Sprecher Brewery is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in Glendale, Wisconsin, U.S. It was founded in 1985 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

by Randal Sprecher, and is Milwaukee's first craft brewery since

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. Sprecher produces an assortment of

beers Beers may refer to: * plural of beer, an alcoholic beverage * Beers (surname) * Beers, Friesland, a Dutch place in the Friesland municipality of Littenseradiel * Beers, North Brabant Beers (Brabants: ''Bèèrs'') is a village in the former Dutc ...

, flavored malt beverages, and

craft soda Craft soda is a soft drink that is produced in small quantities from natural ingredients. Craft soda is in most cases made with sweeteners other than sucrose (sugar) or high-fructose corn syrup and contains sparing amounts of preservatives. Craf ...

s, and it is famous for its

root beer Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree ''Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of ''Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, Sarsaparilla (soft drink ...

. Despite producing a full range of award-winning craft beers, the brewery is arguably best known for its Black Bavarian (

schwarzbier , black beer, is a dark lager that originated in Germany. It has an opaque, black colour with hints of chocolate or coffee flavours, and is generally around 5% ABV. It is similar to stout in that it is made from roasted malt, which gives it its d ...

) and premium sodas. Sprecher brews more

than all of its alcoholic beers combined.

History

The founder, Randal Sprecher, a California native, earned his first degree in

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

and his second in brewing. He was employed by

Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist *Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker *Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer *Georg Wilhelm ...

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 hand-manufactured and purchased equipment to keep costs down, including a 16-oz. bottling machine from

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

, and some of this equipment remains in use today. The current Sprecher facility was acquired in 1994. In January 2020, a group of local investors acquired Sprecher Brewery, with Sharad Chadha taking the helm as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and President. The new leadership expanded distribution by 10 states, up to 30 total, and grew production capacity by added a new canning line and warehouse space. Over the course of two years, the company doubled to 110 people and went from running a single shift four days a week to double shifts five days a week with the capacity to expand further. In October 2021, Sprecher acquired six soda brands from Chicago-based WIT Beverage Co., including

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

. In January 2022, Sprecher transitioned all of its beer styles from bottles to cans, and accompanied a brand refresh with new labels.

Production

Raw Wisconsin

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

is used as a primary ingredient in its root beer, and Sprecher Ginger Ale uses locally grown

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. Sprecher's recipe and method for producing its root beer has remained unchanged since its founding. The brewing uses a "fire-brewed" process that brews in a kettle with fire underneath, rather than steam, which caramelizes the sugars and helps blend flavors and create complexity.

Year-round beers

* Special Amber - Vienna Lager * Black Bavarian - Schwarzbier * Hefe Weiss - Bavaria wheat ale * Abbey Triple - Belgian Tripel * Pineapple X-Press - Belgian IPA * Juicy IPA - Juicy India Pale Ale

Seasonal beers

Seasonal beer A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries and microbreweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during ...

s include: * Mai Bock - Blonde Bock (Spring) * Milwaukee Pils - Bohemian Style Lager(Summer) * Oktoberfest - Märzen (Autumn) * Winter Lager - Bavarian-Style Dunkel (Winter)

Limited release beers

* Czar Brew - Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout * Imperial Stout - Imperial Stout * Framboise - Belgian-Style Lambic

Sodas

Root Beer Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree ''Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of ''Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, Sarsaparilla (soft drink ...

* Lo-Cal Root Beer * Caffeinated Root Beer * Maple Syrup Root Beer * Cream Soda * Lo-Cal Cream Soda * Orange Dream * Lo-Cal Orange Dream * Cherry Cola * Door County Cherry Soda * Grape *

Ginger Ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

- Wisconsin Ginger * Puma Kola - Cola with

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

* Caffeinated Citrus Splash * Ginger Beer * Dr Sprecher * Strawberry (Seasonal) * Red Apple (Seasonal) * Raspberry (Seasonal) * Blueberry (Seasonal) * Valencia Orange Sparkling Water * Red Raspberry Sparkling Water * Fresh Cut Mango Sparkling Water * Ripe Strawberry Sparkling Water These sodas are fairly rare in the

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

industry in that they are sweetened with pure

rather than

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...

, or a newer

artificial sweetener A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be d ...

Brewery tour

Sprecher Brewery offers year-round tours of its facility, including the brew house, the

refrigerated The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

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

Lake Park July 2022 17 (Sprecher fire truck)

Sprecher has two sets of firetrucks and ambulances that serve as Milwaukee County Parks Traveling Beer 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 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) is an annual brewing competition that commenced in 1992. The AIBA is undertaken by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV). Judging of the awards is conducted at Melbourne Showgrounds, wit ...

, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' taste test, four judges ranked Sprecher's number one among 25 root beers from across the United States for its "wonderfully balanced and complex brew." A review in the October 2009 edition of ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'' also praised the root beer as "elegant."

In popular culture

2005: Won "Most Deserving Small Business Office" Makeover from Xerox, Hon Furniture and Entrepreneur magazine. Featured on NBC's Today show. In November 2006, a contestant on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...

'' was offered a life-time supply of Sprecher's Root Beer, his favorite soda.Sprecher on Deal or No Deal
SprecherBrewery.com (2007). Retrieved on 8-07-11.

References

External links

Sprecher Brewery website
{{authority control American soft drinks Beer brewing companies based in Wisconsin American companies established in 1985 Glendale, Wisconsin Companies based in Milwaukee 1985 establishments in Wisconsin