There seems to be some debate as to exactly when Frank Hahne came to DuBois and broke ground 
on his own facility. One source claims 1898, another 1897. It seems most likely that this occurred 
between April and the end of 1896. It was on April 16, 1896, that the DuBois Weekly Courier reported:
"Some new developments in connection with the brewery may be looked for in the near future." 
 
There were a number of reasons Hahne chose the DuBois site for his facility, but the most frequently 
cited was the excellence of the water supply. He purchased 2300 acres surrounding the local reservoir 
to protect the watershed from pollution.  
 
By 1906, the brewery had four products on the market: DuBois Wurzburger, Hahne's Export Pilsener, 
DuBois Porter and DuBois Budweiser. The Budweiser name would be at the center of controversy for 
60 years between DuBois Brewing and Anheuser-Busch.  
 
The DuBois brands soon traveled far and wide for a brewery of it's size; ranging up to 150 miles away 
and selling well in Buffalo, Erie and Pittsburgh. The brewery's 300 barrel kettle was kept busy churning
out brands, while the left-over grain materials were pressed and sold for cattle feed and grist mills in 
the rural areas surrounding DuBois. 
 
As with many other American breweries, DuBois Brewing moved right along until 1918 and the 
advent of Prohibition. The brewery shifted production to "near beer", soft drinks and opened H&G 
Ice Company. The ice house still stands and shows the significant date of 1919.  According to the April 7,
1933 DuBois Courier the brewery won the honor of being one of only two breweries in the entire nation
that had never violated or been suspected of violating the Prohibition laws since the 18th amendment 
became effective. As a result, DuBois Brewing Company was issued license number G-2 allowing them 
to resume brewing immediately on Repeal. Other breweries had to wait varying periods as a form of 
punishment. On the first day of beer production, DuBois products sold at between 10 and 15 cents per 
pint bottle. A glass at local taverns was 10 cents. 
 
Frank Hahne passed away in 1932 and the brewery was passed to his son Frank Jr. Frank Jr. was the 
only son. He had a son who died  in infancy denying the family an heir. The tragedy of this was not 
realized until 1967. Frank Hahne Jr. sold the brewery to Pittsburgh Brewing in 1967. 
 
The new owners of the Budweiser name reportedly "settled" with Anheuser-Busch to the tune of a 
$1 million dollar profit for Pittsburgh Brewing. Five years later, in May of 1972, the brewery was 
closed forever. Leaving 100 workers out of a job. I'll bet they don't drink much Iron City in DuBois 
to this day.  And I'll bet I know why.
 
Web publised by Dan Morean, http://www.breweriana.com.