A decade or so after Joseph Naper’s 1831 founding of Naper’s Settlement (soon to be incorporated as Naperville), events thousands of miles away influenced demographic change in the community. Political and economic instability in Germany prompted mass emigration to the United States in general and to DuPage County in particular.
Germans like their beer, and Jacob Englefriedt established a brewery in Naperville in the early 1840s. Peter Stenger settled in Naperville in 1848, and shortly afterward bought Englefriedt’s brewery. As Stenger’s young sons Nicholas and John grew to adulthood, they assumed an ever-growing role in managing the family business. The business expanded and thrived, supplying lager as far north as Elgin and as far south as Ottawa.
By 1869, Peter and Nicholas had died, leaving John to run the brewery by himself, so it was fortuitous when a 22-year-old German immigrant with some brewery experienced showed up looking for work. John Stenger was immediately impressed with the young man’s attitude and knowledge of the brewing business, and hired him as a foreman.
The ambitious young man came from Central Germany. He’d begun his career at age 14 as business apprentice in a German brewery. At age 21, to avoid conscription in the Prussian army, he stowed away on a ship bound for Baltimore. For the next year he worked variously as a bricklayer, stone cutter, and excavator before appearing at Stenger’s brewery in Naperville.
The young man did so well the Stenger soon promoted him to General Brewery Superintendent, effectively the Brewmaster, and groomed him to ultimately take over full operation of the family business. That likely eventuality fit perfectly with the young man’s long-nurtured ambition to operate his own brewery.
John Stenger had several daughters, three of whom were at or near "courtin' age." According to legend, it was Stenger’s intention that the young brewmaster would marry one of the daughters, thus ensuring the business would stay in the family. That didn’t happen, either the young man had no romantic interest in any of the daughters, or he DID have an interest but was rejected. Which story is true? According to a family descendent “it depends on who in my family you ask.”
A little less titillating description of the circumstance is that the young brewmaster wanted to buy Stenger out, but the ownership structure of the business prevented him from doing so. Whatever the cause, after about three years the young man headed farther west, still pursuing his ambition of owning his own brewery.
John Stenger operated the brewery until selling it in 1893. The Naperville business continued as a brewery until 1917, after which the buildings were repurposed for growing mushrooms. Mushroom production ended in 1953, and the buildings were demolished.
What became of the ambitious young man who had shown so much promise as the Stenger brewmaster? He indeed headed on west to the Rocky Mountains, settling in Golden, Colorado, outside of Denver, and established his own brewery. His name was Adolph Coors.
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