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A new logo featuring the “high falls” of the Genesee River, which has served as the brewery’s home since 1878, brands the company. The Genesee Brewing Company, based in Rochester, New York, is one of the largest and oldest continually operating breweries in the United States. The Brewery makes the Genesee line of beers, including the iconic Genesee, the refreshing Genny Light, and The Original Cream Ale. Last year, Genesee transformed the beer garden to a tropical oasis called the "Brew House Bungalow," that drew over 2,500 visitors throughout the summer months.
Genesee Brewing Company
Over the years, several women stood in as “Jenny” to walk in parades or appear at events. While the last “Jenny” ad ran in 1962, the image of “Miss Jenny” still appears on brewery merchandise and patrons continue to ask for “Jenny” as they pull up a chair at the bar. Genesee Cream Ale, also known as Genny Cream Ale, maintains a bit of a cult status with beer drinkers. It’s hard to imagine a time when Genny Cream Ale wasn’t an option at your local watering hole. But the beer wasn’t actually introduced to the Genesee lineup until 1960, making it 82 years younger than the original Genesee Beer.
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Along with the formation of North American Breweries, Genesee purchased all of the brand rights to Seagram's Escapes Flavored Coolers in the US. Seagram's Escapes are part of the Flavored Malt Beverage category and provide a variety of flavored alcoholic beverages. As of November 2009, all Seagram's Escapes are produced out of the Rochester-based facility. In 2000, the company was sold to an employee investment group, and the company's name was changed to High Falls Brewing Company.
Genesee Brewery announces new flavor of fan-favorite beer
The company invests another $6 million into regional marketing efforts. To celebrate the company’s proud heritage and resurgence in sales, Genesee Beer and Genny Light are repackaged under The Genesee Brewing Company umbrella. The brewery introduces JW Dundee’s American Amber Lager and American Pale Ale to all 41 states in its distribution area. Four years later, sales top 3 million barrels and Genny Light Beer is introduced. To commemorate this victory, 400 invitations are mailed for a celebration at the Powers Hotel in Rochester. Bartholomay brewery sends Louis A. Wehle to brewmaster’s school in New York City and promotes him to assistant brewmaster upon graduation in 1911.
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The Genesee Brew House, previously a 9,200 square-foot space bottle house, captures and shares the rich history of The Genesee Brewery. Located nearby High Falls, the Genesee Brew House has become a top destination in Rochester. The Brew House features interactive exhibits and historical artifacts, as well as a pilot brewery with a tasting room, pub-style restaurant, and gift shop. Brew House guests enjoy spectacular views of High Falls, along with a variety of seasonal and specialty beers!
Genesee’s post-Prohibition beer delivery rivaled the Clydesdales.
Genesee Brew House hosts "GenEclipse" Viewing Party - 13WHAM-TV
Genesee Brew House hosts "GenEclipse" Viewing Party.
Posted: Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Stanges are sometimes referred to as the “champagne flutes of the beer world” and are tall and narrow with straight sides, typically holding fewer than 12 ounces. Prohibition is repealed in February, becoming the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. Eager to return to the beer business, Louis A. Wehle uses profits from the sale of his bakery to purchase the former Genesee brewery and parts of the Bartholomay brewery. That year English investors purchase the stock of three Rochester breweries—Genesee, Rochester and the city’s largest, Bartholomay Brewery Company. Wehle’s grandfather, Casper, and his father, John, both work at Bartholomay. While still in high school, young Wehle begins assisting at the brewery.
In June 2008, the company announced a re-branding of the J.W. Genesee Brewing Company (/ˈdʒɛnəsi/ JEN-ə-see) is an American brewery located along the Genesee River in Rochester, New York. From 2000 to 2009, the company was known as the High Falls Brewing Company. In 2009, High Falls was acquired by the capital investment firm KPS Capital. Together with newly acquired Labatt USA, KPS merged the two companies as North American Breweries.
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Along with this change, High Falls Brewery changed its name back to the original "Genesee Brewing Company" operating under the North American Breweries name. In October 2012, North American Breweries was purchased by FIFCO. The Genesee Brewing Company is part of FIFCO USA, the largest independently owned beer company in the United States. We've dedicated the Brew House to the hardworking people who have brewed our iconic beers for generations.
The original brewery bowled a strike.

Bring a pint up to our rooftop and check out the stunning view of the Rochester skyline and High Falls. Looking for an alternative to the standard pilsner, then-Brewmaster Clarence Geminn turned to a classic American style. He developed a unique recipe (one that remains a secret but that Genesee has faithfully stuck to it) to craft the beer, brewed with ale yeast but fermented at lager temperatures. The result endures as the standard for all cream ales to this day. In the years since it first debuted, it’s taken home two gold medals from the Great American Beer Festival.
In 2012, the newly refurbished location welcomed guests with lots of exhibits to show off the brewery’s past. In the early 1950s, Genesee gifted the people of Auburn, N.Y., with an iconic (and hard to miss) landmark. A 26-foot-high, 48-foot-wide Genesee Beer sign took its place atop a six-story building and lit up the sky every night until the 1970s when it shut off for nearly 40 years. In 2011, the brewery teamed up with local businesses to refurbish the sign with over 9,120 LED lights and relight it with a big festival in town. But Genesee has seen a lot of changes over the last 142 years, from Prohibition to the rise of craft brewing. Now part of FIFCO USA, the eighth-largest beer company in the United States, Genesee is keeping things fresh with trendy collaborations and dry-hopped variations of its classic beers.
Ruby Red Kolsch is currently available in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and tall 24-ounce cans! Mango Peach Kolsch will set sail to retail shelves later this week in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and will be on draft at select locations. The all-new Mango Peach Kolsch is the latest addition to Genesee's deliciously popular line of flavored Kolsch beers. Mango Peach Kolsch features a subtle, bready malt body with a mild hop bitterness that's complimented by big, juicy natural flavors of mango and peach.