Sprecher Brewery

Sprecher Brewery Co. Inc.
Industry Alcoholic beverages, soft drinks
Founded 1985
Headquarters Glendale, Wisconsin
United States
Products Beer, soda

Sprecher Brewery is a brewery in Glendale, Wisconsin, USA. It was founded in 1985 in Milwaukee by Randal Sprecher, and is Milwaukee's first craft brewery since Prohibition. Sprecher produces an assortment of beers, flavored malt beverages and sodas. Sprecher produces another line of beers under its Chameleon Brewing Company label that is well-respected but not widely available.

Despite producing a full range of award-winning craft beers, the brewery is arguably best known for its Black Bavarian (Schwarzbier)and premium sodas. Sprecher brews more root beer than all of its alcoholic beers combined.[1]

History

Founder Randal Sprecher, a California native, earned his first degree in oceanography and his second in brewing. He was employed by Pabst in Milwaukee. After just over four years at Pabst, he founded his own brewery in 1985. The new brewery was started on a budget of $40,000. Sprecher purchased equipment to keep costs down, including a 16-oz. bottling machine from Coca-Cola and some of this equipment remains in use today.[2] The current Sprecher facility was acquired in 1994.

Production

Raw Wisconsin honey is used as a primary ingredient in its root beer and Sprecher Ginger Ale uses real, locally-grown ginger.

The brewery has started hop production, along with several others Wisconsin craft breweries, and has been producing small batches of fresh "green" hop brews.

Year-round beers

Seasonal beers

Seasonal beers include:

Limited release beers

Sodas

Sprecher root beer

Chameleon Beers

Brewery tour

Sprecher Brewery offers year-round tours of its facility, including the brew house, the refrigerated cellar, and the bottling line and warehouse. Tours conclude in the indoor beer garden where customers are welcome to sample a wide range of beers and sodas on tap.

Traveling Beer Garden

Sprecher has two sets of firetrucks and ambulances that serve as Milwaukee County Parks Traveling Beers Gardens from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Each set visits a Milwaukee County Park for ten (10) days, then moves to another location throughout the summer. A unique twist on Milwaukee's beer gardens at the turn of the 20th century, the Traveling Beer Gardens have proved to be a highly appreciated addition to Milwaukee County Parks and a sustainable private public partnership.

Recognition

Sprecher has earned awards for 25 different beer types in prestigious national and international competitions. Awards include: 2004 GABF Small Brewing Company of the Year and 2004 GABF Small Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year. 2007 Australian International Beer Awards, Best of Show & Gold Medal - Russian Imperial Stout; Dopple Bock - Silver; Piper's Scotch Ale - Bronze; 2014 World Beer Cup, Gold - Black Bavarian (Schwarzbier); Bronze - Shakparo (Gluten free); 2004, Bronze - Winter Brew; 2002, Gold - Winter Brew. Several awards annually at both the Los Angeles International Beer Competition and the United States Open Beer Championships.

In a 2008 The New York Times taste test, four judges ranked Sprecher's #1 among 25 root beers from across the United States for its "wonderfully balanced and complex brew."[3] A review in the October 2009 edition of Details also praised the root beer as "elegant."[4]

In popular culture

2005: Won "Most Deserving Small Business Office" Makeover from Xerox, Hon Furniture and Entrepreneur magazine. Featured on NBC's Today show.[5] In November 2006, a contestant on NBC's Deal or No Deal was offered a life-time supply Sprecher's Root Beer, his favorite soda.[6]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Reddin, Matthew (13 August 2015). "Sprecher celebrates 30 years of beers, root and otherwise". Wisconsin Gazette. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sprecher Brewery, Milwaukee, WI Revised". Good Beer Hunting. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  3. ↑ Asimov, Eric (25 June 2008). "A Drink in Search of a Frosty Mug". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Details Magazine Proclaims Sprecher Root Beer “Elegant” SprecherBrewery.com (September 2009). Retrieved on 8-07-11.
  5. ↑ "Sprecher Brewing Co. Named 'Most Deserving' Of Small Business Office Makeover By Xerox, Entrepreneur Magazine" (Press release). 22 July 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Sprecher on Deal or No Deal SprecherBrewery.com (2007). Retrieved on 8-07-11.

External links

Coordinates: 43°05′59″N 87°55′10″W / 43.09971°N 87.919566°W / 43.09971; -87.919566

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