 German immigrant Anton Griesedieck brought his family brewing tradition (dating from 1766 in Stromberg, Germany) to St. Louis in about 1866.He owned a series of breweries, employing his four sons, including Henry Jr. and Joseph "Papa Joe," and nephew Henry L. Griesedieck who would later found Griesedieck Western Brewery Co.The four sons established the National Brewery Co. in 1891, which later became part of the Independent Breweries Company in 1907.