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Description
Pictured in circa 1900, at the northeast corner of 12th and H streets, is the City Brewery. It was established in 1856 by German expatriates Wilhelm Borchers and Benedict Hilbert. The two-story structure was made of brick, rested on a lot measuring 80 by 160 feet, and possessed a 40-by-80-foot cellar for cooling what was almost exclusively lager-style beer. The brewery rode Sacramento's lust for lager and, by 1858, was producing nearly 800 gallons of beer per week. The City's profile increased considerably after an 18-year-old Swiss man named Frank Ruhstaller became foreman at the City Brewery in 1865. On his watch, the brewery increased output over a 10-year period, from 15 barrels a day to a remarkable 65. In time, he would start his own brewing label and, in 1897, become the majority shareholder in the once-competing Buffalo Brewery.
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