*This is the one-hundred and fiftieth post in an on-going chronicle dubbed the Great Wisconsin Brewery Tour. Follow the journey here.*
Emprize Brew Mill
200 Main St
Menasha, WI 54952
(920) 486-1539
Visit date: 05/25/2019
Quick Hits:
1) How many different beers?
26 brews on tap + 3 ciders + 1 mead + root beer + Kombucha.
2) How long operational?
Restaurant opened Halloween 2017, brewery opened in 2018 .
3) Why? (here, this, etc)
Chemical engineer who “lives across the bridge” and wanted to “support Main Street Menasha”.
4) Distribution?
None: “Made in Menasha, served in Menasha.”
5) What sets you apart?
The Attic bar and dance floor upstairs. Cocktail-lounge feel.
6) How did you get your name?
“Emprize” is defined as “an adventurous enterprise”.
Emprize Brew Mill in Menasha, WI. All photos by Joe Powell for The Squeaky Curd.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing that Main Street in Menasha housed its own microbrewery. After walking into Emprize Brew Mill, you might even be forgiven for not realizing that the impressive draft list at the bar is all made right behind that wall.
But the dark woods, original tin ceiling, smooth jazz over the speakers, and extensive cocktail menu belie the fact that Emprize is also prodigious brewery. Their downstairs bar hosts a dozen or more different house brews, which is matched by just as many in their upstairs party space. We partook in a flight.
Amberlance Red Ale
Red apple sweetness in a malty mouthfeel. Ends satisfyingly tangy.
Muckin’ Aboot Scottish Ale
Extremely smooth. Roasty, almost Brown in character, but with a Scotch-y burn left on the tongue.
Waterfront Crossing Kolsch
Cloudier than expected, which contributes to a very pleasing, wheat-y quality not normally found in this style. Almost like a lighter Summer Shandy.
Hard Nine IPA Black/Cascadian Dark Ale
Classically IPA, with hops for residual rather than oppressive bitterness. The roasted malt profile helps cut further towards a Porter.
As owner Craig Zoltowski told us, Emrpize Brew Mill can supply themselves with such variety because “we’re nano-scale; we’re small-batch. Everything we make is super fresh. It’s all fundamental science (spoken like a true engineer): raw materials and process.” We found that the fresh-ingredient and production sentiment extended to their delicious and varied food menu.
Though the building dates maybe 100 years, Craig notes “we didn’t rebuild; we just re-finished.” The downstairs lounge feel is matched upstairs with The Attic’s club aesthetic: a large central bar, stage, games, and dancefloor all overlook the river.
In a state full of old-school cocktail bars and industrial-style microbreweries, Emprize Brew Mill breaks the mold with their “modernization of the Wisconsin supper club.” I’ll raise a glass (and a fork) to that.
