Looking for your next favorite local beer? Well, thanks to Crafter Space, you might have even more choices in Milwaukee. There's an effort underway to improve the Milwaukee brewing culture.
"I was in Denver, Colorado.... and I noticed there was a vibrant culture around the brewing industry," says Crafter Space's John Graham, "and it struck me that we don't have that kind of thing in Milwaukee."
Graham found himself wondering: for a city almost always affiliated with beer, why does Milwaukee have so few microbreweries?
"My partners and I came together and thought, 'Let's get ourselves back in the conversation with Denver and with Portland and with Asheville and with Grand Rapids.' Those are small cities that have great brewing cultures and there's no reason Milwaukee shouldn't have that kind of culture."
We have everything really that will help people break down the barriers to start their own business.
And their solution? To give independent brewers the means to start a brewery -- through a 10-week, hands-on program called "Barley to Barrel."
"We've put together a 10-week session, each week focused on one step of the business-creation project to start a brewery. We have everything really that will help people break down the barriers to start their own business," Graham says.
And by connecting participants with brewmasters and employees of Milwaukee microbreweries like Company Brewing, Milwaukee Ale House and Milwaukee Brewing Company, these new brewers have the opportunity to ask questions, perfect recipes and learn from success stories.
And for participants like Greg Worzala, this might just be the final fuel they need to get his new brewery off the ground.
"Eventually we'll have a brewery somewhere in the North Shore area. We'll be able to serve the community anda place to get good food, get good drinks, bring the family if you'd like..."
Want to know more about Barley to Barrel and The Crafter Space? Check out their website.