Monday, December 28, 2009

The last week of the year!

Hard to believe! 2009 is almost ready for the history books! We had quite the year this year even with this goofy economy - still waiting on my presidential stimulus plan by the by... Anyway, we did indeed make it through another year! Many thanks to all of you for being fans of this lil' 0l brewery! We would not be here if it wasnt for you!

Coming up during this abbreviated week is a bit of bottling on Monday (Badger Porter and Black River Red). Filtering of beer on Tuesday - Just guessing but im a thinkin we are sending down Oscar and another. Lastly, Wednesday - Todd and Nate will be filling up a tank or two!

Thats it for the official beer business week! However, Thursday - we will be closed for business untill 7pm at which time we will open up for our New Years Eve Bash! WOO! Kevin is whippin up some smoked goodness and of course, Garret and his band will be entertaining all of us as we ring in the New Year!

Thats all for now!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Only 7 more days to Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Well we made it through another week. Todd and Nate have been brewing lots o beer this week - I do believe three full batches! Empty tanks in a brewery is baaad karma! We were visited by our friend Tom yesterday who modified our bright tanks for us as well as prep our nifty case packer for installation! I am guessing that project will happen in January when we get a spare moment or two. Oh yeah, our two new tanks will be arriving in BRF sometime in January as well. Hope we have enough "Spare moments". Now we just need to decide if we want a few more...

Other things today - Dont forget to bring in a non-perishable food item for our local food shelves. If you do you too can be the proud owner of your first free pint in the tap room. From 7pm to 9pm - Randy and his cadre of local musicians will be in the brew house spreading some Christmas cheer!

Next week we will be closed from the 24th - 27th

Open the 28th - 30th

Open on the 31st at 6pm for our New Years Eve party!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Friday!

TGIF! It has been quite the week - 12 inches of snow, 12o barrels of beer brewed - bout the same bottled, first real cold snap (-12!) and its Friday! We have our usual fun going on this Friday - pints and good friends from 3:30 till 10p (ish) The Bar will tended to by our newest full time employee Chris! Thats right folks - Mr. Peterson has accepted a full time production assistants position here in the house. We are excited to bring him aboard so we can show him the ropes on fillin', filterin' , and in time brewin'!

Welcome aboard Chris! I hope you know what you got yourself into! :)

Ok - lets see what else do we have..a quick reminder about our New Years Eve Party. We have worked out a deal with the local Days Inn for discounted rooms and are making arrangements that you can make it safely to your room (or house in BRF) through the Jackson County Tavern League - Safe Driver Program! If you wish to take advantage of this cool thing - just let Jim or Todd (who will let Jim know...) and I will get you the details when they are fully developed. Garret Gilbertson will be providing the music for that evening!

December 18th - our friend Randy Bjerke and the local community band will be playing in the brewhouse from 7pm - 9pm to kick off our holiday weekend - well the weekend before the holiday weekend and week - oh you know what I mean! So plan on coming down next Friday too!

If you are looking for brew crew gear from Sand Creek for some Christmas ideas - we have a wide selections of T-shirts, sweathirts, hats, eyepatches, mugs, and of course beer to help in your shopping endeavors!

Dont forget to bring in your non-perishable food item! If you do, you will get your first pint on us!

So...If you think about it - You can come to the brewery - drop off a food item for the food shelf, get your Christmas shopping done, have a few pints and have some Holiday Cheer and call it good! Yes, we here at Sand Creek Brewing try to make life easier! :)

See you all later tonight!

Monday, December 7, 2009

More New Years Ever News!

Great news on our New Years Party! In conjunction with the Days Inn of Black River Falls, we are happy to say that there is a block of rooms reserved at a discount rate! (You all still need to pay for the room but it will be easier on your pocket book!) Please email me if you wish to participate in this deal!

Second cool thing! If you over imbibe on New Years Eve - The brewery will make sure you get back to your home safely. We will have a supply of Safe Ride Vouchers (from your own Jackson County Tavern League) to make sure you get home safely - There are some limitations like - were not driving you back to Milwaukee but back to the Days Inn or BRF it will be on us! Email Jim at sales@sandcreekbrewing.com for more details!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

December!

Sometimes you just have to wonder if the space-time continuum has been altered to make time fly by so darn fast! (Sorry admitted Trekker admission here!) It just seemed like yesterday that we were starting the new year!

Anywho - December is here and there is much going on. This Friday we have our usual fun and games with the doors opening up at 3pm with tours at 3:30pm. Pints and laughs for the entire evening! Come join us an bring in a non-perishable food item for our local food shelves. Yes, if you do we will by the first pint for you! (One per customer!)

Today - Todd is brewing up a batch of our Wild Ride IPA - In fact he just hopped it up and the aroma around the brewery is fantastic. Love that beer! Tomorrow Todd and Nate are brewing up our next Special Reserve.......drum roll please...(thank you) which shall be a kicked up Dopplebock! WOO! Now you may be asking your self "Self, is this going to be like the Oleator that was released in times gone past?" To which I would respond - nay! It shall be mucho bigger and unique! Do I dare say an Imperial?

Time shall tell.

Other news - Expansion at the brewery! We have procured some much needed tank space to handle our growth! By the end of 1st quarter 2010 we should have 2 to 5 additional fermentation vessels, a case packer and a nifty bottle coding gizmo in place and operational! Needless to say we are quite excited about all of that!

Mark your calendars! We shall be having our 2nd Annual New Years Eve party on the 31st of this month! Should be a hoot! Garret Gilbertson and his band will be in the house providing us with our music. More details to follow but plan accordingly!

Thats all for now !

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Turkey Day is upon us!

Just wanted to wish you and all of our collective family members a Happy Thanksgiving!

See you all next week!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thankgiving Week!

Well a short week is in store for the brewery! Todd is a brewing machine and is brewing up about 100 barrels of beer over the next two days. Then its back to the deer stand through the weekend.

Friday night was a hoot with all the hunters here! As predicted by 8:30pm everyone was pretty much gone and heading out to deer camp. Thanks to everyone who brought in food for the Christkindl Fest. All event information can be found at this link

Christkindl Fest 2009

Garret Gilberston and his band will start playing in the big tent at 6pm

Opening weekend was a bust for the intrepid hunters from your favorite brewery. I personally saw:

1 buck and two doe - as I was driving to my stand.

7 Turkeys - well it isn't turkey season ya know

1 cat - see above.

Oh well - no worries though the company and the Packers WIN - more than made up for the lack of hunting action.


I hope all of you have a great holiday weekend! Eat lots, Laugh lots and GO PACK!

Just a reminder - the brewery will be closed Thursday and Friday and will reopen on Monday the 30th.

Monday, November 16, 2009

How it started - this week - 6 years ago

lets see - It was a cold November Morning on that fateful day 6 years ago in the small hamlet of Downing when I found out that the Pioneer Brewing was for sale. Todd called to let us know that Jim and Dave were selling and were looking for a buyer. We would meet on Thursday.

That Thursday - Todd, myself, Cory, Jim and Dave met and discussed the "plan" - essentially at that point, over few pints of beer it was decided to sell the brewery to us - merging Sand Creek and Pioneer together. Pending spousal approval of course! Cory and I talked about it all the way back to Downing - it all looked good. Scary? indeed - gonna do it? hell yes!

Made an interesting topic around the dinner table that evening. My son is nearly two! Cory and I were getting no-where on building near Downing, Need to either go for it or walk away. Yes I know I was just offered a permanent position teaching computer stuff. I can only imagine what the conversations were around Todd's dinner table!

"if you don't do it - you will be miserable and regret not taking the chance" Trish said.

Gotta love that woman! (I suspect that was the answer from all of our spouses)

4 months later...after bankers, after lawyers, after accountants, after long distance calls, after it all. We closed the deal on March 12 and away we went.

5 YEARS later we have grown from 125 barrels of beer a year to nearly 6,000 (Dont worry Nate - I am buying) I know its going to keep growing too!

Thanks to you all for helping Sand Creek grow for the 5 years on the farm. Thanks to ALL of you for helping us grow the last 5 Years in Black River Falls! It is an honor and a privilege to letting us hang out with you all for 10 years. Sharing in your success, family events, gatherings, festivals, weddings, discussions, football games, community events, times with friends in good times and bad - over a pint (or two) of our beer. That is so huge!

Wow - 10 years.

I'm really glad Trish, Nancy, and Deb and our families said yes - thanks. Without your love and support we wouldn't have made it this far. Thanks for the sacrifices and for having the patience of the Saints.

Thanks to all our friends for your well wishes and support. Thanks Kevin for making our tap room a special place for us all! Thanks to all of our volunteers for making beer festivals and our events a smashing success!

Last but certainly not least , Thanks to all our employees - we never say thank you enough for all of your hard work that you put into this crazy brewery. We really DO appreciate everything you have done.

Thanks Todd for picking up that phone 6 years ago.

Happy 10th Anniversary everyone!

(oh by the way - I am going to keep changing the colors of the blog until someone notices!)

PS - ONE More thing - THIS FRIDAY - Bring non perishable food item for our Christkindl food drive and get your first pint on us!

Trying a few new looks...

Hey All

Trying a few new looks for our blog - post a comment or two or email me with any thoughts, suggestions and that kind of stuff.

GO PACK - shoulda skunked em though!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Must have been the weather...

Oh hell cant even use that to describe what happened to our Packers this last weekend! It was in freakin. FLORIDA! Ok not to beat a dead horse called the OFFENSIVE LINE - but lets get it fixed k?

Ok now for some idle brewery thoughts - first off we here at the brewery have been getting our facebook page and all that jazz set up. Facebook made it easy to get our event pictures posted and the first album up is from our Halloween Party. SO if you are into it all - find our Sand Creek Brewery News - Facebook page and become a fan. Post thoughts, incriminating pictures and join in the discussions. I guess my question to you all is ... should this blog be maintained in conjunction with Facebook?

Today, Todd and Nate are brewing up a bit of contract brew and a batch of Oscar. Tomorrow we are bottling like crazy and then its an easy slide down to the weekend! Looks like Brother Bill will be pouring beer at the Green Bay Fest being held this Friday. Check our web page for further details.

Well thats it for now! Have a good Tuesday.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Oh what a night!

Well we all made it through our first Halloween Party! I do want to take a moment and thank..
Char, Ena, Tom, Nate, Rhonda, Mike, Nancy, Todd, Tom, Bill, Joe, Lyall, Dale and Chris for helping out and getting this event off the ground. Special thanks to the Black River Historical Society, The Boys and Girls Club and Randy at Rosarios for helping with all of the eerie props.

Displays were all around the building which told of the tragic demise of the Oderbolz family. We had Charley in the Mash tun, Frank in a boat, and George and Edward prominently displayed. In our tap room we had reproductions of pictures from the Wisconsin Death Trip! Indeed - an eeeeeerie site all around.

The event kicked off right on time at 7pm and the Alex Wilson Band took the stage at 8pm. Let me tell you folks - it is without any exaggeration but I am sure we had the best damn band in town! Prizes were given out for 1st - 3rd with honorable mentions. I will try to post the pictures as soon as we get them in my hands!

Again a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for showing up in costume and having a killer time! (Pretty sure we will be having it again)

Let see what else - Oh yeah this is for the Packer Organization - I love you guys but for petes sake get #12 some freakin protection!! SHEESH! Nate said he would sign on as a free agent to teach your boys some of his moves.

Events this week are: St Francis Brewfest which will be held in Milwaukee - This event will be staffed by Nate and Ena. The other event is the Janesville Fall Brewfest - which will be staffed by Todd and Nancy - no wait, Tom, Jim and Dale - NO NO - changing again - Actually Mark will be down there pouring beer from 6-10pm on Saturday! :)

With that I shall get on with my day - Todd is brewing up a TON O' Beer today and tomorrow we are going to bottle our little noogies off. Something like 1300 cases or so.

Be well and dont forget that the doors open this Friday at 3pm for our usual fun and games with tours at 3:30pm.

Chat with you all later!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Halloween!

Hey Gang!

Well sorry for the crazed delay in random thoughts from the brewery. First and formost, this Saturday we are having a Halloween/Costume party! The doors of the brewery will be open at 7pm and at 8pm the Alex Wilson Band will take the stage till 11pm.

Admission is FREE! We will just charge for pints!

We will also have a costume contest complete with prizes. First prize will be a dream date with Leif! (just kidding!) We will be giving away a few items from the gift shop for the most creative costume, most elaborate, funniest and scariest. If anyone has any suggestions for other categories - post a comment! (It would be really good to have a comment or three..srsly!)

Ok, over the last several weeks we here at the brewery have been crazy busy with of course - the beer business! One of the things that Todd posted on was about the excise tax increase threat. A couple of Tuesday's ago - I went to Madison and experienced the full effect of a public hearing on the subject. I saw folks that want it and of course those that don't. One of the more impassioned testifying came from my friend Paul Graham who is the owner and President of Central Waters Brewing Company in Amherst. It struck a cord with me and I know the panel as well as he described how a tax increase would be detrimental to his business. This excise tax is a 400% increase - thats right - 400%!!

This is a tax which is levied on a small business (ours!) irregardless of profitability - same with the Federal excise tax! The REALLY sad part of the hearings is that small brewers are getting lumped into the same category as all the big ones. Getting blamed for alcohol addiction in TEENS (When was the last time you saw a teenager grabbing a 6pack of wild ride?)

The proponents of the tax will state that the increase is ONLY .03 cents per bottle. What they failed to realize that is the three cents will increase to .09 cents per bottle by the time it hits the consumer! (Wisconsin is a three-tier system state meaning that we the breweries sell the beer to wholesalers who in turn sell it to the retail outlet. Each Tier will mark up the cost of the product accordingly to their profit margin) So that .03 cents per bottle will become $2.16 per case or .54 cents per 6pack. Lemme tell you folks there was a time (before recession) that most thought that the price of CRAFT beer was recession proof and could just keep going up - it just isnt that way. Everyone watches what they spend. If our six pack price would go up an additional .54 cents - we are looking at a decrease in volume, which in turn would mean the loss of jobs, which in turn, since we work on a thin profit margin, may even cost us our business. That is not so good. Find me this weekend on Friday or Saturday night and I will be happy to talk taxes (well for awhile anyway) with you. Oh yeah - impact to our little brewery? An additional $30,000 in taxes.

SO - please contact your state legislators! Tell them you dont support the increase in taxes.

PLEASE

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Taxes and partys

Hey everyone.
Here it is the middle of the night again and I am still here brewing,
we are pushing 120 bbls. in a row.
That would be about 30+ hours of brewing.
Nate's pulling part of the time but I still have to enjoy my mid-day naps so that I can come back in and work in the dark.

Well, Jim was down in Madison yesterday trying to keep the beer tax from rising.
Sounds like there is very little support from the powers that be but the
Madd Mothers and the "health care" providers were dragging in children and survivors to look for some sympathy.
I hate to say it but..most of the "health care" providers are suckling on the government teet so what they did yesterday was just a money grab,
OUR MONEY.
If they were to pass the tax the .03 per. bottle would be about $3.00 per. case and that would be if everyone involved just passed on the tax at their normal margins.
The problem arises when everyone rounds up the tax to cover other expenses.
It will show up down the line when you pick up your 6-pack.
If the prices increase people will buy "down" to a cheaper beer and that would leave us with a smaller production.
Smaller production would mean that we would not need as many workers, wow!! that .03 sounds pretty good to the guys working here. NOT

Now on to something very different:
http://www.alexwilsonband.com/
The band for our Halloween party is the Alex Wilson band out of Milwaukee.
Alex and his band were the 2007 WAMI (Wisconsin music industry awards) blues group of the year.
In 2008 they were nominated for 3 more awards where Alex won guitarist of the year.
This event is a way to say thanks to all of our help at Oktoberfest and to kick back and let loose!
We are planning a heck of a blowout so don't be late.
later,
Todd

Monday, October 5, 2009

Only 363 Days till Oktoberfest 2010

Wow!

That is all I can say! Our 3rd Annual Oktoberfest Celebration was a great success! It was a bit cold and rainy but as my daughter said - "Its a beautiful day - its just sprinkling!" Gotta love the kids! Anyway, a good time was had by one and all. Great Music, Great food and Outstanding Music!! The Black River Falls High School Band started everything off by 11:00am. By Noon Wally Pikal and Harvey got the crowd going with some fine polka music and a few witty jokes.

Gary Brueggen and the Ridgeland Dutchmen played from 3pm - 6pm - He truly is Wisconsin's Concertina Kid! He had a ton of people tappin their toes and having fun!

At 6pm- Sand Creek's Celtic house band - Atlantic Wave took the stage and the raised the tent roof right off the posts! Barry, Ed, John and Katie were in top form. Folks were a dancing and I am sure there are a few incriminating pictures out there! If you are looking for a CD of Atlantic Wave's latest "The Angels Share" - swing on by the brewery and pick your copy up! We have a limited supply. ($15)

Well I am sure we will have a few more comments about the fest - but before I sign out and help the gang finish getting the brewery back in "brewery mode"- I need to put a big

THANK YOU!

to all the volunteers, workers, bands, vendors and especially to all of you who attended and had fun! Thank you all!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Oktoberfest is soon upon us!

Greetings everyone!

Well - we are getting the old building whipped into place! We have re-organized, shuffled, moved, hid, cleverly decorated all kinds of things to make room for everything that will be going on irreguardless of the weather! Thats right - the show goes on!

Tomorrow night we are having a little event for a former employee who is on leave from serving our country in Iraq! Come on down and hang out and say "hey" to Ken!

Other than that we hope to see you all on Saturday (if not sooner!).

Just in case you are wondering ... Mark will be pouring our beer down at the quivey's grove beer event this weekend!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Ok - I have to share this

Good Clean fun...

Its good to laugh.

Oktoberfest is only three days away - wear something warm!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Oktoberfest! - 5 days and counting!

Greetings everyone!

Well our 3rd Annual Oktoberfest is fast approaching! Currently we have over 24 craft vendors signed up to exhibit their wares! That is a bunch more than last year and I know we will be getting more this week. The Car show is moving along as well and we will have several antique Harleys on display courtesy of Al Muth Harley Davidson from right here in Black River Falls!

Another new attraction this year will also be a rock climbing wall! This particular activity will be at the intersection of 3rd and Pierce. Of course we will have the usual fun of the Fevolden Farm Alpacas, 4 bands, food and drink. Todd and our fine Mayor will be doing the honors of kegging the golden keg at 1pm on Saturday.

Friday night we will be having the traditional cooking of the kraut as well as having a bit of a cook out!

This Wednesday - Todd and myself will be down at the Oktoberfest grounds in LaCrosse from 5pm - 8pm for the Craft Brewers Oktoberfest event! Come on down and see us . We will be pouring Black River Red, Wild Ride IPA and Cranberry Special Ale.

See you all out there!

Friday, September 25, 2009

URGENT UPDATE - Kay's Memorial

The celebration of Kay Brauner's Life is scheduled for Sunday - October 25th NOT this coming Sunday - September 27th

"A celebration of Kay's life will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday OCTOBER 25th at Skyline Golf Course Clubhouse, Black River Falls. Memorials may be given to End of Life Choices, P.O. Box 101810, Denver, CO 80250-1810, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, and/or the Black River Falls Public Library. Torgerson's Funeral Service, Black River Falls, is assisting the family."

The paper and the radio station made an error and are now sending out retractions.

Please pass it on.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Kay

My first recollection of Kay Brauner goes back to about 5 years ago when she came to the brewery looking for some middlings. Middlings? What the heck was middlings!?

mid⋅dlings
–noun
middlings, any of various products or commodities of intermediate quality, grade, size, etc., as the coarser particles of ground wheat mingled with bran.


Ah spent grain. Got it. Learned something new that day! Bread you say? Sounds good to a bunch of guys who groove on good beer and food. Well a day or so later she showed back up with her Middlings/Beer Bread and it was a good. Here was something she took of average quality and turned it into something better.

We started to chat a bit more and she asked if we could use some help. It might have been the dark circles under Todd's or my eyes that inclined her to volunteer or maybe she really DID want to learn about making and packaging beer. At any rate, Kay showed up the next bottling day and learned how to load glass onto the line. As time progressed we learned a few things about Kay - she could work circles around just about anybody! We learned she also worked at the greenhouse. She also help Jeff and Sheri and later Jay down at Molly's with catering - oh yeah she also help trim apple trees at Cains Orchard and wait, she help others - LOTS of others! When she couldn't help out she found others - she also got her hubby Michael involved. Iron Mike we call him - want to find out why? Come work a few days with Mike when we are bottling, better eat your wheaties - he will leave you behind!

Over the last several years I got to know Kay - she would always listen patiently and give some pretty sound advice, sometimes without saying a word but by just nodding her head and smiling. Funny thing - she could always get me to where I had to go in my thought process. Always. She became a good friend to all of us. Always encouraging, Always helpful. Her and Mike helped us out a bunch with any activity, tasting or beerfest that they could get to.

When we first opened up our tap room we had a small bunch of folks show up. Kay and Mike would bring a few of their friends, and in turn those folks would bring a few more of theirs and so on. Pretty soon we had a pretty vibrant Friday night goin on! Life is good that way.

I would venture a bet that she had that effect on all she did. Kay touched the lives of all the people she would run into. I think she had a knack for taking middlings and making something better out of it.

I know she did with us "middlings" here at the brewery.

Kay, thanks for being part of our lives - I consider myself blessed for being able to know you for these short 5 years.

Yeah, I know - dont fuss over you.


"A celebration of Kay's life will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday October 25th at Skyline Golf Course Clubhouse, Black River Falls. Memorials may be given to End of Life Choices, P.O. Box 101810, Denver, CO 80250-1810, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, and/or the Black River Falls Public Library. Torgerson's Funeral Service, Black River Falls, is assisting the family."

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

It is with a heavy heart today that I pass on the news, our friend Kay Brauner has passed away suddenly.
We are awaiting the arraignments and will keep all posted.
Please keep Kay and her family in your prayers.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Ah yes Friday!

Greetings folks!

Well we have made it through to another Friday and like most weeks around here it was a big one. Todd and Nate were brewing machines kicking out a total of 160 bbls of beer brewed and filtering down to package about the same! Whew! We sure have come along way in 5 years!

Next week we will be releasing our Fall seasonal the "Cranberry Special Ale" - be sure to look for it on the shelves in your local purveyor of fine Sand Creek products. We have been working hard at designing and redesigning several of our 6 packs. The good news is one is done but many left to go!

Last weekend was the 10th Annual Clearwater brewfest sponsored by us! It was a great event with nearly 700 participants and lots of great beer from area micro-breweries. Tom, Char, Pic, Tooti, myself and my good friend Kevin poured beer. As you might guess the Hard Lemonade was quite the hit but our bigger beers of Oscar, Wild Ride, English Style Special and the Scotch Ale were all well received! Special thanks to the organizers of the event and to Chris and the gang from Park Ridge distributing for making it a smashing success! Mark your calendar for the 11th annual Clearwater Brewfest - which will be on September 11th 2010.

This week we are pouring beer down at the Great Lakes Brewfest - friends of the program (read: Mark's Sister and friends) will be pouring our products for this great event.

Planning for our 3rd Annual Oktoberfest is coming along nicely. We have over 20 craft vendors signed up SO FAR! The car show should be a dandy with the added antique motorcycles being put on display. We will have a rock climbing wall set up too! Of course add music, food and beer and we should have a record event! Be sure to show up and witness Todd tell the tale of Oktoberfest and the golden keg at 1pm.

If there are any friends of the brewery that wish to volunteer to work the festival - Drop me an email at sales@sandcreekbrewing.com so I can get you on the list.

We of course will be open Friday night for our usual fun and games. Only a couple of Saturdays left for tours (the last day of tours on Saturday is on the 3rd of October during the fest)

Cheers!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009


Oh yes -- Our 3rd Annual Oktoberfest is upon us!

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Thursday, September 3, 2009




Here are some fresh pictures from the fest circuit.

Labor Day !!

Hey Everyone! Big Mike too!!
Yes we are still alive and doing very well.
First things first...We will BE CLOSED SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER 5 for the Labor day weekend.
We will be open on Friday night in case you might need some extra fluids to aid in re-hydration.

We are making the Cranberry Special ale today so we can be ready for the fall rush.
Yeaterday was a brew day for Aran of Furthermore Brewing, we brewed up his first batches of Fallen Apple ale. That beer is about half fresh pressed apple cider!

The rest of the gang is downstairs bottling this morning, or at least trying to.
The filler has been playing games with us recently, sounds like it's time to tear it apart and pull out the gremlins.
Oh, you didn't know? That's how we power the bottling line,
we cant use old Norwegians any more due to government intervention. It's all about CHANGE.

Oktoberfest is just around the corner so make sure your calender is ready.
We just recieved the 2009 Oktoberfest mugs this week too, they are a two tone brown with a special 2009 logo.
Make sure you pick one up for your collection. The mugs are 22 oz. and intitle you to 6 oz. more beer per. fill during the fest.
All this for $25, no better deal anywhere.

See you all soon!!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Brewing Frenzy

Hi everyone!!
Well, it's 11:00 at night and I am starting by second half of todays work.
The mash tun is making it's sweet elixir as I wait.
We are making 40 barrels each of Woodys, 1 Planet Ale and Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.
Back when Sand Creek "was on the farm" that much beer would be about half a years production!
I am starting a 30+hr run of brewing, don't worry, I've got Nate for 10 hrs. Tuesday so I can go home and catch a nap.
If all things work out I will be done by the time the sun comes up on Wednesday, Jim said I could have that day off!!
Actually we have all taken Wednesday off, I have too many lagers in the system now and they have slowed us down a bit.
People always ask me why I work around the clock, I tell them "once the kettles are hot and dirty we might as well keep them running."
It is easier to clean once than spend 2 hrs. a day cleaning.
We have to be efficient to get more beer thru the system, we walked into the cooler last week and Jim wanted to use it as a refrigerated handball court!

Thanks to all of you for stopping by on Saturday for our Karner Blue tours and also for blowing Miller Lite out of the water for sales downtown.
Lite sold 3 half barrels but so did 1 Planet ale and Groovy Brew!
We appreaciate all of your support !!!

Friday at 3 p.m. we will be giving tours again this week along with Saturday, 12 to 4p.m.

Jim will be busy in Clayton for the sportsman's club beer fest.
www.claytonwilions.org/

Dan and Donna will be in Marshfield for the Hub City days beer fest.
1 to 5p.m. and $25 at the gate.
www.mainstreetmarshfield.com

We will also be supporting the Kickapoo county fair.
http://www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo
Mark is putting on a chocolate and beer tasting in the Kickapoo Kitchen from 4 til 6:30 with a cost of $10.
What could be wrong with that? Chocolate....Beer.....Yum!

Well, back to work. See you all soon.
Todd


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Another fine weekend!

3,744 individual rib portions
400 participants
70 different and unique beers
15 breweries
6 Different rib cookers!
1 - FIRST PRIZE AWARD TO THE TEGAROSA CATTLE COMPANY for Peoples Choice award!

A HUGE Congratulations to Kevin and Pic for scoring the Peoples Choice award at the Chetek Rib and Brew fest held last weekend! It was a perfect day for ribs and beer (well what days are not?), perfect temperature, great sunshine, great friends, cool breeze - all in all an "Optimal Beer Drinking type day!

An extra special thanks to the organizers of the Chetek Fest for putting on such a wonderful event.

To all of you followers of good beer and ribs - I cant recommend this event enough! Don't miss it next year!


Ok - on to what is happening THIS weekend. This weekend is the Karner Blue Butterfly festival. This event is being held right here in Black River Falls. There are craft booths, a parade, live music, chicken dinner and of course brewery tours and good beer! The events start on Saturday Morning and run all day.

Brewery tours will start at 10am and run till 4pm (ish)

See you then

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Holiday Weekend Update - VERSION 2

Greetings!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we will be open for our usual madness on Friday night (Doors open at 3pm - tours at 3:30pm)

We will be CLOSED on Saturday the 4th in observance of the 4th of July!

We will also be CLOSED on Monday the 6th.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Ok - I know we havnt posted much this month....

Greeting fellow beer fans!

Yes we know we have not posted much over the last month. Truthfully, your favorite little brewery is in full motion at this time! This week alone Todd and Nate will have brewed 140 bbls of our fine products. Just this week. They have been kinda doing that each and every week. Whew!

This weeks brew have been the Wild Ride IPA, Lemonade and several of our contract brews. The Hard Lemonade is moving out of the brewery faster than expected which is a good thing! Sales on all of our products in fact are up from last year. So special Kudos go out to our fantastic fans of the brewery and our great distribution network!

Coming up in the Month of July we have our newest package coming out! Thats right folks our new Heritage 12 pack will be released by the end of July! Each 12 pack will have 3 or 4 varieties of our products! It will always be changing so keep an eye on the sticker on the top of the package!

In July we also will be in the midst of major brewfesting! July 4th weekend we will have our beer out at the Fest in the Park in Black River Falls. Band, Food and Fireworks. The Vic Ferrari Band starts playing at 8:30pm with fireworks at 10pm. The event is being held at the Lunda Community Park and admission is $12 for adults, Kids 5 - 12 $6.

The Chetek Rib and Beer fest will be held in Chetek Wisconsin on July 11th at Phillips Park! Our own Pitmaster Kevin with the assistance of Pic and Cora will be one of the teams in the rib competition! We can hardly wait!

The Oshkosh Brews and Blues fest is being held on the 11th too! Good tunes and brews from your favorite brewery.

July 18th is the Karner Blue Butterfly festival with brewery tours from 10am - 4pm. There are activities all day and into the evening throughout Black River Falls. Event information can be found by clicking here!

July 25th is the Brewfest up in Clayton Wisconsin - Richardson Park from Noon - 6pm. Plenty of bbq's pork, beer and horseshoes and this year come on and see Ann's Cannon!

As always there is more information on our website!

Thats it for now!

Monday, June 1, 2009

A Monday Post - Welcome aboard Ryan!

Greetings Everyone.

I do hope everyone had a good weekend - the weather (well here in Wisconsin) was about as perfect as you could have it.

This week we have a lot going on - Todd is brewing up a batch of Lager beer for one of our clients today and Dan is working with the newest member of our crew Ryan. Ryan is our official first brewery intern and will be attending the Siebel Institute in Chicago this fall. Later on this week we will be bottling up a couple of Furthermore products, some Wild Ride and kegging up more rootbeer and Black River Red.

This weekend, Nate, Pic, Cora and myself will be pouring beer in New Richmond on Saturday the 6th from 4pm - 7pm. It is their second annual Blues and Brews type fest. Come on and visit us.

Have a good week everyone

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

What a weekend!

Well we all survived this weekends festivities! Saturday we attended the 2nd annual Great Tastes of Black River Falls fest. This year it was held outdoors complete with a 40 mph wind! Good food, good drink and great friends all around.

Sunday your favorite brew crew poured beer at the Wisconsin Microbrewer's fest in Chilton - holy smokes! 10 1/2 bbls of product were poured! Twas another successful event and it is always good to see the folks on the east coast of Wisconsin!

Monday - (which came waaay to fast after a two fest weekend - JUst to letcha know....) bottling started in the dark and early hours so we could get out our famous Sand Creek Hard Lemonade! That's right - The Lemon is on its way out to the markets as you read this! We shipped to East coast of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Madison, LaCrosse and all points between.

The rest of this week will consist of filtering, brewing, bottling and then collapsing for the holiday weekend!

We will be open this Friday for our usual fun (Im thinking Carl's Fish fry!)

We will be CLOSED this Saturday and Memorial Day.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Milwaukee Mike for fixing up our company ride on Saturday! May your goblet o Groovy Brew never be empty!

Last but not least - make sure you read a few of these reviews..Hail to the power of the wolf!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Beeeeer Fests

Lets see - its Friday - Its the 3rd weekend in May.

That means its a big Beer Fest Weekend!

Couple of great events coming up this weekend for you!

First - Tomorrow, May 16th is the Black River Falls Great Tastes Festival! The event runs from 4pm - 8pm at the Lunda Park. Advance Tickets are $25 and $30 at the door. Many of your favorite brewers will be in attendance and the funds from the event will help the local athletic booster club! Come on down and see the gang - we are bringing our beer wagon and will be pouring - One Planet, IPA, Oscar,Lemonade, Special Reserve , Frostop and maybe something else. Beware the Fat Belgian - muhuhahahahaha!

Sunday! Todd, Nate, Dangerous Dan and myself will be pouring beer at the 17th(?) Annual Wisconsin Microbrew Fest in Chilton. Great event lots of fun and beer. Yes its right after the BRF event but we are here for you and will tough out the grueling schedule! :)

We will be CLOSED the next two Saturdays due to the beer fests and the holiday weekend.

We WILL be OPEN this Friday for our usual fun and games.

'nuff said!

Friday, May 8, 2009

TGIF

Tis Friday - the glorious of days in which we all can recover from a week. I do have a few idle thoughts though so a little stumpifying first before we outline the activities of the upcoming week!

Last night my family and I decided that we wanted to go to the local pizza joint for a bit of pie. What we found is a business that is by all looks and appearances closed and heading out of business. We went in the back door and there was none of the familiar things on the wall, empty beer cooler (YIKES!), and pizza supplies bagged up. All the telltale signs that it was closed and for good. Its sad and I am hoping he is just packing up stuff for a remodel or something.

The decision was made to move on and my son and I ran up to the local store to buy a couple of frozen pies from another local vendor - Jan's Pizza in Alma center. Killer product by the way, highly recommended if your in the mood for a premium frozen pizza. (even better when you get there on pizza night and its fresh! - Jan's Place in Alma Center - Tell 'em Jim and Todd sent you from the brewery!)

On the way home to cook our dinner my 8yr old son complained that his favorite pizza joint was closed - we both agreed that indeed "it was a bummer" I asked him why do you think that happened? He replied, "too much stuff comes from China"

What? Wow! When I was 8 years old I was watching reruns of Star Trek and the Rat Patrol!

Anyway - this became a very pleasant and important discussion on the impact of buying local and how it is important to all of us. With detail placed on the money which stays local provides jobs, food, clothing, mortgages etc for people he knows. I am quite proud of my boy!

Growing up in Berlin Wisconsin I always wondered why my father would buy local rather than head over to the malls in Oshkosh - he didn't mind paying a bit more. And at the time the downtown commerce of Berlin was generally speaking quite sound. We had the five and dime stores, gun shops, flower shops, drug stores, clothing , movie theater, shoe stores and FOUR Grocery stores. When we had our sidewalk crazy days the downtown was PACKED with people! Now when I drive through Berlin - desolate no commerce. Ouch. We have ALL seen this happen in small town USA.

With the alleged demise of another local business, we have seen now 4 places in the Jackson County area close up - all of them food and drink related. Mollys, Nico's, Pizza Joint (to remain nameless till confirmed), Rustic Mill and who knows who else. Where am i going with this? You can guess, our economy is a mess, we cannot depend on the government for a small business bailout but we can help each other out! BUY LOCAL. Think long and hard about that next trip out of town to buy from a big chain. I do understand that one sometimes has to out of town just keep in mind that the perceived money you may save probably just got burned up in fuel! The money that you spend will stay local, create jobs, pay taxes, and buy pizza!

Ok - whats going on this weekend? Usual fun at the brewery tonight and tomorrow! Next weekend is our local brewfest from 4pm - 8pm at the Lunda Community Park. Tickets are available at the Buzz N Brew Shop, here at the brewery and at the CCU Co-op. $25!

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Saturday!

Well greetings fellow beer folk!

Its May 2nd and since it is the first Saturday in May it means WE ARE OPEN!! Yes, tour time at your favorite brewery! Our summer hours are from Noon til 4pm. Last tour at 3:30pm. I would also like to take a moment and welcome our two newest additions to the Sand Creek Brew Crew.. Chris and Brenda! Both of them will be handling the Saturday biz of tending bar and giving great tours!.

Let see what else is new.. Ah yes - there is a movement to increase the taxes we all pay on our beer. Representative RIsser and Berceau are spearheading the movement to increase the excise taxes on beer -
This bill would raise Wisconsin's beer tax (the third lowest in the country) for the first time in 40 years by 2.4¢ per 12 oz. bottle or can. Approximately $40 million in new revenue would be allocated to segregated accounts to fund alcohol abuse prevention and treatment programs and alcohol law enforcement throughout Wisconsin.


The actual information on the "propsed bill" is to go from $2 per barrel to $10 per barrel. Folks that is a 500% increase in tax. For your favorite little brewery that would be an additional $40,000 in taxes we would be required to pay irregardless if we turn a profit or not. It is a HUGE number.

You need to ask yourself - do you want another tax? To the sayers that say "oh thats not too bad" think again - you are being taxed (read punished) for drinking beer. If you want to curb drunk driving (which we ALL do by the way) put some teeth into the drunk driving laws. make the 2nd and on offenses FELONYS! Instead of the slap on the hand.

Excise taxes on beer would have a serious impact on jobs and economic development in Wisconsin, an area where brewing is an important industry. In the state, there are more than 32,000 beer-related jobs in brewing, distributing and supply and this number does not count the many thousands of people employed in our taverns, grocery stores and convenience stores selling beer. Nearly 34,000 more jobs exist in Wisconsin due to the impact of beer and beer sales. The excise tax increase under discussion would also negatively affect the total annual economic impact of the beer industry -- nearly $7.7 billion in Wisconsin. (information taken from Jensen/Madland opinion - captial times 4/17/09)
Help us beat this down- contact your local representatvies and tell them we dont need additional taxes - ESPECIALLY the way the current economy is running. Tell them we dont need to punish responsible drinkers nor an industry which is bucking the downtrend and is actually adding jobs and funds to the economy of Wisconsin.

Whew!


Thursday, April 23, 2009

NEW POST! WOOHOO!

Greetings everyone!

Well its been awhile since our last post (almost a month!) Alot has happened here at the brewery. We have successfully painted the entire main floor from top to bottom and freshened up the tap room. The work was done by the crew and of course our friend Pic. Cora kept us all in line!

With that being said - we have been going gangbusters to get caught up from being shut down for the remodeling project. Todd and Nate have been brewing their collective brains out with no end in sight! (thats good!) We are also now the Midwest dealer of Frostop Rootbeer - which means we are the sole sellers and producers of all the draft Frostop Product. Yay us!

Many events coming up - Tonite - Mark will be at the World's Largest Office Party which is being held in LaCrosse. This Saturday - Todd, myself, Tom, Char and Kevin will be pouring beer at the Between the Bluffs Brewfest in LaCrosse from 1pm to 6pm. Always a good time and ticketes are available at the gate. The event will be held at the Oktoberfest grounds.

Coming up REAL soon is the 2nd Annual Great Tastes Festival being held in Black River Falls! This year we are having a venue change it (since the fair grounds are under construction!) will be held at the Lunda Community Center from 4pm - 8pm on May 16th. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Tickets are available at the Brewery, the Buzz n Brew Shop and the CO-OP Credit Union. Come Check this out - proceeds from this event are for the Black River Falls Athletic Booster Club. Last year was a great time - over 50 beers and 20 wines will be featured along with some EXCELLENT meats and cheeses!.

Thats all for now- duty calls me to the bottling line. Oh, yeah - one more thing. We are also looking for a production assistant here at the brewery. The job entails liftin' and totin' kegs, making and filing rootbeer, stuffin 6 packs, working on the bottling line, and other duties as assigned. This is a Part-time seasonal type position - please no calls, just stop in and fill out an application.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday - Post 2 of 2

Ok now more of the fun stuff.

Well tis Friday once more! Last week we had our 2nd annual Screw Winter Party! It was quite the event. Food was catered in by our friends at the Tegarosa Cattle Company and our favorite city official (thanks Bill!). The disemination and presentation of the vittles was orchestrated by Pic. Our musicial entertainment (Great musical entertainment btw) was provided by Garett Gilbertson, Steve Meyer and Jim Wall. They played some great stuff. If you need some local talent from the Black River Falls area - drop me a note and I will put you in contact with the trio.

So whats up this Friday?

Our usual antics however our good friends from Beechwood Distributing of Milwaukee will be coming up for a tour, food and pints.

Thats it for now. Remember the brewery will be closed April 7th - 12th for floor work!

Post 1 of 2 for a Friday!

Hi Gang

The Sand Creek Brewing Company will be CLOSED April 7th - 12th.

Yes fans we are closing the doors for a few days! Why you may ask? Well, we are in the process of some much needed renovation work within the our fine little shop. This project will be sealing the floor with an epoxy finish. I guess after a 151 years of foot traffic the floor could use a little help.

SO

The Sand Creek Brewing Company will be CLOSED April 7th - 12th.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Catching up

Yes I am alive!
Every one's favorite brewmaster is busy at work filling the pipeline with beer.
Nate and I have been brewing non stop since Monday night at midnight.
Here as I write this it is 1:20 am. on Wednesday and I have just mashed in the last batch, only about 5 more hours to go until that one is in the tank. By the way, that would be 140 bbls. of brewing or about 2000 cases of beer.

The reason for the brew schedule?
First it was the painting we did 2 weeks ago and then we had a miscalculation on our grain in the silo, ARRRG, brain fart!
Finally I came in Sunday night at Midnight to start the brewing and found that my boiler was not working right.
After a few hours of working on it I went to the couch to catch a nap, it was 2 am. and my water was not going to get hot!
Later in the morning with the help of our heating guy Dean, we found the problem in a bad brain box.
Without the brain box the boiler would not fire up, heck we couldn't even cheat and make it work!
Later on Monday afternoon I had some help come from our in-house HVAC god Rob.
Rob had just the right part to get us back on the road to making beer, it is just a temporary fix until the replacement come in but It works.

There, now you are caught up to the joyous things that a brewmaster has to put up on a daily basis.
With that I am back to work and hope to see you all on Friday night for the Screw Winter Party.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Black River Longneck Brewing Club

Hey Gang!

Just wanted to point out to you all that there is a new link in our "Favorites" section. The link is one for our friends at the Buzz N Brew shop right here in Black River Falls. Joe and Maria run a top notch brew shop and is one of the few in the area. Check them out for any wine/beer/sausage making needs.

The web page also provides you with a link to the Black River Longneck Brewing Clubs page on the Buzz N Brew site. There are lots of cool activities coming up including a home brew contest! Click the link and find out all the details.

'nuff fer now. Another post later today about our upcoming party at the brewery!

Friday, February 27, 2009

TGIF!

Good times a coming! On March 20th we will be having our 2nd annual SCREW winter Party! Invariably I am expecting about 12 inches of snow that day! Doors will open at 3pm for tours and such. Food and vittles around 6pm and we will have local acoustic entertainment from 7 to 10ish. I will post more details as they become apparent.

Well looks like we made it through another week! And quite a week it was. The usual stuff at the brewery, beer a brewing, beer a filtering, beer a bottling and beer a leaving!

Last weekend we had a pretty amazing set of beer fests! On Saturday, Mark poured beer at the Milwaukee Public Museum's Food and Froth event. Todd poured beer at the Manitowoc event and on Sunday I poured beer at the Milwaukee Ale House's - Mid Winter brewfest! At the Ale house we had a new FOP (Friend of the program) pour beer. Our good friend Ryan did one heck of a job getting folks to try our beers and he has signed on for the duration.

This weekend - Todd will be over on the East Cost of Wisconsin (sorta) and pouring beer at the F.A.C.E.S. event (check the website for details!) Other than that it will be a quiet one with the excepetion for the major project here at the brewery - we are starting to paint the interior. And when I say "We" I am NOT refering to a past memory of a carnival ride but refer to that Pic will be spearheading the outfit with a little help from Nate, Todd and Myself.

Usual fun and games at the brewery this evening! Doors open at 3pm - Tours at 3:30.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

READ THIS AND PASS IT ON!

This is freakin GOOD NEWS!! Help small brewers - CONTACT YOUR US SENATOR /CONGRESSIONAL FOLKS!!

BA Small Brewery Members,
On Tuesday, February 3rd, HR 836, the Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) and Congressman Tom Latham (R-Iowa). This legislation seeks to reduce the tax burden for all brewers and specifically reduces the small brewer rate by 50% to $3.50 a barrel.

This is truly amazing news - If you read my older post HERE, you can see the profound effect that excises taxes have on a small brewery. Although I would love to be exempt from the tax a 50% reduction will still result in more jobs, a better brewery and an increased chance of success not only for your favorite brewery but ALL brewers!

I ask you all - friends of Sand Creek to contact your Congressman and Representatives to add their vote and voice in support of this legislation. Representative Ron Kind has already signed up! (first person besides the original authors! THANKS RON!) You can click this LINK, enter your zip code and you will find out the contact information for your representative - call them, contact them email them and urge them to support this decisive and critical legislation

I am a happy guy

Monday, February 9, 2009

2075 and STILL counting!

Well we made it through another weekend. I want to give a shout out to all of the folks that made Friday night a truly great night. First off a big thank you to everyone who attended the festivities. As usual we had a TON of food. The Tegarosa Cattle Company did the honors with smoked pork tenderloin, venison and turkey. It was fabulous! Many thanks to everyone that brought a dish to pass around. Everything was delicious and there wasn't much left at the end of the evening!

Special thanks to the crew that helped put this event on - Todd, Nate, Dan, Donna, Kevin, Lizzy, Nancy, Trish, Sherry, Leif, Charlotte, Tom , Ena, Mike, Rhonda, Bill, Pic and Cora too! (Cora was in charge of quality control of all meat products). If I miss anyone my sincerest apologies! THANK YOU ALL!

Atlantic Wave put on a stellar show even with Barry having about 1/3 vocal capacity. We estimated we had about 300 folks in here on and off through the night. We had many old friends (Dan - it was good to see you!) show up along with many new ones! All in all a rousing success.

This weekend we have a few tastings I believe but no major fests. Usual fun on Friday at 3pm.

Next Month - we will be shut down for a weekend for some spring cleaning and painting. As soon as we get the date figured out I will post it here. Becauase we will be depriving you all of a Friday night of fun and games, our next BIG night will be March 20th which is the Spring Equinox (leaving no doubt we will get at LEAST 3459734525 inches of snow!) Food and Entertainment will assuredly be available. Details posted as they develop!

Have a good week everyone!

(The 2075 notation is the counter we installed when the blog was started! It keeps moving up - slowly but surely - feel free to leave comments and such!)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Oscar is in the house!

There is nothing better than walking into the brewhouse at the crack of dawn and smelling the wonderful scents of another batch of Oscar wafting through a building. Yes its brewing day. Todd and Nate have whipped up another batch of our award winning stout. Now if I can get a steady supply of it infused with nitrogen...

Not a lot to report today. Just the usual end of year madness, minor and major project completion and of course selling beer. Todd, Dan, Nate and our friend Rob have been doing a great job getting our custom made depalletizer put together. Our first run will be tomorrow morning. If you hear breaking glass - just blame Leif!

Dont forget our festivities this coming Friday and look for a one special event at the brewery each and every month in addition to our usual Friday fun. No big beer fests this week but the weekend of the 21st we will be well represented at the Manitowoc Brewfest (attended by Der Brewmeister), The Food and Froth at the Milwaukee Public Museum (Mark) and on Sunday the 22nd the Midwinter Brewfest at the Milwaukee Ale Houe (Beer being poured by Pic, Barry and me)

Thats all for now!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

This makes my brain hurt!

Hi Everyone - Good Tuesday to you all.

I was perusing the web and getting my latest news fix. This article managed to raise my blood pressure a bit. The news is what the GOP is pointing out as wasteful spending on the Economic stimulus plan - Senate version. Here are FEW things that makes you say to your self "Self? how is this going to turn around the economy? and "What was that about earmarks again?" Remember folks this is an economic stimulus plan - it shouldn't be a social social programs plan.
(You can get the full read on www.cnn.com or just click the above link)

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.

• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.

• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.

• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD's.

• $75 million for "smoking cessation activities."

• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.

Granted some of the programs will create jobs but lets do it smart OK? PLEASE??

Ok other rant - whats with all of the hotshot politicos who are getting appointed to the cabinet who DONT PAY THEIR FREAKIN INCOME TAXES? Good lord any common folk that would have the sheer audacity to do that would have the IRS just climbing all over them and taking away everything!

Sheesh!

Ok enough of the rants. Another reminder that this Friday we are proud to present Atlantic Wave who will be playing the music of Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton. Doors open at 3pm, tours at 3:30, Food and goodies around 5pm (ish) and music at 8pm. NO COVER!!

Be well all!


Friday, January 30, 2009

OOOH Baby - Spring is close cuz its BOCK season!

Just a quick note. Nate (our fine Assistant Brewer) filtered down this years version of our Oderbolz Bock Beer. This morning - Woody (our fine Assistant Master of Disaster) brought me a glass of said recently filtered but now carbonated Oderbolz Bock.


Good lord is it an exceptional beer! Big, Malty Sweetness with a big ol' kick!

SO - it will be bottled soon - try it and you will see why our Oderbolz Bock won a Gold Medal in The World Beer Cup in 2002. A major tip of the hat to my partner in crime Todd the Master Brewer for once again putting out a killer beer.

Words escape me - THE bock is here! WOO HOO!

On that note - Nate will be in Clintonville pouring beer on Saturday (check out our website for details) and we will be open for our usual fun and games on Friday. Come pay homage to Cora our brewery dog.

Come see us next Friday for our 2/6/09 - Sand Creek Economy Recovery Plan night - Atlantic Wave (NO COVER) - Doors open at 3pm - Food and Goodies at 5pm and Music at 8pm!

I may have another bock....

Sláinte!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

VEGAS BABY !!

Hey everyone.
Todd here, back from Vegas.
Yes it was warmer, about 60 in the day and 40's at night.
Had a great time with my mom spending upwards of 12 hrs. a day in the casinos.
Yes you can say that when I gamble I like to get my dollars worth.
I have seen most of the sights and since I stay at her home I am not trapped on the Strip like most visitors.
We put most of our time in the outskirts at "local" casinos. These have a more personal touch and the limits are usually lower.
I did have a few beers while I was there but was not impressed so I was forced to drink large amounts of Knob Creek and Makers Mark. I took one for the team!
I drank the always fine Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but was disappointed with the other beers.
The first was Widmer Hefeweise, this beer was cloudy but it tasted like it was brewed with a simple ale yeast and then cloud or a hazy yeast was added later. Really bland without any of the weiss flavors I expected, Woody's blows it out of the glass!
The next beer witch was not as a good as I wanted was a local micro. www.tenayacreekbrewery.com
Tenaya Creek was the company, It was a cool thing that they were in a major casino but the beer was just laking a bit.
I had the Nut Brown witch was not very well carbonated and had a bit of extra sweetness.
I'm thinking that they are pushing the beers thru too fast.
They had no infections or real off flavors but it was not one of my favs.

Just another reminder to all...
Big party on Febuary 6 with Atlantic Wave here @ the brewery.
See you there.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Fun Night at the Brewery!!

Hey all,

Just wanted to get a quick shot out there to let you know that on February 6th we will be having one of our famous events! The doors will open at our usual time of 3pm for tours and such. I imagine we will have some smoked goodies a cookin'.

What makes this an EXTRA fun Friday night is at 8pm our friends from Atlantic Wave will be taking the stage in front of the brew kettle 'till 11pm! We will allow them various beer breaks!

SO - Mark your calendar - plan on being here on February 6th!

(we are up to our usual antics tonite!)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Back to normal

Brr!

Ok back to normal if you like sub-zero temperatures and snow. -14 degrees this AM! Freakin Balmy!

Lets see whats going on this week.. Todd is brewing up some beer for our client in Spring Green and the boys are kegging up a ginormous amount of beer as well. Lucky me? Getting ready to file for taxes. Hey I got an idea for an economic stimulus plan! Make all breweries that produce under 15,000 bbls exempt from excise taxes and give a break to the Regional brewers till they get to 60,000! Lets do the math shall we? This past year we produced 5100 bbls which equates to $40,800 in revenue for GWB and our own Governor Doyle. If we were exempt of that tax your favorite little brewery could add a position or two for new employees, upgrade our bottling line so we are more profitable and efficient or . The result would be more revenue would roll back to the Government in the form of income and property taxes.

I like it!

$40,800 might not seem like a lot so lets look at the bigger picture shall we? (we are pretty convinced its a big thing)

In 2007 there are 1,463 craft breweries in the good ol' USA - of which 1,420 are independantly owned and operated by guys and gals like Todd and Myself. Of those 1,463 breweries - 392 are considered Microbreweries (15,000 bbls or less annual production) and 975 brewpubs.

For this little exercise we will concentrate on the Microbreweries and the Brewpubs. The 2007 produced volume for the small guys was 1,687,111 barrels of beer which generated

$11,809,777 of FEDERAL revenue. Cant get you all the State info - sorry!

How many jobs, How much equipment, how much of a better standard of life would those dollars produce and in turn what kind of revenue would it ultimately generate for going against that TRILLION dollar deficit. Not just revenue from the breweries but from the grain suppliers, glass suppliers, crown suppliers, printers, advertising folks, grocery stores, clothing stores, vehicle sales, Downtown USA etc etc. I think you get the picture.

If we don't start seriously taking care of the little guys running the small business's of the USA there wont be many of us left.

Being a father of two I work hard at instilling into my kiddos what a promise is. When they are small its easy to explain a promise as "ya gotta do what you say your going to do"
Many BIG promises were made during this last election period so its time to pony up and do the right thing.

To OUR newly elected and incumbent Wisconsin officials:

Governor Doyle, Senator Vinehout and Rep Radcliffe - Ya gonna do what you said your going to do?

To newly elected and incumbent US officials:

Mr. President Elect Obama, Representative Kind, Senators Feingold and Kohl -
Ya gonna do what you said your going to do?

edit 2/12/09 (Rep Kind had lent his voice and support for the Brewer's Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009 - THANK YOU!)




Thursday, January 8, 2009

Friday Night the 9th

Hi folks,

Just a reminder - the brewery will be closed to the public until 8pm Friday night. We are hosting the Tri-County Bar Association Winter Meeting till then.

Thanks and see you tomorrow!

Jim and Todd

Monday, January 5, 2009

A New Year Upon us!

Greetings everyone!

Well we made it through the holidays and I hope all of you did too! With the end of 2008 and the start of 2009 it always makes me ponder life's little mysteries! First off I just want to echo Todd's post and thank all of you folks for making 2008 yet another successful year! We wound up having a record setting December and we grew another 28.1% over 2007 (for the year)

Wow! Thats pretty neat!

On Dec 31st we also had our very first New Years Eve Party! It was well attended and the food was great! Kevin smoked up a ginormous Turkey and two haunches of venison. Pic whipped up some seriously hot-kick ass wings along with some sweeter ones along with some sushi. Tom brought his 3 alarm chili and Sherrie had some wonderful stuffed mushrooms! Oh yeah thats just the stuff off the top of my head. Lord knows we had plenty of other goodies as well. If you left the party hungry you were just not trying hard enough! Thanks to everyone who brought in some good stuff. Look around the first weekend in February for our next event - complete with music. Oh yeah - It was GOOD to see you again Taylor!

Our winter warmer beer that was released (Draft only!) was a barrel aged Oderbolz Bock. It went down well. Speaking of our award winning bock beer.. we decided to brew it up this year and it will be released in February in 6 packs and draft! I can hardly wait!

Lets see what else... This week is another abrievieated week for us. This Friday we will be closed to the public! (Sorry Friday Crew!) We are hosting the Tri-county Bar Association Winter Meeting! We may open up later in the evening to the public. Keep an eye on this blog for further details!

Other than that...Enjoy the balmy Wisconsin Weather!

(i will have a few more idle thoughts on the year later this week!)

Jim