John Hebrank was born in Germany. At age 5 he emigrated to America with his family. The family settled in Wheeling, West Virginia. When John was 23, in 1872 he followed Horace Greeley's advice and headed west, stopping in Independence, Kansas. The next year he partnered with Thomas C. Truman to establish a brewery on the bluff over the Verdigris River. Kansas was not a very hospitable place for a brewery in the 19th century so it shouldn't be a surprise the brewery only lasted 11 years, shut down in 1883 by Kansas State Prohibition. Hebrank died in 1936 at age 88 years.

After a vote on November 2nd, 1880 Kansas enters statewide Prohibition the following January 1.  The new law made the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors punishable by a fine of $100.  Most businesses simply paid the fine, which could only be levied once a month.