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Dead Bird Brewing, 1726 N. 5th St., is expanding its brewhouse.
The brewery, which opened in August 2019, installed a pilot system in late 2020 on which it began brewing one-barrel batches.
Now, the Halyard Park craft brewery has a five-barrel brewhouse and cellar that it purchased from Stout Tanks and Kettles of Portland, Oregon, according to co-owner Nick Kocis.
“We have an oversized mash lauter tun to allow us to do some high gravity brewing, we can pull five finished barrels of 24 Plato wort out of it, which is exciting given my proclivity for hefty beers. We’ve got 20bbls of fermentation space which hopefully translates to about 500bbls a year at full crank.
“We also have two wine tanks that we bought to take full advantage of our winery license. Hopefully we’ll be producing ciders this fall and our wine based cocktails should be in cans by the end of summer.”
Kocis says the system was ordered in June and was meant to arrive by December, but that hasn’t gone according to plan in these supply chain-challenged times.
“We are still getting pieces in right now,” he says. “The electronics for our control panel was stuck on a cargo ship outside of the port of L.A. for 50-plus days in October and November.”
Dead Bird is still waiting for its kettle, platform and panel, but hopes to have it all in place by April.
“We lucked out with the industrial history of the space,” Kocis adds. “As a former book bindery it’s had plenty of electrical power running to it. Our space had 200 amps and we brought in another 400 amps to run the all electric brewhouse. We’ve got over 300 solar panels on the buildings on campus, we’re hoping to add another couple hundred over the next year. Hopefully this will allow us further fulfill our green company initiatives.”
Kocis says he hopes the system will be up and running next month so that Dead Bird can be brewing on it before the summer outdoor drinking season is upon us.
“Although,” he says, “with all that has gone on since we opened who knows what will happen next!”
Like a Girl IPA returns for International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month
The women on the brew team at Third Space Brewing are brewing “Like A Girl IPA” again in support of the Pink Boots Society and in honor International Women’s Day March 8.
The brewers also collaborated on the beer last year.
Third Space Brewing’s female brew team of Sam Danen and Amy Rohrschneider will mash in at 9 a.m. on brew day on Tuesday, joined by members of the Wisconsin Pink Boots Society and other women employees of Third Space Brewing and Malteurop.
A portion of sales of Like A Girl will be donated to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Pink Boots Society, which provides scholarships, educational opportunities and other services to women in brewing in Wisconsin.
Last year, the brewery gave $4,000 from Like A Girl sales to Wisconsin Pink Boots.
“This Collaboration Brew Day is a great example of how incredible things happen when women support each other. Not only is it a day for celebration, but a day of raising the profile of women’s roles in the beer industry,” says Danen, who was recently elected chair of Wisconsin Chapter of the Pink Boots Society.
“My hope is that days like these serve as an inspiration for future generations of girls, and really instill a sense of belonging for women who are passionate about beer.”
This year’s recipe has been tweaked by Danen and Rohrschneider to spotlight the citrus and berry aromas of the hop blend, which was created especially for the society by Yakima Chief Hops.
The beer will be released on Friday, March 25 at the Third Space taproom in a collaborative event with Barley’s Angels of Milwaukee, a social organization that is committed to involving women in the education and enjoyment of craft beer.
New Supermoon releases
Preorders are open now for two new Supermoon releases.
First up is a returning brew. Farn is a farmhouse-style saison brewed with aged hops and cofermented with Brettanomyces.
“The response to Farn in it's first release was marvelous, so we decided to bring it back,” says owner/brewer Rob Brennan. “This beer really represents what Supermoon is about at it's core and what ‘Farmhouse Style’ means to us.
“What makes this saison farmhouse style? Rustic grist: pils, spelt, wheat, oats. Aged whole leaf hops 2016 Cascade, if you please. Mixed yeast culture: more specifically, a cofermentation of saison yeast and Brettanomyces Claussenii bringing you esters, spice, aroma and the most mild pineapple rind funk not typically showcased by single strain clean saisons.”
This one, adds Brennan, “is finished with a dryhop of younger, fresher, more vibrant Hop Head Farms Michigan-grown Cascades to amplify aromas of grapefruit zest and herbal orange rind.”
Available in 500ml bottles.
The second is Gausette, a grisette-style farmhouse ale dryhopped with Hallertau Blanc. This one has flavors of sauvignon blanc, poached pears and Wonder Bread, says Brennan. Available in 375ml bottles conditioned with Champagne yeast.
You can preorder now at supermoonbeer.square.site and picked noon-7 p.m. Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12.
In related news, Brennan reports that demolition has begun on the space that will house the Supermoon taproom and construction is expected to begin this week. In the meantime there will be patio seating with fire for warmth.
21st Amendment finally arrives in Wisconsin
While the official amendment repealing Prohibition has long been notably in effect here for nearly 100 years now, California’s 21st Amendment Brewery is also now available in Milwaukee and Madison, thanks to a distribution deal with Wisconsin Distributors.
"We have an immediate connection with Wisconsin at our downtown San Francisco brewpub as we've had Sully's Cheese Curds on the menu for over a decade with Wisconsin's own Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery curds," says Shaun O'Sullivan, 21st Amendment Brewery co-founder and brewmaster, in announcing the deal recently.
"We have a deep respect for the centuries of brewing that have come before us, and Wisconsin is certainly at the heart of it and we are happy to have our beers amongst Wisconsin's local beers."
Founded in the Bay Area in 2000, 21st Amendment has built its reputation on hoppy beers married with fruit-forward flavors like Brew Free! Or Die IPA, Brew Free! Or Die Hazy IPA, Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, Hell or High Mango, Hell or High Pomegranate, Close Encounters of the Hop Kind, Tasty Double Hazy IPA, Brew Free! Or Die Blood Orange IPA and others.
A selection of brews is available in its Variety Hop 12-Pack.
"Wisconsin is at the center of the long history and culture of beer in America," adds Nico Freccia, Co-Founder/COO of 21st Amendment Brewery. "Our brand is rooted in history and celebrates the spirit of American innovation. So it's such a natural fit and an honor for us to be able to make our beers available in the great cities of Wisconsin and the birthplace of American beer.
“Our full line-up of four different Brew Free! or Die IPA beers will be available, including the refresh of our flagship Brew Free! or Die IPA, the brand-new Hazy Brew Free! or Die, as well as Tropical, and Blood Orange. But, of course, there's no way we'd come to Wisconsin without Hell or High Watermelon Wheat!"
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
