Claus Wreden was born in Lintig, Hanover, Germany. He emigrated to America in the 1840s and settled in New York City where he became a grocer. Like so many others in the gold rush era, Wreden was drawn to California, and in the 1850s he the crossed the continent to re-established himself in California. He founded the Washington Brewery in San Francisco in 1859 and gradually brought his two sons and son-in-law into the business. He died on January 6th, 1899 at age 63. The brewery he founded was shut down by California Prohibition in 1916.

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