Jacob Best

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Jacob Best, Sr. (1786 – 1861) was an American brewer who founded what would later become known as the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was born in Hesse-Darmstadt where he learned the trade and ran a small brewery in Mettenheim, Germany, until immigrating to Milwaukee in 1844 to join his sons.

In Milwaukee, Jacob founded a brewery on Chestnut Street Hill called Empire brewery, which he ran with his sons, Phillip, Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz. Charles and Lorenz soon withdrew from the company, with Charles establishing the Plank Road Brewery (now called Miller Brewing Company). Empire Brewery produced 300 barrels in its first year of operation. The name was changed to Best and Company and became one of the most successful breweries in Milwaukee.

After Jacob, Sr. retired in 1853, Phillip and Jacob, Jr. continued operations as a partnership until eventually falling under the control of Phillip's son-in-law, Captain Frederick Pabst. The brewery was renamed the Pabst Brewing Company in 1889 and remained at the same location along Chestnut Street (now Juneau Avenue) until closure of the complex in 1997.

Jacob Best, Sr. devoted the remainder of his life to local politics. He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.