*This is the forty-fifth post in an on-going chronicle dubbed the Great Wisconsin Brewery Tour. Follow the journey here.*
Lion’s Tail Brewing Company
116 S Commercial St
Neenah, WI 54956
(920) 843-3020
Visit date: 01/30/16
Quick Hits:
1) How many different beers?
4 of their own, goal is 6-10.
2) How long operational?
November 2015.
3) Why? (here, this, etc)
Building owner is a big part of the community. Owner was a homebrewing engineer.
4) Distribution?
Crowlers.
5) What sets you apart?
1st brewery in Neenah. BYO/delivery food. Carry guest taps & bottles.
6) How did you get your name?
The two tailed lion is a symbol of Bohemia (and its beer culture), which is part of the owner’s heritage and which he tweaked with barley stocks on the lion’s double tail.
A new brewery seems to open up weekly in Wisconsin, which is something we’re surely not complaining about. But because of the brewery-boom we’ve gotten the question from readers: “Aren’t all these new places exactly the same?”
Lion’s Tail Brewing Company in Neenah is a perfect illustration of how these fresh faces are setting themselves apart while keeping the vibe familiar.
On the one hand, Lion’s Tail is a setting that’s proving popular with microbreweries: dark woods, open concept, communal bar games, free popcorn (YUS!). But from the get-go they started brewing from new angles.
While their double IPA may be the beer-du-jour, who else is opening shop with an island wheat next to a traditional German Dunkel? And for the first time I witnessed something called a “custom brewed beer”: a cool concept where you pick your hops and enjoy your own style of beer after 15 minutes of brewing in a french press-like machine.
While they’re brand-new and ramping up production, we tried their 3 styles plus the custom brew.
All Along the Clocktower Double IPA
Balanced hops; a gateway IPA.
Kula Wheat
Islandy, laid-back on a beach.
Mile of Munich Dunkel
Malty, slightly-nutty nose.
Custom Pale Ale (Centennial Hops)
Mellow, drinkable.
While Lion’s Tail doesn’t feature a kitchen of their own, they allow you to bring in outside food and partner with local pizza restaurants for delivery, which is added onto your tab for a hassle-free transaction. The space was obviously new, but had a comfortable quality that really invited you to stay there for a long time (the addicting popcorn and beer helped).