*This is the fifty-eighth post in an on-going chronicle dubbed the Great Wisconsin Brewery Tour. Follow the journey here.*
Geneva Lake Brewing Company
750 Veterans Parkway
Suite 107
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 248-2539
Visit date: 06/04/16
Quick Hits:
1) How many different beers?
9 on tap, around 14 made.
2) How long operational?
Company since 2010, selling since 2012.
3) Why? (here, this, etc)
Lake Geneva was a resort town without local beer.
4) Distribution?
Cans, bottles, kegs throughout Wisconsin and down to Chicago.
5) What sets you apart?
Owner and son brewing what they like, not the trends.
6) How did you get your name?
Geneva Lake a stone’s throw away.
Geneva Lake Brewing Company in Lake Geneva. All photos by Joe Powell.
Though the yearly infestation of FIBs (frustrating Illinois bozos, amirite?) may be misleading, Lake Geneva and its surrounding towns are in fact Wisconsin lake destinations. And even though many Cheeseheads may confuse them, the lake itself is named Geneva Lake (while the city is the reverse). It’s this historic lake that Geneva Lake Brewing Company was named after, a short 1.5 miles off the shoreline.
Sharing an industrial space with a number of other local businesses, it’s impressive how much volume, from cans to bottles to kegs and growlers, comes out of the small brewing space. The compact tap room encourages the making of new friends as much as the beer.
Image taken just before we filled the entire place.
I brought 9 friends along, so of course I had to try one Geneva Lake beer for each person ($18 total).
#StevensWeddingPerfectSetting #GoingInDry #HousingTheRagu
Boathouse Blonde Ale
Dry start to finish; light.
Weekender (American) Wheat
Very light wheat taste; easy drinking.
Cedar Point Amber
Heavier on the bitterness than the malt, but keeping the Amber taste.
No Wake IPA
Very tasty IPA; an afternoon porch beer.
Black Point Oatmeal Stout
Very oatmeal, much Stout.
I agree that in-house barrel aging is a worthwhile use of the valuable space.
Cherry Wheat
“Tastes like Door County.” “It’s like an apple pie.”
Implosion 2x IPA
The bitter bomb with a lingering floral nose.
Imperial Cherry Stout
A dessert beer; to drink in front of a fireplace.
Czech Pils
Refreshing; a hoppy-crispness without the bitterness.
Founder Pat and his friends, also in the tap room enjoying their own beer on a fine Saturday afternoon, answered my question about what sets Geneva Lake apart:
“What sets all of us craft brewers apart? You brew what you like.”
Craft brewers’ focus to cater to their own beer interests is exactly what makes the Wisconsin craft beer industry so diverse.
Brewers hard at work.
Whether you’re a true-blue Wisconsin beer drinker or a Chicago light-weight, a stop at Geneva Lake Brewing Company will certainly be both cozy and boozy.
