John C. Miller was born in Wurttemberg, Germany. He came to America in the 1840s. He was a stonemason by training, and he worked at that occupation until 1865. In that year he partnered with a Mr. Jacoby to form a small lager beer brewery in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

In 1867 Jacoby died and Miller bought out his interest in the business. Under Miller's management his brewery went from producing 400 barrels a year to nearly 60,000, and his fortune multiplied likewise. Miller died on August 8th, 1866 at the age of 58 years. His son George Miller took up the reins and guided the brewery through its 1897 merger into the Consumers Brewery consortium. The brewery finally closed in 1901.