William F. Neumann, owner of Zur Krone

The Journal Sentinel staff

William F. Neumann made his niche in America's beer city with Gasthaus Zur Krone, a Walker's Point tavern featuring hundreds of brands of imported beer.

Neumann, 71, died in his sleep Wednesday night at his home, half a block from his bar at 839 S. 2nd St. He had been living with a pacemaker since 1986.

The name of the bar was German for Guest House to the Crown, but Neumann's stock of beers brought in lots of commoners, both for the taste and the conversation.

Zur Krone, as it is called by most customers, was one of the earliest bars in the city to feature large numbers of imported brands.

Coolers on one side of the barroom offer bottles of every imaginable variety. The number of brands changes, but currently there are about 320, mostly imported but with a good sampling from domestic microbreweries, his wife, Clarice, said Friday.

Customers choose their own bottles from the coolers and take them to the bar to pay.

Zur Krone is not your normal corner tap; it specializes in un Leg 1 ends here usual presentations of music and frequent philosophic discussions.

One customer recalled that, about a year ago, a Scotsman wearing kilts strolled into the bar and played his bagpipes just for the heck of it.

Another customer described Zur Krone as "a place to visit when you're in town."

The tavern, which has paintings of German and Austrian royalty, has featured zither music on Sundays, and the jukebox has carried a German version of the "Yellow Rose of Texas."

Neumann started a beer club that encouraged patrons to sample 101 kinds of brew over a period of time, of course. Those who did were rewarded with the designation of master beer taster.

Zur Krone was the subject of a story in the New York Times on March 28, 1993, under the headline "In Wisconsin, Beer Brewed in Many Ways."

The business opened in 1976 shortly before Neumann lost his job as an engineer at Perfex, a radiator manufacturer that closed its Milwaukee operation. Neu Leg 2 ends here mann worked at the bar for six months or so before purchasing it in 1979.

Neumann, who was born in Milwaukee, had no previous experience with a bar "except as a customer," said Clarice Neumann, who married him 14 years ago. They were co-owners of Zur Krone.

"Milwaukee was very important to him," she said. "He knew the city very well. I don't think he could have survived anywhere else. His roots were very deep."

She said she and Zur Krone's staff are going to keep the bar open "for the time being."

Copyright 1995
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