Rhinelander Brewery is a regional American

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

located in

Rhinelander Rhinelander can refer to a person from Rhineland, Germany. Rhinelander can also refer to: Places * Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a city in the United States :* Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, an airport that serves Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA :* Rh ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

History

The original company was founded in 1882 by Otto Hilgermann and Henry Danner.The short(y) story of Rhinelander Brewing
/ref> The original brewery was located on Ocala Street in Rhinelander, next to the Pelican River. Although the brewery burned down in 1897, it was subsequently rebuilt. During the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

, the company closed its operations, but reopened after prohibition ended in 1933, by issuing

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

. Later, financial difficulties led to the company closing its doors in 1967. However, the

Joseph Huber Brewing Company The Joseph Huber Brewing Company was founded in 1845 in Monroe, Wisconsin. Originally called The Blumer Brewery, it adopted the Huber name in 1947. It is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest and second oldest in the United S ...

(since acquired by the

Minhas Craft Brewery The Minhas Craft Brewery is located in Monroe, Wisconsin, owned by brother and sister, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas. It is the Midwest's oldest brewery and the second oldest in the United States. It survived the Great Depression, Prohibition and ...

) purchased the ''Rhinelander'' brands and their recipes and other assets and began producing Rhinelander beer in

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorporated community and census-designate ...

, Wisconsin, where it was brewed for several decades. At its peak, the Rhinelander Brewery produced 40,000 barrels annually. It was once among the most prominent local breweries in the country. At a time when small breweries dotted the landscape, Rhinelander stood out with its aggressive marketing and inventiveness. The company patented the 7-ounce "Shorty" bottle and advertised the product heavily, with great success.

The company today

In 2009, Jyoti Auluck acquired the ''Rhinelander'' and ''Rhinelander Light'' beer brands, and all related assets of the company. The plan was to continue making ''Rhinelander Export'' and ''Rhinelander Light'' beers in Monroe on a contract basis, and eventually build a brewery in downtown Rhinelander. The proposed $2 million brewery was initially planned with a production capacity of 30,000 barrels of beer in kegs, cans and bottles. The company's plans for the brand's future were similar to the marketing methods used by the

Pabst Brewing Company The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of ove ...

to promote two other retro brands with great success —

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the cur ...

and Schlitz. The company also took the ''Rhinelander'' brands back to the original secret recipe. In May, 2011, the company announced the reintroduction of the ''Rhinelander Shorty''. New molds were created, to produce the 7-ounce Shorty-style glass bottle. In 2016, the company introduced ''Rhinelander Hard Root Beer'', and later expanded their line of

hard soda Hard soda, also referred to as flavored beer, adult soda, fermented soda, mature soda and alcohol soda, is a type of alcoholic beverage and craft beer that is manufactured in the style of a soft drink. It has gained recent prominence in the United ...

s to include the ''Over the Barrel'' brand, which include Rootbeer, Blueberry, Cream Soda, Black Cherry and Grape. On April 13, 2018, the ribbon cutting and

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

were held to celebrate the opening of the new brewery in Rhinelander. The newly renovated Brewery, taproom and

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...

are located on Brown Street in downtown Rhinelander. The new facility is also home to the ''Rhinelander Brewery Museum''. Rhinelander Brewing Company now produces and sells over 1 million pints of beers per year throughout the Midwest.

Brands

In addition to many seasonal and specialty beers, the company's main products include: *Rhinelander Export Lager *Rhinelander Original *Rhinelander Light Lager Rhinelander manufacturers the "Boatswain" brand beers for

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...

. The company also manufactures the ''Good Ass Beer'' brand, under

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

. The company owns the trademark for "Braumeister", a signature brand from former

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

brewer '' Independent Milwaukee Brewery.''BRAUMEISTER - Trademark Details
/ref>

References

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External links

Rhinelander Brewery website
Oneida County, Wisconsin Beer brewing companies based in Wisconsin Rhinelander, Wisconsin American companies established in 1882 1882 establishments in Wisconsin American companies established in 2018 2018 establishments in Wisconsin Food and drink companies established in 1882 Food and drink companies established in 2018