Still under Heileman's direction, the company remained a local brewery, producing only 3,000 barrels of beer a year for La Crosse and the surrounding community.

Prohibition was signed into law officially on January 17, 1920, making it illegal to produce any beverage with more than half a percent of alcohol.

Heileman also began producing soda beverages and "malt tonics" with very little success – the company only sold 20,000 barrels in 1926.

The company finally hit success with their production of barley malt syrup, legally sold as a sweetener but which they made with the intention of consumers using it in private beer-making.

[8] The company continued to squeak by until President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Congress modified the meaning of the 18th Amendment by removing beer and light wines from the Federal Government's definition of "alcoholic beverages", after which Heileman resumed all beer-making operations.

Previously, marketing campaigns stressed the quality of their products, but with the influx of labels, Heileman began focusing on the prices and consumer appeal.

He developed the strategy that Heileman would follow for the next three decades: While a fire in 1959 caused over $100,000 in damages, and almost derailed Kumm's efforts, the company stayed on track.

[17] Historic U.S. brewing names that were consolidated into G. Heileman during its final years include Black Label, Blatz, Blitz-Weinhard, Drewry's, Falls City, Grain Belt, Gluek Brewing, National Bohemian, Olympia, Rainier, Christian Schmidt, Jacob Schmidt, and Wiedemann.

[20] The total brewing capabilities of Heileman, combined with acquired facilities, peaked at fourth place in 1983, behind Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Stroh Brewery Company.

Heileman's management repeatedly rebuffed his efforts, but Bond was ultimately successful when Cleary accepted the reality that even with the assistance of the courts (which had intervened to force a higher offer price) he'd only be able to negotiate the "best possible deal for employees, stockholders, and the city of La Crosse".

The collapse of Bond's over-leveraged financial empire led indirectly to the end of Heileman's existence as an independent brewer.

[24] As a direct result of the Alan Bond collapse, the G. Heileman Brewing Company declared bankruptcy in January 1991.

Catholic priest Father Michael Pfleger took a leading role in opposing Power Master, helping to organize a threatened boycott of one of Heileman's well established malt liquor brands, Colt 45, which, at the time, had an alcohol percentage of 5.6%.

The Colt 45 boycott was called off in July 1991 when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives succeeded in persuading Heileman to pull the "Power Master" brand from the market.

Two years later it sold Heileman to Detroit-based competitor Stroh Brewery Company, which assumed its outstanding debt.

[citation needed] Throughout Kumm and Cleary's tenures as company president and CEO, they went on a campaign of acquisition and consolidations, resulting in Heileman's purchase of 16 breweries through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Heileman purchased the trademarks for Golden Leaf in 1899, and to complement their lighter beer, the company created The Old Times Lager in 1900.

Throughout Kumm and his predecessor's terms as president, the brand was popular throughout Wisconsin, the Chicago metro area, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, and North Dakota.

[34] Heileman's history with King Gambrinus goes back to 1939 when the company purchased a 15-foot, 2,000 pound statue of the figure from a failing brewery in New Orleans for $100.

[citation needed] The company commissioned a second statue of the King in the late 1970s, contracting local artist Elmer Petersen to create an eight-foot bronze.

[citation needed] The original statue was vandalized in early 2015, so the City Brewery replaced it with an exact replica in September 2016.

Its flagship brewery in La Crosse is owned and operated by the City Brewing Company, which purchased it from Pabst in 1999.

It does not have ownership rights over the intellectual property, including beer brand names, associated with the G. Heileman Brewing Company.

In 1969 designer Roy Wilson and the G. Heileman Brewing Company constructed a set of metal tanks adjacent to their La Crosse brewery holding a total of 22,220 barrels of beer.

The metal tanks were each outfitted with a new vinyl plastic sheath that resembles a modern, retail Old Style aluminum "tall boy" can.