Adolph Schalk was born in Meßkirch, Germany. In 1840 he emigrated to America with his brothers Oscar and Herman and their father, German brewer Johann Nepomuk Schalk. They settled in Essex County, New Jersey with the intention of continuing the family's brewing tradition in the new world.

The company they created in the early 1840s was quite long lived. Just before the Civil War the father returned to his brewery in Konstanz, Germany and management of the company passed down to his sons. They soon sold the brewery to Christopher Weidenmayer in favor of a new brewery which they were building on the outskirts of town.

The next decade saw the brewery grow to be the largest in Newark and one of the largest in all of America. They had 80 employees. This was the peak of their stature in the brewery industry. A disastrous fire in 1871 and the panic of 1873 forced the brewery to contract sales. The Schalk Brothers, now nearing retirement age, had lost the Eye of the Tiger. In 1879 the Schalks retired from brewing and sold their assets to fellow Newark brewer Peter Ballantine. Adolph moved to New York City, and Hermann to Jersey City. Adolph Schalk died on January 11th, 1902 at age 75 years. Herman died on May 2nd, 1908 at age 74.

Herman Adolph Schalk, Sr. was born in Meßkirch, Germany. He was the oldest of three brothers whose father brought them to America to continue the family business. The family business was brewing, and when they landed in Essex County New Jersey they did so.

Herman's father, Herr Johann Nepomuk Schalk had left his brewery in Germany with the intention of setting his sons up in the family business in the new world. The senior Schalk's knowledge and the sons' hard work made for a formidable brewery. It grew steadily through the middle of the century and into the Civil War. When the Schalk brewery was well established the father left for Germany to tend to his own brewery in Konstanz. The sons continued the good management and the growth continued apace.

By 1870 the Schalk Brothers Brewery was the largest in Newark, and approaching the top 20 in the nation. However the panic of 1873 left the company exposed and they were forced to cut back. They never recovered and in 1878 the brothers had to sell their assets to the aforementioned Ballantine Brewery. Herman Adolph Schalk, Sr. died in 1908, one day before his 75th birthday.

The too-big-to-fail Jay Cooke & Company bank declares bankruptcy and sets off a rapid chain reaction of bank runs and failures in what would become known as The Panic of 1873.  Over 18,000 American businesses would fail in the economic Depression that followed.