Spieth and Krug Brewery (Maxey Block)

Partners Jacob Spieth and Charles Krug founded Bozeman’s first brewery here along the banks of Sour Dough Creek in 1867, laboriously grinding the first grain in a coffee mill. This impressive Italianate style building replaced the original frame structure in 1882-1883 during the building boom that came with the railroad; its different colored bricks illustrate the scarcity of building materials.

Semicircular doorways, arched windows, and a fancy metal cornice preserve the 1880s appearance of this historic gem. The second-story hall hosted gala social events while the first floor served as an ice house. Grain was stored, washed, and fermented in the rear wing. Daniel Maxey, proprietor during the early 1890s, remodeled the building after the brewery closed circa 1895.

In 1945, the Bozeman Trades and Labor Council refurbished the long-unused second floor and it became known as Union Hall. The former brewery became John Bozeman’s Bistro in 1983. At the height of the Montana gold rush, Bozeman—the town’s namesake—established a dangerous shortcut from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to the diggings at Virginia City.