Leonhard C. Eppig was born into a family of brewers in Großwallstadt, Bavaria, Germany. He emigrated to America with his parents and brother Joseph in 1854 and settled in New York City.

In 1856 his father took ill and went back home to Germany. He died there the next year, leaving his widow and two young boys to fend for themselves in the new world. As it turned out, they were more than up to the task.

In 1858 Lenhard married Margaretha Schwindt and they had their first daughter a year after that. According to the NY census, Leonhard was working in a brewery in 1860. By 1864 he had struck out on his own, partnering with Hubert Fischer to start a new brewery at 22/32 George Street. . Leonhard assumed sole proprietorship in 1876. That same year he was naturalized as a US citizen.

Leonhard C. Eppig died on April 9th 1893. His brewery continued on as the Leonard Eppig Brewing Co., Germania Brewery until Prohibition shut it down in 1920. During the dry years, it was bottling soda water and ginger ale as the Interboro Cereal Beverage Company. In 1935 the factory was purchased by the descendants of George Ehret, who ran it as a brewery for 14 years under the Geo. Ehret Brewing Co. name. In 1949 the firm was purchased by the Schlitz Brewing Co. of Milwaukee. They brewed Schlitz Beer there until the plant closed in 1973.

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