I have wanted to do a beer column for quite a while now, and have been threatening as much. This state and especially this town, as you well know, are considered by local and visitor alike to be centered on one major thing -- beer.

Milwaukee didn't garner the moniker "Brew City" for just any old reason; the history and saturation of the beer market is a huge part of the city culture. It started way back in the day with, breweries such as Pabst and Schlitz and Blatz. Those smaller outfits eventually faded and gave way to what (up until a couple years ago when South African Brewing bought them out) became "Miller Town."

But Wisconsin isn't just known for its mass produced remedial brews, it has been host to a number of excellent micro-breweries whose number and quality are ever increasing.

With many good, and maybe even great, producers in this state, I wanted to find the one that stood out. The one that sets the benchmark for quality and consistency. The one that has been doing it better for longer than just about anyone else.

That brewery, in my estimation, is Sprecher Brewery.

The brewery has been owned and operated by Randy Sprecher since 1985, but the beermaking began long before that -- all the way back to 1971, when Randy was enrolled at UC-Davis. Even though he studied oceanography, engineering, chemistry, biology and fermentation science, he was, all the while, home brewing and pursuing a brewer's license. The inspiration to make his own beer came from spending 18 months in Hamburg, Germany while in the military. Once he came back to the states, Sprecher realized that, at the time, Americans were making beer that tasted like water compared to the quality brew he had been drinking in Germany for the last year and a half.

In 1980, he moved back to Milwaukee and worked for Pabst for four years as a brewery supervisor. After working seven days and more than 80 hours a week, Randy decided that if he was going to work that hard, he might as well work for himself. He leased a space in Walker's Point to begin crafting Sprecher Beer. The first 10 years saw consistent growth as Randy focused on one thing - making high quality craft beer in the Reinheitsgebot tradition. Reinheitsgebot (which has now been replaced by the "Vorläufiges Deutsches Biergesetz" or "Provisional German Beer Law") is an extremely strict code of standards for making the highest quality German beer; standards which had been in place since the 1500's. Basically, it breaks down to water, hops, malt and yeast as the only allowed ingredients -- no artificial additives whatsoever.

In 1994, Sprecher outgrew its first location and moved to the current facility at 701 W. Glendale Ave., where workers make more than 22 different craft beers and eight different sodas including their famous Sprecher Root Beer.

So, with all the breweries in Wisconsin, what makes Sprecher the best?

1. The finest ingredients and skillful craftsmanship. Sprecher imports the majority of its ingredients from Germany. The brewery secures the highest quality hops, malt and barley and fashion each beer in the traditional Reinheitsgebot method. Randy Sprecher even crafted his own cast iron fermentation tanks. Year after year, the consistency of the products is unsurpassed. Considering that Sprecher registered as one of the first craft brewers in the state almost 25 years ago, two decades worth of consistent high quality is no small feat. Sprecher continues to develop and grow, winning countless awards from around the world, including a gold medal at the 2007 Australian International Beer Festival for their Imperial Stout, and six gold medals at the L.A. County Fair National Beer competition.

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2 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Southern_Ex_pat on Sept. 14, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. (report)

16 oz. bottles...BRILLIANT!!!

Posted by Z_boy on Sept. 13, 2009 at 9:23 p.m. (report)

Nice article. I agree, if I could only choose one beer for the rest of my life, I'd easily select Sprecher. Wonderful variety, superb taste, and fantastic care put into all of its beers.