In January, August Schell's Brewing Company kicked off what will be a yearlong celebration of their 150th anniversary.They stand alone in south central Minnesota today.But at their advent, they were but one brewing-fish in a massive sea of beer.Including six simultaneously in Mankato alone.Winston Grundmeier says, "Breweries began, almost at the outset of Mankato history. In fact, from 1857, which is 5 years after Mankato was founded, the first brewery was made by William Bierbauer. He claimed and I think this is close to the truth - the first brewery West of the Mississippi River."In the 1850s, towns and cities throughout Minnesota reached the point where breweries could become profitable. And there were a lot of them.More than fifty separate breweries came into existence at this stage of the region's development, and many of them had multiple ownership groups and name changes over the years.Win Grundmeier says, "Everybody seemed to get in on the act because it was easy to do. If you want to stay on a small scale, you could do that."One of those was August Schell, who made his way West after his family emigrated from Germany.He set up shop in the Cottonwood River valley, and four generations later, his offspring would continue down the same path.Ted Marti says, "Way back your territory was defined by how far a horse and a wagon could drag your kegs."While traveling between New Ulm and Mankato, you may have stumbled into the Crow Bar in Courtland. Now this bar actually used to be owned by Schell's Brewing company - part of a vertical integration strategy - control production, distribution, even the point of sale.And that's the way it had to be - because back in the 1800s, this (hold up ice cube) was an absolute commodity."Marti says, "The early years, the tavern business was almost 100%."With few exceptions, beer is preferred cold. But refrigeration in the home was still half a century from reality, meaning if you wanted a frosty mug, you needed to go to a local tavern.The isolated nature of Minnesota's early years that sustained so many breweries would not last for long. But new technology and the development of more sophisticated roadways were mere speed bumps compared to the roadblock that was coming ahead.Ted Marti says, "Even the 10 years or so before Prohibition started we could already see the tavern business declining - tougher and tougher.It may have been the dawn of the 20th century, but for the brewing industry, it was more like the sun was setting. For some, it would be permanent.