Christian G. Geissele was born in Baden, Germany. He emigrated to America in the late 1840s and settled in Essex County, New Jersey. In 1851 he opened a brewery in Newark. In 1860 his half-brother Gottlieb, who was 26 years his junior, came to America and Christian brought him in to his business as a partner. Christian G. Geissele died ten years later, on August 7, 1870, and his brother took over the business. Gottlieb ran the brewery as a sole proprietorship until his own death in 1889.

Gottlieb Christian Geissele was born in Germany. He emigrated to America in about 1860 to help his half-brother Christian Geissele in his brewery in Newark, New Jersey. When Christian died in 1870 Gottlieb took over the firm. He continued to run the brewery until his own death on April 22, 1890. He was 56 years of age.