’s success, further expansion was needed at the brewery to satisfy the demand of these new markets. Over the next 10 years, the brewery was continually expanded in a building program that would eventually increase the brewery’s capacity to almost 40,000 barrels.
Arthur Jones with a group of other investors bought out Theodore Oudenhoven’s share of the Electric City Brewing Co. in 1940. Although several others are listed as corporate officer in the 1941 Kaukauna City Directory, by 1943 Arthur Jones was the sole officer, manager and owner, having bought out the other investors as well.

Mellow Brew Goes To War
With the start of U.S. involvement in World War II, the Electric City Brewery found yet another market to sell its product. As the war progressed, more and more of its beer was sent to towns surrounding military bases throughout the U.S. This meant that progressively less product was available for the local markets, causing resentment from the local community. Electric City introduced Kaukauna Lager in 1942 to try to satisfy the local demand. Supplies to local taverns were so restricted, however, that most taverns were usually out of Kaukauna Lager shortly after delivery. The brewery promised that after the war Mellow Brew would return to Kaukauna, providing enough beer to satisfy everyone’s demands. In 1943, Electric City introduced its last brand Pilsener Club. Because the local resentment towards the brewery, most ads for Electric City simply listed the brand name and where it was available for purchase, without identifying the brewery.

A New Owner
In 1946, with WWII winding down, Arthur Jones sold ownership of the Electric City Brewing Co. to Richard Hansen (W. R. Hansen) of Birmingham, Alabama. Arthur Jones was retained as the manager to operate the brewery for its new out-of-state owner. Little else is known about Hansen, except for court records stating that he was living in Muskegon, Michigan during bankruptcy proceedings in 1947. At war’s end Kaukauna eagerly awaited the return of Mellow Brew Beer. Hansen however, continued to ship most of the brewery’s production to the military bases that had been so profitable for the brewery during the war.

With the military markets finally drying up, Mellow Brew Beer returned to the Kaukauna market in 1947, but it was too late. Increased competition, as well as local resentment towards the brewery, led to bankruptcy proceeding in June 1947. Reorganization was not deemed possible because of limited market share. In January 1948, the brewery and its equipment were sold at auction, bringing an end to almost 60 years of brewing in Kaukauna.

The Brewery Today
What remained of the brewing equipment after the auction was sold for scrap in the 1950s when the building was used by various companies for warehousing and light industrial purposes. The building has changed hands several times since then and is presently used by a mechanical contracting firm.

The majority of the former brewery buildings are still intact. The brewery office, bottling house, and brew house are still recognizable from the exterior. The interiors of the buildings, however, have been remodeled several times by the various companies using the building., leaving little indication that it once was used as a brewery. The only obvious sign of the long brewing history of this site is the now faded Mellow Brew Beer sign painted on the side of the former brew house.

Products:
Christmas Beer 1941- 1947

Electric City Lager Beer 1933 – 1936

Mellow Brew Beer 1936 – 1947

Pearl Foam Beer 1933 – 1934

Bock Beer 1940 – 1947

Kaukauna Lager Beer 1942 – 1947

Mellow Brew Beer Xmas Brew 1936 – 1947

Pilsener Club Beer 1943 – 1947

Bohemian Style Brew 1936