E-Malt.com News article: USA, WI: City of Wausau may help Bull Falls Brewery expand

The city of Wausau has a plan to lend the Bull Falls Brewery $400,000 so the Wausau beer business can embark on a $1.5 mln brewery expansion this year, wausaudailyherald.com reported on September, 11.

Bull Falls Brewery hopes to add a new brewing site next to its current location on Thomas Street. The new site would allow the brewery to can beer and sell it to stores and restaurants across the state, Don Zamzow, the brewery’s co-owner said. Zamzow said the brewery hopes to start selling beer in 16-ounce cans to area grocery stores and convenience stores by 2013.

The city is offering to lend the brewery $400,000 at a 2 percent interest rate for the project, to extend an additional $225,000 in grants and to cover utility costs to help get the project moving, city Finance Director Maryanne Groat said.

Before the brewery can expand, however, its owners and city officials must convince City Council members to approve loans and grants for the project – a project of which some leaders are leery.

Council member Keene Winters, for example, voted for the proposal but is afraid the city could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if the brewery failed.

If the brewery is successful, the expansion could put Wausau’s name in the spotlight while adding about five full-time jobs and five part-time jobs, said Heather Wessling, the city’s assistant development director.

“(The Bull Falls Brewery) logo and identity is going to help raise the level of awareness of Wausau, Wisconsin,” she said. “We get to capitalize on Wisconsin’s reputation as a premiere beer industry leader.”


14 September, 2012