Our Story

Our roots date back to the original St. Croix Brewing Company founded in the winter of 1858 by Gerhard Knips in Stillwater. The brewery was located on the north end of the city adjacent to Minnesota’s first courthouse and capitol building, the Tamarack House. Like many early pioneer breweries of the valley, it served the local loggers of the area. The brewery experienced several years of success. As Stillwater grew, the Brewery was sold and, ultimately, ceased operations in 1877.

During the following decades, the building was used for various mercantile interests, most notably as a tavern. In 1935, it was razed to make room for the Highway 95 realignment. Today, an historic marker on the sealed cave entrance of the original St. Croix Brewing Company memorializes the brewery site and the Tamarack House.

In 1995, a local homebrewer unearthed and revived the brewery as the St. Croix Beer Company. He kicked off the exciting rebirth with the brewery’s inaugural beer, an American original called St. Croix Maple Ale.

In 2003, Tod Fyten purchased the St. Croix Beer Company and renamed it the St. Croix Brewing Company, a nod to its namesake.

In the summer of 2014, as a 25-year wedding anniversary gift, Tod gave the brewery to his wife, Madeline. The next year, she purchased the historic Brunswick House on Chestnut Street in downtown Stillwater, thereby saving the city’s oldest standing building from potential ruin.

Since purchasing the building, Madeline and Tod have been transforming the 172-year-old building into a 21st century taproom brewery. Check out their work here.