*This is the one-hundred and forty-fifth post in an on-going chronicle dubbed the Great Wisconsin Brewery Tour. Follow the journey here.*
Tyranena Brewing Company
1025 Owen St
Lake Mills, WI 53551
(920) 648-8699
Visit date: 01/20/2018
Quick Hits:
1) How many different beers?
15 on tap.
2) How long operational?
Since October 21, 1999.
3) Why? (here, this, etc)
(Note: we tried to reach out to Tyranena but did not hear back before the posting of this article.)
4) Distribution?
> 45,000 bbls annually. Bottles available state-wide.
5) What sets you apart?
(Note: we tried to reach out to Tyranena but did not hear back before the posting of this article.)
6) How did you get your name?
Supposedly a Native American word meaning “sparkling waters”, temporarily the name of Lake Mills (for only 1 year).
Tyranena Brewing Company in Lake Mills. All photos by Joe Powell for The Squeaky Curd.
When I started to broaden my beer horizons beyond strictly Miller products, one of the first Wisconsin craft beers I ever had came to me by way of Lake Mills. The bold Bourbon Brown tastes of Rocky’s Revenge and the seemingly hand-designed label introduced me to a world of micro brewed beers I would soon dive belly-first into, all thanks to Tyranena Brewing Company.
Still as active today as they were in this same spot upon opening back in 1999, Tyranena seems to have aged as well as some of their beers. The shallow but high-ceiling tap room was full to the brim with chattering patrons, young and old.
Outside, the large expanded beer garden sits quietly, awaiting summer months for the tap room to spill its drinkers outside. We were careful not to spill our flight of beers while we stayed warm inside:
Apple IIe Apple Blonde Take Two
Like an apple wine or cider, but with a definite beer mouthfeel.
Headless Man Amber Alt
That rusty, mustiness you hope for in an Amber (or maybe only I do?), but the traditional maltiness is replaced with a crisp bite.
Sheep Shagger Scotch Ale
Opens as a classic Scotch Ale, but throws a red apple & caramel twist at the end.
Island Booty Imperial Brown Ale aged in Rum Barrels
Rum. Lots of rum. Some great, if muted, nutty Brown. But also rum. Lots of rum.
While we were a bit late to hop on one of their free Saturday tours, we kept busy between sips by choosing from their assortment of brainteasers and games.
It’s not surprising that the big-town brewery in the small-town setting would welcome that neighborly feel into their taproom, and it was nice to rub shoulders with fellow beer aficionados and clink glasses with young families at the same time.
As I sat and spent a late evening pleasantly sipping from their now wildly-diverse taplist, I couldn’t help but marvel over the progress Tyranena Brewing Company has made in their 20 years of microbrewing. Yet, to me they’ll always be the small-town Wisconsin brewery with a taste that made a beer novice turn to craft brews.
