Menomonie and Western WI in general are home to a unique sub-culture of brewers. Wisconsin has a long history of brewing beer, much of which is has historically been German style lager beer. Wisconsin consumers have a tendency to prefer lighter flavored beers and this culture has made it difficult for new craft brewers to sell their bold and often hop forward products. Western Wisconsin though has a fairly progressive attitude towards many things, beer being but one of them. Brewers in this area focus heavily on local ingredients and creative flavor combinations but are not afraid to be traditional and keep things simple. Flavor is what matters.
Menomonie's motto of "Traditional yet Progressive" is a fitting descriptor of the local beer scene. With three local brewers in a small town one could be forgiven to believe the market is over saturated. Menomonie, however, is fully capable of supporting it's local businesses. The value placed on local business by the residents of Menomonie cannot be overstated. The beer scene is but one example of this. Lucette Brewing is the oldest and largest of the three. They specialize in American ales and feature a 15 bbl brewhouse with 30 bbl fermenters. They also have a wood fired pizza restaurant serving traditional Neapolitan style pizza. Zymurgy Brewing and Public House is slated to open summer of 2018. They are a 7 bbl brewery and will feature a wide variety of beers including German hefe beers, Belgian ales and non-traditional approaches to fermentation. Lastly, Brewery Nonic, scheduled to open summer of 2018 as well, is located in an historic train depot. They are a 5 bbl brewery and will feature many English style ales as well as a huge variety of one-off beers featuring multiple yeast strains. On top of this is Beverage Artisan. A locally owned home brewing supply shop with a wide variety of ingredients, equipment and very helpful staff. Beverage Artisan also plays host to group brew days with the local Menomonie Home Brewers Club; a well organized club hosting monthly meetings at local establishments.
The Midwest Craft Brewers Conference is help at the University of WI Stout annually. The conference brings together brewing industry members from across the board to learn, discuss and share information about the brewing industry. Topics can range from brewing processes, ingredients, financial, advertising and packaging among others.
Menomonie is at the center of a very special brewing region. Beer in Menomonie is special to the people around here because the brewers approach it with a "wild west" creativity while maintaining focus on traditional techniques and an eye for local touches. We aren't prone to fads, or hip styles. We don't rate our beers on a 10 point scale. We are every bit as creative and experimental and anyone else but at the end of the day a beer can just be a beer and that is great.
