Frederick Pabst

[2] Frederick soon gave this up, however – because he had enjoyed his voyage to America, he decided to become a cabin boy on a Lake Michigan steamer.

[2] In this capacity, he met Phillip Best, the owner of a small but prosperous brewery founded by his father, Jacob Best, in 1844 in Milwaukee.

[2] For the next year and a half, Pabst continued to ply the waters of Lake Michigan as a ship's captain, until an accident in December 1863 led to a change in career.

After obtaining a thorough mastery of the art of brewing, Pabst turned his attention to extending the market for the beer, and before long, had raised the output of the Best brewery to 100,000 barrels a year.

In 1889, Pabst spent $30,000 to take advantage of prime shoreline along Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin's unique location, just north of the city of Milwaukee, by developing a popular lakeshore resort, which he called the Pabst Whitefish Bay Resort.

As many as 10,000 visitors came to the resort on a summer day by horse and buggy, railroad, trolley, or excursion steamer, to enjoy the scenic view, to ride the Ferris wheel, attend daily concerts (double concerts on Sunday), rent row boats, watch outdoor movies, drink Pabst's beer, and dine on fine fare, including five types of whitefish netted daily in the adjoining bay.

During some festivals (e.g., World's Fair in Chicago), Pabst placed a blue ribbon around his Best beer (named after founder Phillip Best), so it would stand out among the others.

[4][5][6] Five survived to adulthood: Elizabeth (von Ernst, 1865-1891),[7] Gustave (1866–1943), Marie (Goodrich, 1868–1947), Frederick, Jr. (1869–1958), and Emma (Nunnemacher, 1871–1943).