USA: Pabst opens new Milwaukee brewery

Pabst Brewing Company, once one of the largest breweries in the United States, which closed down its production in Milwaukee after 152 years in 1996, is opening up a new brewery, taproom and restaurant this Friday on the former Pabst complex just west of downtown Milwaukee.

The new so called Pabst Milwaukee Brewery is located in what was Milwaukee's first German Methodist church, built in 1874 and sold to Pabst in 1898. The church, which was part of Pabst’s former 21-acre complex, was used in former times as a bar and restaurant for its employees and a training center. After the recent conversion the main floor will hold the taproom and a restaurant. A beer garden is planned at the south of the building. The actual brewery is located in the basement and includes a 10-barrel brew house, ten 20-barrel fermenters, and one 10-barrel fermenter with two 20-barrel bright beer tanks.

According to John Kimes, senior staff brewer, the new facility will produce 4,000 barrels (4,700 hectoliters) per year. “We are going to be brewing some of our historic recipes, bringing back Pabst Andeker and brewing Old Tankard Ale here,” he said. Additionally Pabst will brew Belgian beers, an IPA series, fest series, dunkelweiss, honey wheat and other “cutting edge new brews”. Pabst namesake beer Pabst Blue Ribbon, will not be produced on-site but still be brewed under contract by third parties.

Since 2014 Pabst Brewing Company is owned by Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, a partnership of American Beer Entrepreneur Eugene Kashper and TSG Consumer Partners. The latter announced on Monday the purchase of 23% of Scottish “Punk” brewer BrewDog (inside.beer, 10.4.2017), which in turn is soon opening a second brewery in Columbus/Ohio (inside.beer, 4.9.2016).

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