Colorado Breweries History: Walter Brewing Walter Brewing came from Pueblo Brewery that had changed hands at least sixteen times in the thirty years before 1898. The Pueblo based brewery had gone through many changes since Martin Walter had, in a sense, inherited all the tradition and experience of previous Pueblo brewers. He began the company in 1898, on the heels of the Spanish American War. The company faced several small recessions during its existence of three quarters of a century. The closing of the plant during Prohibition (both state and federal) was after 1915. Onset of the seventies marked the beginning of the end. Even though awarded the "Gold Award" in 1956 and the "Excellence of Quality" award in 1972 by the Brewers Association of America, the company was to experience the same fate as other brewers around the nation. Falling on hard times for several reasons, the company slowed. From a high of 400 major brewers in the U.S. in 1949, only about 115 had survived. The demise of a major corporation within any industry can seldom be attributed to one single factor. Rather, like other economic phenomena, many causes may be found. The Walter Brewing Company closed its doors for the last time on January 3, 1975.