b. Mettenheim, Germany, 1814
d. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1869

He moved to Milwaukee in 1844 and established the Empire Brewery with his father, Jacob Best, Sr. (q.v.), and his brothers, Jacob, Jr., Charles, and Lorenz Best. The latter two withdrew from the company and Jacob Best, Sr., retired in 1853; in 1860 Phillip Best took over sole direction of the brewery. At the close of the Civil War he took into partnership his son-in- law, Frederick Pabst (q.v.) In 1866 Phillip Best retired and leadership of the firm fell to his sons-in-law, Frederick Pabst and Emil Schandein (q.v.) Phillip Best was a leader of the German group in Milwaukee, and a supporter of the liberal constitution of 1846. Shortly after the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he switched from the Democratic to the Republican party and was appointed brigadier general of the Wisconsin militia by Governor Randall (q.v.) for his aid in the political campaign of 1858. T. C. Cochran, Pabst Brewing Co. (New York, 1948); J. S. Buck, Milwaukee under the Charter (2 vols., Milwaukee, 1884-1886); Milwaukee Sentinel, July 19, 1869.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]