According to “Land of Amber Waters” author Doug Hoverson, Hibbing almost had a brewery in the early 1900s. In a 1905 issue of “Brewers’ Journal” Ely’s P.R. Vail announced that he would build a brewery in Hibbing. For whatever reason, that decision was reversed and Vail built a brewery in Virginia, instead. Hibbing would have to wait another 100+ years to get its own brewery.