By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Apr 11, 2012 at 5:02 AM

In 2004, Milwaukee-area native and UW-Madison grad Shane Welch founded Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn.

Now, nearly a decade later, his beer is launching in his hometown.

Earlier this week, at an event at Sugar Maple in Bay View, Sixpoint, which is distributed in the state by New Berlin-based Beechwood Distributors, was officially welcomed to the Badger State.

"I'd say this completes the cycle," says Welch. "I feel like a salmon swimming upstream returning home! Now its time to enjoy it all with a cold brew."

Welch started Sixpoint in a converted 800-square foot Brooklyn garage and the brewery has since brewed more than 200 styles of beer, via its many limited editions.

Until last year Sixpoint beer was only available on draught, but now a variety are sold in cans.

"All of the core Sixpoint beer recipes are extensions of my original homebrew recipes," says Welch, who apprenticed at the old Angelic Brewery in Madison.

"This literally defines grass roots. Starting with just an idea and passion in your basement, then moving to a pressure cooker like New York and making it work, and then finally coming home to share it with your friends and family in your native state."

In New York, Sixpoint beers are sold at famous eateries like Momofuku, The Gramercy Tavern and The Spotted Pig. The brewery also keeps the variety coming via its Mad Scientist series, which releases innovative beers every couple months, and the Spice of Life single hope varietals series.

"We are very much looking forward to representing Sixpoint beers in Wisconsin," says Beechwood's Dave Cartwright.

"(They) are all extremely drinkable, while also being flavorful and interesting. I am personally looking forward to trying some of the amazing limited edition beers (I) hear so much about."

I asked Welch if it was ironic that he left what many think is the beer capitol of America to craft his brews in Brooklyn.

"One thing most people don't realize," he says, "Brooklyn was actually the true beer capitol of the United States. Even at its heyday, Milwaukee never even made close to the total volume of beer that Brooklyn made at the turn of the century.  Brooklyn produced somewhere near seven times the amount of beer that Milwaukee did – no one was even close.

"Keep in mind all of Wisconsin's original big breweries, like Miller, Pabst and Schlitz, were all started by immigrants who left their former countries so they could make beer somewhere else. Looking at it that way, I am happy to be one of Wisconsin's proud exports – and also a proud import!"
Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

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.