E-Malt.com News article: USA, WI: 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. to open in Sheboygan

Grant Pauly is now preparing to open the 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. in Sheboygan, becoming the latest entrant into Wisconsin's growing craft beer industry, Sheboyganpress.com reported on March, 27.

The brewery is located inside a more than 100-year-old former Wigwam Mills factory that also houses the new Hops Haven, a former brewpub that closed in 2010 and reopened last year under new ownership as a bar and restaurant.

Pauly, who moved to Sheboygan in 2006, purchased the brewery and equipment from Hops Haven, and will operate the brewery as a separate entity, selling beer to restaurants, bars and retailers.

The 3 Sheeps brewery opens as Wisconsin's craft brewers continue to slowly peck away at market share from their larger counterparts.

There are now about 55 microbreweries operating in the state and several more looking to launch, according to Jeff Hamilton, president of the Wisconsin Brewer's Guild.

Those breweries account for nearly 5 percent of all beer sold statewide. That puts Wisconsin far behind microbrewery hotspots, such as Oregon, which leads the nation in craft beer consumption, with between 20 to 30 percent of beer sold there being made by small brewers. But it's still a sizeable number given that the state is home to brewing behemoth MillerCoors.

"Having Miller in our state makes it tougher to get major market share here, but it's been slowly climbing," Hamilton said. "There's plenty of room for new entrants."

Pauly's entrance into the brewing trade has historical significance, as his great-grandfather ran the Manitowoc Products Group, which rescued the Gutsch Brewery from bankruptcy in the late 1920s during Prohibition. The family changed the name to Kingsbury Breweries in 1933, and turned it into a national brand, with breweries in Manitowoc and Sheboygan. The family sold the company in the early 1970s, and the breweries later closed.

"Those were stories I grew up with, which piqued my interest very early on," he said.

The brewery's first batch of beer will be on tap at Hops Haven and then, beginning April, 3, at the 8th Street Ale Haus, Duke of Devon, Water Street Pub, Green Room Pub and Shuff's Last Resort.

Pauly is also working to have 3 Sheeps beer distributed regionally, including at bars and restaurants in Milwaukee and Manitowoc.

Meanwhile, there are also plans to add a tasting room and brewery tours, while a bottling operation will begin by late August, and the beer will be sold at area supermarkets and liquor stores.

Pauly will offer an India pale ale, two types of wheat beers and an abbey-style ale, and will begin offering seasonal beer starting in fall.

At full capacity, the 3 Sheeps Brewery will be able to produce up to 3,200 barrels a year.


28 March, 2012