“Seeland Brewery (now being remodeled as a private residence) located at 1010 4th St. NE and listed on the local Heritage Trail #18. Seeland Brewery was the smaller of the 2 breweries located in the city. Christian Seeland of Baden, Germany established the brewery in 1859 and manufactured 650 barrels of lager beer annually. The brick home was erected in 1873 at a cost of $7,000. The brewery’s fine copper kettle had a capability of 25 barrels. There was a malt house and ice house, the latter holding 250 tons of ice. Mr. Seeland was born in 1822 and died in 1888. The other brewery was owned by John Wengert, which was situated on the west side of 3rd Ave. NE near the I.C. Railroad depot. Turned out 2000 barrels of beer annually. Mr. Wengert was born in Eglengen, Wurtemberg, Geremany Oct. 31, 1833. Came to America in 1854. Came to Independence in 1956. Established the Wengert Brewery and manufactured 2000 barrels of beer annually. An ad appeared in the Independence Conservative in 1877-1880 stating “the highest market price paid for barley”. Several different owners have tried to ‘dig out’ the caves under the house. Map from Sanborn Fire Co. indicated that the brewery was closed in 1882. 2020- Allerton Brewery owners: Lucas Gray & Brandon Mikel paying tribute to the Rush Park era of Independence, Iowa Brought another business to help enhance Independence downtown. Exposing the original brick wall as well as the original wood floor, and built a seating area, bar area, and the brewing room. The brewing room has a window so customers can see the brewing process and setup. 110 1st St. E, Allerton Brewing is starting out as a one-barrel system with 5 fermenters and will brew two or three batches each week. The brewery has standard beers available all of the time, including a Belgian single, an IPS, a Hefeweizen, a peanut butter stout, and a light beer.
