Franz Otto Berliner Weissbier Brauerei

Business Type: Brewery (NY 458 a,b)

Years of Operation: 1872 to 1890

Location: (Multiple) 155 Eldridge Street & 58 East 4th Street, Manhattan

Description: Franz Otto was a brewer of Weiss Beer located on the Lower East Side / Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan. Otto started brewing in the early 1870’s at the location listed above on Eldridge Street under the business name “Franz Otto Berliner Weissbier Brauerei” this can help explain the type of beer produced (Berliner-Style Weisse). According to American Breweries II (Van Wieren, D. P. 1995) Otto’s brewery changed location in 1875, moving a few blocks north to 58 E. 4th St. At this point the brewery name was simplified to “Franz Otto”. The brewery continued operating under this name until 1890 when a relative Hugo Otto took over changing the name to “H.M. Otto“.