New York Breweries History: Matt Brewing Company (West End Brewing Company)
The West End Brewing Company was founded by F.X. Matt in 1888 in Utica, New
York on a site that had previously been the location of the Charles Bierbauer Brewery.
During Prohibition, the brewery survived by producing soft drinks, malt syrup, malt
tonic, extracts, etc. The Utica Club name dates from this period, when it was used
for a line of soft drinks.
Returning to brewing real beer after Prohibition the brewery's flagship
brand became Utica Club, a name that it had adopted for its soft drink line.
Around 1950, it acquired the rights to the Fort Schuyler brand from its local rival,
Utica Brewing Company. Still family owned by the Matt family, it has also used the
F.X. Matt Brewing Company name. West End survived the nationwide brewing
consolidation of the 1960s and 70s by providing quality products to retain its
regional customer base and by brewing private label and generic brands to use
excess capacity. For example, F.X. Matt Brewing was one of four regional brewers that
produced the short-lived "Billy Beer", honoring presidential sibling Billy Carter,
in the late-1970s.
Matt Brewing Company has now repositioned itself as a craft brewery, with
it's diverse Saranac brands being widely distributed throughout the east and highly
regarded. Matt Brewing also still brews the original Utica Club.
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