Molson Coors to close Leinenkugel's breweries in Wisconsin.
Audrey Korte Molson Coors will cease operations at its historic Leinenkugel’s Chippewa Falls brewery and the company’s Tenth Street Brewery in Milwaukee on Jan. 17, according to Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. President Tony Bugher.
People are also reading… "These choices are never easy, but they're made with much thought and consideration to keep positioning Molson Coors for success in Wisconsin and beyond. Fortunately, we will be keeping the Leinie Lodge open year-round for guests to enjoy and experience Leinenkugel’s beer and the brand's history.”
“While never easy, these choices are made with much thought and consideration to position Molson Coors for continued success in Wisconsin and beyond.” Teamsters Union Local 662 agent Dan Boley said at the time the agreement was a “move in the right direction.” From Herald files: Leinenkugel's at 150 | A history in words and pictures Leinenkugel's maiden logo Toasting a new brewery Staff of 1967 Dale Buhrow Leinenkugel Wagon Leinenkugel's family reunion 2011 - vertical Beer drinker at the Lodge Jake signs a man's head Inside view of Leinie Lodge Leinenkugel's Brewhouse 2012 Leinenkugel's sale Danielson's at Leinenkugel's Danielsons - Leinenkugel memories Leinenkugel's logo inspires hope Honey Weiss Sunset Wheat...
The fairground’s several stages will host live music throughout the celebration. Leinie’s fans can catch local saxophonist Sue Orfield at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday; country singer-songwriter Jerrod Niemann will grace the new grandstand at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. In the midst of a culinary landscape that honors local ingredients and an increasingly vocal cadre of craft- and micro-brew fans, one might think Leinenkugel has cause to worry.
Six generations of the family businessLeinenkugel’s is not a microbrewery any longer, but visitors to Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls might have a hard time reconciling the expansive brewery, its ice-cold taps in hundreds of Midwestern bars, with its humble past. The thirsty Germans, Scandinavians and Irish of Chippewa Falls welcomed the brewing duo with open arms. Leinenkugel brewed the beer, Miller sold it, and Spring Brewery produced 400 barrels in 1867.
After opening a Leinenkugel’s presence in the Chicago market, a stint in Wisconsin politics and a turn as the brewery’s marketing director, he’s at home in his office as brewery president, a chair he’s occupied since 2014. “I love being a brewer. I love being in this industry,” he says. Dick Leinenkugel, head of the brewery’s marketing efforts at the time, knew there was opportunity. “I gathered my team together and asked: What do the Germans do in the summer? They drink lighter beers: wheats, Kölsches, a sour beer called Berliner Weiss. But they also mix beer and lemonade,” he says. “We thought that was intriguing.”
Seasonal beer enthusiasts can expect the return of some of Leinie’s past brews. Leinie’s Red Lager is returning in the fall of 2017, Snowdrift Vanilla Porter in the winter of 2017. “We’re always looking at what our drinker wants, via social media or here at the Leinie Lodge,” Leinenkugel says. “We’re trying to meet what they’re asking and also give them variety.”
A photo of Jacob Leinenkugel rests today among photos of all of the city’s mayors on the second floor of Chippewa Falls City Hall, within earshot of where the city council meets. By the 1890s, the Wisconsin Historical Society said there were more than 300 breweries in the state, breweries that were usually established by settlers from Germany. For instance, Bloomer in northern Chippewa County had its own brewery, which started in 1875. Eau Claire served its own brand, Walters.
The regional brewery in Chippewa Falls had to fight to survive against national beer giants, Budweiser and Miller.The beer with the strange name that some people thought was hard to pronounced thrived.But the Leinenkugel, Mayer and Casper families, who worked together through hard times to keep in business, continue to be part of this community and the Chippewa Valley.
We walked across the college campus where students and faculty were having a spring bash after a long winter without sunlight. They invited us to join them. I asked a coed from Maine whether the long winters of darkness were hard to get used to. “Oh no” she said. “dorms and classrooms are very close to each other and you get used to it.”
We trod the Leinenkugel’s path, along the creek and below their hill, on our way to fishing, hunting and trapping expeditions — up the creek and to hunting areas. As newcomers to the United States, we used the path to lead us to Park and Flag hill from our home on North Grove Street. We in effect were trespassing but I near heard of any complaint from Leinenkugel’s officers. We gave no thought of it then, but now I realized that we were lucky to have such altruistic neighbors. They were kind and generous.
Police finally stopped that bad activity when a large window was broken in the saloon across the road from the present beautiful rose garden near Duncan Creek. Playground hillThe Forest Hill Cemetery was once confined to the east side of the road which separates the two sections of the local cemetery. The west section of the present cemetery was once our playground. We made good use of it.
Save shoe leatherAs soon as school was out in the spring, we spent much of the time walking around barefoot. The skin on the bottom of our feet became very tough and thick. The supreme test came when we walked across broken glass bottles which had been disposed of by placing them in a gully, leading to what I call Leinenkugel’s Creek. I must say we picked our way very carefully when we walked on broken beer bottles in bare feet.
William Schmidt was the booker who performed minor miracles in assembly kegs for Leinenkugel’s. He was helpful to youngsters. We enjoyed watching him work. He has remained in my memory for a long time. Ray Mayer was a good friend of my dad and brother. He was also our trout fishing partner for many years.
I moved to Hallie in 1976 and stepped into the world of Leinenkugel’s. At that time I knew Leinie’s as the tap beer of the area. It competed with Walter’s. I did not have much time for Walter’s as it always gave me a headache. So Leinie’s it was. My fire department, as well as many others, had beer in our station. Many a night after a fire or meeting or training, the firefighters would gather around the counter, and Leine’s would be the beer of choice. Often till the dawn’s early light.
As we all know, that did not happen. A renaissance occurred. The buildings took on a new but respectable look, the grounds were cleaned up and of course the Leinie’s Lodge came about. I truly believe the best marketing decision I have ever been lucky enough to see was the sale of Leinenkugel’s shirts, coats and t-shirts, and the brewery tours. It gave purpose and a feeling of fun to the brewery and to Chippewa Falls.
Leinie Lodge taps into loyal following EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally ran in the June 22, 2003, Herald. Angela Zillmer of Appleton said she enjoys drinking a Leinenkugel's. But on Saturday afternoon, she was sipping from a bottled water. Mark Zillmer said he's a loyal Leinenkugel's drinker because it's a local beer. He was impressed with the Lodge and its 46-foot sampling bar.
She, too, said she's a Leinie's fan, and was impressed by a large brewery kettle top that can been seen by the bar." is a lot larger than we thought it would be," she said. Pete Dawson caps beer career with Leinenkugel's EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally ran in the Oct. 26, 2002, Herald. “I really feel it’s a culmination of my career,” he said. That career ended with his retirement Aug. 30. His successor is Dan McCabe, who also worked for Miller.
Leinenkugel said Dawson’s crown jewel is the brew house, which is one of the most modern of any in the United States. It replaced a brew house which had equipment dating back to the end of Prohibition in the 1930s. Retirement now seems like a vacation, he said. The couple plans to continue living in the Chippewa Valley and volunteer for projects.“Don’t look for us in January and February very hard,” he joked.
In an effort to reflect the personality of the Chippewa Valley and the outline of the Indianhead geography of northwestern Wisconsin, the face of the mystical and lovely Indian maiden was chosen to appear on the bottle. And despite advice from some who thought the familiar logo should be altered or modernized, she appears much as she has looked from the beginning.
The early paintings of the beautiful Indian woman from which the design was taken are done in soft tones of golds and orange. Longtime brewmaster John Cooney dedicated life to Leinenkugels EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Herald on March 12, 2005. Cooney had his first contact with the brewery as a young boy. He grew up a stone’s throw from the brewery and used to play on the brewery grounds.
“John was a marvelous beer taster, and continued to come down and test the beers for our brewmasters after his retirement in 1976,” Bill Leinenkugel said.Leinenkugel's expanding its Leinie's Light brand EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally ran in the Feb. 16, 2005, Herald.The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company announced that the brand grown right here in the Chippewa Valley is ready to leave home.
“They’d take home a case to enjoy at home. But now many of those people will be able to buy it at home,” he said. The brewery will expand distribution of Leinenkugel’s Light to all of its Wisconsin and Minnesota distributors beginning in early March. I recall a guy named Gene Brazee. The two of us ended up in Korea in the ‘50s. He often lamented that he could buy Leinenkugel’s from only one outlet in Madison. And such was the case in many communities. Not any longer.
There was never a day while cleaning fish with his grandfather that Mayer envisioned that the make-shift cleaning table would be one of his favorite pieces in a Leinenkugel’s memorabilia collection that spans generations of local brewing history.“I must have been toting that sign around since I was 16,” Mayer said.
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