One of the oldest breweries in Wisconsin, Potosi started in 1852 to quench the thirsts of local miners. Ownership of the brewery changed hands several times and Potosi was fortunate to survive the Prohibition era. The Brewery eventually closed in 1972 due to swiftly changing market conditions.
In 1980, the brewery buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1995 local artist and woodworker Gary David and his cousin Denis David bought the brewery buildings for the cost of back taxes with the goal of restoring them.
Five years later in 2000, renovation efforts expanded to involve the entire community with the establishment of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Potosi Brewery Foundation, modeled after the philanthropic Newman’s Own Foundation.
In 2004, the Potosi Brewery Foundation received a major boost to its redevelopment efforts when the brewery was chosen by the American Breweriana Association (ABA), an organization of beer historians, collectors, and preservationists, to be the home of the National Brewery Museum.
2008 was the year the beer started flowing again largely in part to the local volunteers supporting the brewery’s business model, noting that “the organization is volunteer-driven and it would not likely have the impact it has had without those efforts.”
In 2015 Potosi opened its new state-of-the-art production facility and unveiled its new branding that both celebrates Potosi's past and looks boldly towards the future.
