Vacationing: Sand Creek Brewery

Truth be known, our vacation was planned around brewery tours and I want to state for the record that this was The Dulcinea's idea. Mind you, I have absolutely nothing against beer & breweries, but I want it to be known that I crafted this vacation out of her barley-laced desires instead of people thinking that I am responsible for dragging her around the state as I chased down John Barleycorn. In addition, Saturday was to be The Great Taste of the Midwest and we would be 200+ miles from Madison so it was only fitting that we attempt to sample a variety of brews. Black River Falls is blessed with the Sand Creek Brewing Company and thusly did our Great Taste stand-in begin.



The site of the brewery is on Pierce Street and, upon entering, we were greeted by a cooler of brews fresh from the teat as well as selection of beer bottles chronicling the brewery's history. The display also featured an old-time bottle of Old Style Picnic Beer. Picnic beer?



Imagine a nice sunny day where you and the significant other have spread a blanket upon a verdant field of grass which sits by a crystal clear spring-fed lake. She begins unpacking the picnic basket. Tucked away inside are some carefully crafted sandwiches, a sampling of artisan cheeses, and fresh, organic, locally-sourced vegetables which were lovingly washed and cut up. Then you pop open the cooler and pull out a magnum of Old Style. Perfect.

We had some time to blow before the tour began so, with the tap room beckoning, we made our way in and quenched our thirst. For a while, we were the only non-employees there but, as 3:30 approached, it filled up. It was a nice room with a small bar that looked rather new. However, the deer head added a little retro chic.



I can't recall what The Dulcinea drank, but I went with a pint of the Griesedieck Brothers Golden Pilsener. Griesedieck Brothers Beer is an old label from St. Louis which became defunct back in the 1970s but was resurrected in 2002. Instead of operating a brewing facility in Missouri, Sand Creek got the call. The brew was very refreshing. A nice, crisp beer without too much hops. Soon enough, 3:30 rolled around and it was time for the tour to start.

Our guide for the first part was Chris.



He began by giving us a little history. The building was originally the home of the Oderbolz Brewing Company founded in 1856 by Ulrich Oderbolz. The pictures behind Chris are of Oderbolz family which suffered many tragedies. For instance, Ulrich's son, Charley, fell into a vat of boiling malt and died the next day after having his skin pulled off when his clothes were removed, he having been able to climb out of the vat. After Prohibition, the building was a turkey processing plant and soda bottling plant, amongst other things.

The brewing picks up again in 1995 when Jim and Dave Hellman started the Pioneer Brewing Company and hired brewmaster Todd Krueger. Pioneer was doing well as Sand Creek was finding its legs. Sand Creek was originally on a dairy farm in Downing, Wisconsin. While looking for a larger brewery to inhabit, the owners, Cory Schroeder and Jim Wiesender, were informed by Krueger that Pioneer was for sale. The two breweries merged in 2004 and Sand Creek migrated south to Black River Falls.

For a more detailed history, check out Sand Creek's history page.

I won't go over the tour much because they're all pretty much the same. Todd took over from Chris and showed us samples of barley malt and then explained the brewing process while pointing at big, shiny vats. There's boiling the barley to get the sugars out, adding hops, cooling, filtering, pitching yeast, fermenting – you (should) know the drill.

Instead, let me note that I liked the rough hewn quality of the brewery, I liked how the age of the building showed through. For instance, take the holes that had to be punched in the walls for the bottling line.



Fermentation is messy business.



Chris noted that business is booming for Sand Creek. My impression from reading blogs and beer-related periodicals is that their brews are gaining in popularity. But their contract brewing business must also be a large factor in their growth. Just look at the big board.



In addition to their own beers, they brew Furthermore, Lilja's, the aforementioned Greisedieck Brothers, BluCreek, Half Acre in Chicago (12 oz. bottles only), Harbor City, and Galena Beer Company's offerings. There was also One Planet Multigrain Ale but I'm not sure if it's part of the Sand Creek stable or not.

Overall, it was a nice tour. Both Chris and Todd were very friendly and willing to field any questions you threw their way. Before we left, I asked Chris if there was any chance of a lager making its way into the brewery's year-round line-up. He told me that they wanted to bring back Pioneer Lager but that the style just wasn't popular enough now to warrant brewing it for anything other than a seasonal or special batch.

Come on people! Put down the IPAs and love your lagers!