Moritz Sigi was born in Aigeldingen, Germany. In 1862 he emigrated to Denver, Colorado where he became a baker. In 1864 he moved in to the beer business- a wise choice as Denver at the time had just one brewery.

His Colorado Brewery was competition only to John Good's Rocky Mountain Brewery in the five-year-old community. Colorado was booming and times were good in the business of making beer for thirsty miners. Soon Sigi was one of the wealthiest men in town.

In August of 1873 Sigi began an extensive expansion of the brewery that increased its capacity to 24,000 barrels per year. At the time that was enough beer to provide every Denverite with a bottle a day. He was well poised to command the Colorado brewing industry for the rest of the century, but sadly it was not to be.

On March 22nd of 1874 Moritz Sigi was involved in a street accident. Sigi's friend, hotelier Henry Mollandin, a Mrs. Koch, her child, and fellow brewer Leonhard Summer were travelling in a barouche when their horses were spooked. Summer jumped clear, but the horses bolted up Nineteenth Street and took a fast turn on to Wazee. This overturned the carriage, sending the passengers to the ground. Both Sigi and Mollandin suffered skull fractures. The others sustained less severe injuries. While Mollandin would survive his injuries Sigi would not. He died the next morning at age 43. Summer, perhaps feeling guilt over the incident that took his friend's life, closed the One Horse Brewery later that year and moved to Fairplay.

Learn more at the links below

Associated Breweries