SARANAC BREWERY

A Brief History of the Matt Brewing Company Brewhouse Square, Utica, NYAs one of the few remaining great American regional breweries, the Matt Brewing Company has prospered at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Central New York for over a century. Under the leadership of the third (Nick) and fourth (Fred) generations of the Matt Family, the Brewery has earned the reputation as one of the most respected specialty brewers in the country, producing a variety of distinctive, flavorful beers.In 1885, young F.X. Matt I, a German-born immigrant, left a promising career at the famous Duke of Baden Brewery in the Black Forest region of Germany to travel to the United States with the determination and dream of owning his own brewery someday. After several years of brewing experience at the Bierbaur Brewery, F.X. Matt re-organized the faltering brewery to create The West End Brewing Company in 1888. Serving as both the star salesman and brewmaster, the brewery quickly became one of the largest and most successful of the 12 breweries operating in Utica at the time.