The brewery was built in 1882 by German immigrants who were trying to reproduce Bavarian-style lager. The site was chosen because deep cellars could be cut into the hillside to take advantage of the natural insulation. However, although giving good insulation, the storage temperature could not be kept low enough. In Bavaria, there was a reliable supply of ice, which was not available in the Wrexham area. Sales were not good and the brewery went into voluntary liquidation.
Appearing on the scene in 1886 was Robert Graesser who was a director of local firm Monsanto. He met one of the original brewery directors, Mr Ivan Levenstein, on a train and agreed to buy a majority shareholding. His great innovation was to introduce mechanical refrigeration into the storage area, which allowed the storage conditions to be kept at the low temperature required for good lager, ie minus 1 degrees centigrade.
But still, there were poor sales - people in Wrexham drank ale. However, a chance event helped to improve sales. Mr Graesser went to the USA on the steamship SS Baltic and took a supply of his own lager with him. This beer kept its excellent condition throughout the trip whilst competitiors' beers deteriorated and thus a ships' stores market was developed as other shipping lines took his lager. Because of this ship trade, an export market also developed and the brewery had a famous letter dated 21 September 1898 posted from 49 and a half miles north of Khartoum, which states that Wrexham Lager was found in the grounds of Gordon's Palace on 3 September 1898!
However, there was still the ongoing problem of trying to sell the lager in the local area, although some miners did come to the brewery to buy the lager direct. In 1922, the brewery bought the Cross Foxes in Abbott Street, which helped sales but it couldn't get hold of any more pubs until 1938, when a local brewery, Beirnes, shut down. This expanded the estate to 23 pubs. After the end of the Second World War, much of the export market was lost and again, financial trouble loomed. The brewery was rescued by Ind Coope of Burton-on-Trent. Lager sales continued to rise and in the early 60s, Ind Coope invested £2.5 million in a modernisation programme. During this period, Ind Coope joined with other breweries to form Allied Breweries, becoming one of the largest brewing groups in Britain, which put a further £4 million into Wrexham Lager, making it one of the most modern lager breweries in Europe, and probably the best!
