Hugo Knecht was born in Solingen, in the Kingdom of Prussia.  He emigrated to America in 1856 and moved to Scott County Iowa.  He met and married Klementine Louise Arndt there in 1859.  It was a union that produced one child, Hugo Junior.

Around this time, the Knechts moved to Kansas, where Hugo partnered with Albert Weinman, a barrel-maker, to form the Knecht & Weinmann brewery.  Knecht was listed in the 1860 Atchison Kansas city directory as a brewer and paid taxes on beer made in 1862 through 1865.  By 1865 he had relocated to Brownville, Nebraska, and by 1870, at age 44, he was a brewer in Nodaway, Iowa.

The Knechts divorced, and Klementine (Caroline) moved to Chicago, where she died in 1908.  Hugo moved to Uintah County, Utah, and became a rancher.  He died on September 17th, 1915, after accidentally shooting himself with a shotgun.  He was 89 years of age.

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Associated Breweries