Stevens Point Brewery
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| Location | Stevens Point, Wisconsin United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stevens Point Brewery is a regional American brewery located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The brewery is the fifth-oldest privately owned brewery in the nation.[1]
The company's sales volume places it 50th in the nation among all brewing companies in the nation as of 2009.[2]
History
The company was founded in 1857 by George Ruder and Frank Wahle. In 1864, the company provided its beer to the troops during the American Civil War. The brewery was subsequently sold to Andrew and Jacob Lutz in 1867. The Lutz family continued operations until it was sold to Gustav Kuenzel in 1897. The company was then organized as the Gustav Kuenzel Brewing Company in 1901. The following year, it was renamed the Stevens Point Brewing Company. Ludwig Korfman purchased a controlling interest in the company in 1924 and reorganized the company as the Stevens Point Beverage Company. The company faced local competition from the mid-1860s through the Prohibition era of the 1920s, when the remaining competition went out of business.[3] During the 1950s, the brewery began using cans in production. In 1973, Point Special brand beer was rated the top American beer in a taste test as reported by Mike Royko, a prominent columnist for the Chicago Daily News. By the 1970s the company was owned by Felix and Ken Shibilski. In 1990, the company first began selling its product outside Wisconsin, in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. In 1992, the Shibilskis sold the company to Chicago-based Barton Beers Ltd. The new ownership was unique for Barton in that Point beer was its only domestic product line, with all of its other offerings being imports. The company planned to tie sales to its Mexican brand, Corona, but when that brand's sales exploded, the Point brand became a distraction. In 2002, the company was sold back to Wisconsin ownership by Milwaukee-based real estate developers Joe Martino and Jim Wiechmann.[1] That same year, the company introduced gourmet sodas to its beverage list.[4] In 2003, Point Special won the gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the premium lager category.[4] That same year, the company bought the Augsburger brand from Stroh Brewery Company. In 2005, the company bought four beer brands from the James Page Brewing Company.[5] By 2008, the company's products were distributed to 18 different states.[4] For nearly 20 years, the company brewed and bottled Karl Strauss Brewing Company brands until production was moved in January, 2009.[6]
Beer brands
Current production
- Point Special Lager
- Point Classic Amber
- Point Cascade Pale Ale
- Point Belgian White Wheat Ale
- Point Onyx Black Ale
- Point Three Kings Kolsh Style Ale
- Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat
- Point Oktoberfest
- Point St. Benedict's Winter Ale
- Point Drop Dead Blonde
- Point Beyond the Pale IPA
- Point Premium Root Beer
- Point Premium Diet Root Beer
- Point Premium Vanilla Cream Soda
- Point Premium Orange Cream Soda
- Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda
- Whole Hog Raspberry Saison
- Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout
- Whole Hog Six Hop India Pale Ale (IPA)
- Whole Hog Scotch Ale
- Whole Hog Barley Wine Style Ale
- Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale
- JP Casper White Stout
- JP Yabba Dhabba Chai Tea Porter
- JP Ould Sod Irish Red India Pale Ale (IPA)
- JP Accapella Gluten-Free Pale Ale
- Ciderboys First Press
- Ciderboys Magic Apple
- Ciderboys Peach County
- Ciderboys Raspberry Smash
- Ciderboys Cranberry Road
- Ciderboys Mad Bark
Former production
- Point Holiday Beer (1935–1940)
- Prize Beer (1935–1940)
- Big Charlie Beer (1937–1944)
- Amber Prize Beer (1939–1950)
- Karl Strauss Brewing Company brands (1989–2009)[6]
Gourmet sodas
- Point Premium Root Beer
- Point Premium Diet Root Beer
- Point Premium Vanilla Cream Soda
- Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda
- Point Premium Orange Cream Soda
Cultural Exposure
- Point Beer is in almost every scene in the 2009 movie NoNames starring James Badge Dale and Gillian Jacobs.[8]
- Point Beer and signs can be found in the movie The Great Outdoors.[9]
- In the song by Weezer titled "Say It Ain't So", the lyrics reference a "bottle of Stevens." It's believed that this is a reference to Stevens Point Brewery.[10]
External links
References
- ^ a b "Point Beverage sale part of brand strategy". BizTimes.com. March 15, 2002. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- ^ "Brewers Association announces the top 50 breweries". Draft Magazine. April 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-20. [dead link]
- ^ "Stevens Point Brewers of the Past". Malcolm Rosholt Online Archives. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ a b c "History". PointBeer.com. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ "Stevens Point buys James Page brands". Highbeam.com. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ a b "For Karl Strauss, it's all home brew". SignOn San Diego. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ "Brews". Stevens Point Brewery. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- ^ "NoNames". NoNames.com. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
- ^ "PointTour". PackerChapter.com. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ "Bottle of Stevens". Yahoo Answers. Retrieved 2010-07-20.