Orphaned at 14, Christian worked in taverns all over Europe. After saving $200 in gold to invest in a brewery, he boarded a ship for America. In 1872, he settled in Washington and, with a partner, bought a brewery on 20th Street, Northwest. They soon parted, and Heurich took over, working 18 hours a day as boilerman, brewer, salesman, and accountant.

Within a decade, the Christian Heurich Brewery was the most successful of the 22 breweries in the District. Eventually Heurich outgrew the old brewery and decided to build a new one in Foggy Bottom. Having suffered three disastrous fires, he had begun to experiment with new building technology. His new fireproof brewery was the first of its kind in the country.

After the repeal of Prohibition, Heurich's was one of the only two breweries to reopen. Christian Heurich continued brewing beer until nine days before he died at age 102.

The Heurich Brewery closed in 1956, unable to compete with national brands. Its site became the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Thirty years later, Christian's grandson Gary went back into the beer business. Today Heurich's bottles 5,000 barrels a year, and Gary Heurich aims to keep it a microbrewery. His one regret is that his father and grandfather did not live to see the Heurich name on bottles again. "I think they'd enjoy it," he says.