604 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts , and Letters. 
Best & Sons. His marriage into the Best family proved to 
be tbe turning point in his career, for the ties of home and fam¬ 
ily soon became stronger than bis liking for tbe life of a lake 
captain, and be transferred all bis interests to tbe brewing busi¬ 
ness of Philip Best who bad become tbe owner of tbe brewery 
founded by bis father. 
With the same energy and ability that bad brought about 
bis rapid rise in tbe steamboat business, Captain Pabst set 
about, learning tbe brewing business, beginning at the bottom 
and mastering every detail. He introduced new methods and 
new machinery and greatly increased the output while reduc¬ 
ing the cost of manufacture. Under his direction the busi¬ 
ness of tbe company increased enormously and in 1889 tbe 
name was changed from the Philip Best Brewing Company to 
the Pabst Brewing Company. Captain Pabst’s great business 
ability was shown not less in the conduct of the mammoth es¬ 
tablishment in Milwaukee than in tbe extension of its trade 
to all parts of the United States and even to. foreign countries. 
At tbe time of bis death the Pabst Brewing Company was the 
largest concern of the kind in the world. 
Captain Pabst was admired by all who knew him as a man of 
sterling honesty and line public spirit. He was chiefly instru¬ 
mental in the building of the Stadt theater, the predecessor of 
present Pabst theater, one of the best appointed theaters in the 
country, devoted to the cultivation of the Herman drama. His 
private charities are said to have been large and to have been 
bestowed with care and discrimination. He was a member of 
many fraternal, social and business organizations. Among 
these are the Milwaukee Musical Society, Aurora Lodge, Ho. 
30, Free and Accepted Masons, Ivanhoe Commandery, Ho. 24, 
Knights Templar. He became a member of the Wisconsin 
Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters at the annual meet¬ 
ing December, 1896. 
Compiled by the Secretary. 
