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22 | I NSIGH T • M a r c h 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m ONLINE: Listen to Steve Lonsway discuss growing consumer demand for local artisan beers and what that means to the economy of Northeast Wisconsin. "I fell in love with the beer and the atmosphere," Steve says. e home brew store further exposed him to all the latest tools and techniques, and he later attended a brewmaster course in Chicago. He would also serve as a brewmaster for Fox River Brewing Co. — another venerable brewpub and cra brewer — before he and his father Tom were able to purchase Stone Cellar. Within five years Stone Cellar also needed to expand its brewing capacity. at led to a major renovation of the Stone Cellar building — quite a task with four-foot-thick stone walls — to make room for additional brewing equipment. Stone Cellar produced 400 barrels during its inaugural year in 1994. In 2014, that number has grown to 2,800 barrels. Any future expansion will likely require an additional building. Tom Lonsway, who owned an advertising company before his son co-opted him into becoming a brewer and restaurant owner, has a pretty good idea what's behind the growing popularity of Stone Cellar and other cra beers. "I think people are moving away from drinking a beer just to drink a beer," Tom says. "Now, they are looking for the flavors and the gourmet aspect of it. "You have seen the same thing happen with artisan bread and artisan cheese," he adds. "You can drink two or three of them, enjoy the flavors, and not be all pie-eyed." As fresh as it gets S tone Cellar, Titletown and other early cra brewers tend to have strong ties to food, where the beer was initially available only at the restaurants. As demand for cra beers grew, they expanded into production breweries and signed distribution deals to sell their beer in stores. Many new breweries have simply opened as production breweries, with a tap room attached for the public to enjoy the beers fresh from the source. at's the route Andrew Fabry and his partners took when they launched Badger State Brewing Company on Canadeo Run in the shadow of Green Bay's Lambeau Field. "I think initially the brewpub was a way to hedge your bet in the cra brew market," Fabry says. "Now we see that people want to get as close to the tasting room as they can get. You feel like you are sitting 20 feet away from the brew house because you are." Barely two years old, Badger State Brewing Co. has grown from home brewing in brewmaster Sam Yanda's garage to incorporating in February 2013 to opening an expanded brew house and tap room this past September. Fabry wrote the business plan for the brewery following graduation from the University of Wisconsin while exploring other career opportunities and contemplating law school. "We all just kind of laughed at first, but were spending Beer, here! c o n t i n u e d our weekends working on the home brews and getting a lot of positive feedback," he says. "e more we looked at it, the more we saw it as an opportunity." Badger State currently has 12 beers in production, seven of which are distributed in kegs to taverns and restaurants from Door County to Neenah. e brewery is also starting up a canning line for its most popular labels. While the brewery's growth has been dramatic, Fabry says it's important the quality of the beer never takes a back seat to growth. One of the few things that could hurt cra beer's popularity is bad beer, he says. "People who get into it just to make money will not survive long," Fabry says. Quality counts B y offering high quality beers, cra brewers can get consumers excited about trying different styles, says Grant Pauly, founder and brewmaster of 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. in Sheboygan. "It's very similar to what happened in the wine industry where it took a long time aer Prohibition for a new generation to get comfortable with all the different varietals," Pauly says. "We are about where they were 15 years ago. People are now willing to try different things and pay more for those unique tastes." at desire for unique tastes was essential in Pauly's 2011