The Finest Beer Baseball T-Shirt

Bay City had three prominent breweries in the late 1800s: Bay City Brewery, Kolb Bros. Brewery and West Bay City Brewing Co. "This area was inhabited by immigrants that came to work the fur trading and lumbering industries," said Carole Powers, Bay County Historical Museum research librarian. Until 1917, that is. Prohibition began, and the Phoenix Brewing Co. closed for a short time. All three of the breweries switched to nonalcoholic beverages, such as pop, malt syrup and malt extract. Malt extract was used to make beer at home. After prohibition, the breweries returned to beer making. All three companies mainly made lager, but Bay City Brewing Co., which called its beer "The Finest," also had imperial ale.