OMAHA- With Omaha being on the Missouri River and being the central location for any connection in the country, the city has been home to every kind of manufacturing. Willow Springs, the first distillery in the state, was once the third largest in the country. Even before craft brewing became popular, Omaha became home to over a dozen beer makers. Krug Brewery became the first commercial brewer in Omaha and in the state in 1859 on Farnam and 10th street. Quite quickly, many other brewers began popping up.

Then, McCombe's on about Sixth and Leavenworth was bought out by brothers Frederick and Phillip Metz in 1864 for $6,500. There were three Metz brothers, one of which was elected to the Nebraska Senate and later was elected to the Legislature's upper house in 1885. The Metz slowly became leaders in the brewery industry as they continued to buy out many different saloons and others. They eventually employed twenty people with the annual payroll of $14,400 and was worth around $125,000.

The Metz brothers operation then became a part of Willow Springs which was sold in 1900 at the beginning of prohibition to a real estate company. As alcohol emerged again as a big business in 1933, the name was changed to Fontenelle Brewing Co. and was a huge business during WWII. In 1961, Metz beer, then owned by My Beer Co. closed but reemerged in 2018. The Metz Brothers mansions still stand on Dewey Street.

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