27 January, 2012

Near East Side Looking to Brew Up a Storm

Brewer Peter Gentry is looking to open a nano-brewpub at 1148 Williamson, the former home of Indus Beads. It would be called One Barrel Brewing Company.

Someone else is also looking to open a brewpub in town and is apparently eying up Atwood Avenue as the location.

And yet another person is proposing to open a meadery on the 800 block of East Washington.

Joe or anyone else - are these folks with the MHTG?

My guess is that One Barrel is up for a fight with the neighbors. There was a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday about Gentry's plans but I haven't heard how it went. I suspect that Willy Street denizens who are already fed up with the noise from Plan B and the Wisco are going to put up a fight against another drinking establishment in their neck of the woods. Time will tell.

On a related note, the Joseph James Brewing Co. of Nevada will be opening a brewery in Franklin to brew for Midwest and Northeast markets. Not quite as big a story as Sierra Nevada opening a brewery in North Carolina but good news for Wisconsin nonetheless.

7 comments:

Joe Walts said...

I don't think Peter or Colleen (the person opening the meadery) are involved with the homebrew club, but I haven't been very active lately so hopefully somebody will correct me if I'm wrong. If you search the web for "Bos Meadery" you'll find a website, a Facebook page and a Twit feed. I don't know who's planning the brewpub or when they're going to ask me to be the brewmaster :).

Skip said...

I found the meadery page. I probably saw that article at madison.com but completely forgot about it.

When I find out who is opening that other brewpub, I will deftly drop subtle hints. :)

Colleen Bos said...

HI, this is Colleen, the mead maker. I have been an MHTG member on an off for years, although I never have been an active participant, but I know many random folks in the organization. And I know Joe :).

Marquette Neighborhood Association (not sure if that's exactly what you mean by "the neighborhood") has been really positive about both the meadery and One Barrel. I think they recognize that neither of these businesses is likely to generate the noise or late-night crowd. (In fact, Bos Meadery will only have tours and tastings by appointment at the start) But we will provide the kind of unique destinations that that neighborhood is all about.

I'm not sure who is opening the other brew pub. I'll be interested to learn more.

michael donnelly said...

If you ever do decide to have hours when Bos Meadery is open, I'll definitely be by from time to time. I hadn't realized it would be in such easy walking distance from my house.

Skip said...

Hi Colleen. Thanks for commenting. I do hope the MNA gets behind your venture. But I have heard at least one person gripe on the MNA Yahoo Group. I look forward to tasting your mead.

Will it be straight dry mead or will you be taking the B. Nektar route with additional flavors?

There could be some interesting pub crawls around the neighborhood in the future. A meadery, Old Sugar Distillery, a brewpub, and taverns.

Colleen said...

I'm going to be doing straight dry meads, sparkling meads and also some additional flavors, but in some different sorts of directions than B Nektar (Black Pepper, Lavender, Elderberry). I do think the neighborhood is going to be a fun destination for lovers of craft beverages. And I'm sure there will always be a contrary voice, but the MNA itself has written a letter in support of Bos Meadery and just generally been really awesome. Thanks for the interest!

@Michael - yes, you should stop by!

Skip said...

Colleen - thanks for giving me the skinny on your plans. I look forward to checking out your mead and the meadery.

I think most MNA ire is directed at establishments on Willy Street.