The Eagle Brewery at Second and North Street in East Mauch Chunk was founded in 1875 by Glanz and Kuelber of Easton. Pius Schweibinz and his brother, Paul, bought it and operated it as “P. & P. Schweibinz” from 1879 to 1882. After Paul lost interest, Pius became the sole owner and operated as "Pius Schweibinz” from 1882 until 1913 when he sold it to Hugo Ortlieb, the nephew of John R. G. Weysser who owned the West End Brewery of Mauch Chunk.

Sign with Eagle Logo reads “Pius Schweibinz, Eagle Brewery, Lager Beer and Porter, East Mauch Chunk PA.”

Bottle from Eagle Brewery reads, “Schweibinz, Mauch Chunk PA.”

Charlie Schweibinz of East Jim Thorpe. His grandfather, Pius Schweibinz, owned the Eagle Brewery and the Wahnetah and Central Hotels.

Pius Schweibinz owned the Wahnetah Hotel at Glen Onoko and the Central Hotel near the Jersey Central Railroad Station in Mauch Chunk. For the excursion trade, the Eagle Brewery produced a “sexal,” a six-quart barrel complete with spigot and carrying strap for tourists to take with them on their return to the cities.

Charlie Schweibinz’s grandfather Pius Schweibinz owned the Eagle Brewery.

Jim Thorpe

Charlie Schweibinz’ never met his grandfather, Pius Schweibinz. Grandpa Pius died ten years before Charlie was born.

What he learned about his grandfather came from his father, Charles Senior - a brewmaster, older brewery workers at the Eagle Brewery that Pius once owned, and his grandfather’s obituary.

During the turn of the last century, Charles Schweibinz Jr.’s grandfather, Pius Schweibinz owned the Wahnetah Hotel at Glen Onoko, the Central Hotel in Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe) and the Schweibinz Hotel and the Eagle Brewery in East Mauch Chunk. He also owned a hotel and brewery in Shamokin (Sunbury) that he inherited from his in-laws.

The Eagle Brewery

Pius Schweibinz, born at Hohenzellorn, Germany in l842, came to Mauch Chunk in 1859 to work on the Lehigh Canal. In 1871, Schweibinz worked in the hotel business on Susquehanna Street. He moved to Shamokin to work in the hotel and brewery of his father-in-law, Martin Markle.

Pius Schweibinz and his brother, Paul, bought the Eagle Lager Beer Brewery at Second and North Street in East Mauch Chunk—founded in 1875 by Glanz and Kuebler of Easton. They operated it as “P. H. & P. Schweibinz” from 1879 to 1882. After Paul lost interest, Pius became the sole owner and operated under the "Pius Schweibinz” label from 1882 until 1913 when he sold it to Hugo Ortlieb.

Ortlieb ran the Eagle Brewery from 1913 to 1920. During the Prohibition years of 1920 to 1933, the brewery was closed. When Prohibition ended, the Sterling Brewing Co. reopened the brewery and operated it from 1933 to 1935. The final owners, John and Monroe Frey, ran it as the Mauch Chunk Brewing Company from 1935 until the brewery was closed in 1941.

The Eagle Brewery was on the corner of North Street with its entrance on Second Street. Adjacent to the brewery was the office, the Schweibinz Hotel and a soft drink bottling building. Cristina’s Pizza and Len Vending now occupy the site.

The brewery had an extensive network of tunnels under North and Second Streets where the beer was aged at cool cellar temperatures for 28 days. When the brewery was razed in the 1940s, the tunnels were blocked but not filled-in. The network of 18 storage rooms, with two hogsheads in each room, likely still remains under the street.

The Brewmaster

Much of Charlie’s family history was passed down by his father, Charles F. Schweibinz (Senior.) Charles F. Schweibinz was born in 1881—one of six surviving children of Pius and the father of eleven children, which included Charles Jr.

After completing eighth grade at age 14 in East Mauch Chunk, Charles Sr. spent three years in Chicago studying to become a brew master. He worked at the Eagle Brewery until it closed during Prohibition.

During Prohibition, for four nights a week, Charles Sr. was the brewmaster at the Weysser Brewery at the end of West Broadway in Mauch Chunk. He was arrested for making beer and lost his license. In 1931, the Weysser Brewery was burnt to the ground. A newspaper reported, “The suds ran down the street right past the Mauch Chunk Court House.”

After Prohibition, Charles Sr. returned to the Eagle Brewery as an assistant to the brewmaster and, in 1941, tended bar at St. Joe’s Club. He died in 1943.

Third Generation

Charlie (Charles Jr.) was born in 1925. Young Charles was one of eleven children that grew up in brewmaster Charles Senior’s household. Beer was food at the Schweibinz home. “We had a pitcher of beer on the table each morning for breakfast,” said Charlie. “ I had three beers under my belt before leaving.”

During Prohibition Charlie helped his older brother deliver beer on Friday nights, “Once, after making our deliveries, we got stopped with the empty barrels,” Charlie recalls. When asked what’s in the barrel, his brother said, “We’re honey dippers.” No one wanted to inspect the barrels.

Charlie and his brother often made deliveries to Lansford. To identify where to deliver the beer, the building’s siding was painted with a “Buy Mail Pouch Tobacco,” a popular ad campaign at the time.

When the Eagle Brewery reopened after Prohibition, Charlie got a job as a sweeper in the brewery. He worked there until he went into the service in 1943 at age 18. He learned about his grandfather from the older brewery workers.

Beer & Hotels

Pius Schweibinz owned the Wahnetah Hotel at Glen Onoko and the Central Hotel near the Jersey Central Railroad Station in Mauch Chunk. The brewery workers told Charlie that his grandfather saw tourist hotels as a market for his beer.

Both hotels serviced the excursion railroad tourist trade. For the excursion trade, the Eagle Brewery produced a sixthal a six-quart barrel complete with spigot and carrying strap for tourists to take with them on their return to the cities. This was their biggest moneymaker.