San Francisco`s Albion Porter And Ale Brewery. Editorial Image

English immigrant John Hamlin Burnell built an English style brewery in what was then called `South San Francisco`, to service the growing number of saloons in the city of San Francisco. Located on a hill, it offered John the advantage of free, cold, spring water right there. Named Albion, this is a reference to Great Britain, the original name for the island. The ships coming to San Francisco during the gold rush, and abandoned, used stones for their ballast, which John then used for the construction of his brewery and home. When John died, his business passed to his widow, and when she died near the start of prohibition in 1918, the brewery was shut down. Today it is a private residence. The location, on Innes Avenue is in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. South San Francisco in now a completely separate city today, in San Mateo County.