By Shereen Siewert
MOSINEE — After years of painstaking planning and hard work, the Mosinee Brewing Company is edging closer to completion and is well on its way to becoming a major attraction for central Wisconsin visitors.
Situated on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, the intersection sees more than 18,000 vehicles pass by each day. Now, co-owners Lyn Kearns and Greg Sperry aim to capitalize on that traffic, luring both Mosinee residents and visitors to the sprawling new brewpub that has long been their vision. Mosinee Brewing Company, 401 Fourth St., will include a brewery and tap room, an outdoor beer garden and event space for meetings, parties and special events. Customers will also be able to visit the scenic River Park with their beverages.
Beer choices from Wisconsin will be featured at the Mosinee Brewing Company, with four non-alcoholic options also available. The business will begin brewing their own craft beer later this year.
Visitors will immediately notice the transformation of the space, which was the longtime home of Discount Liquidators. Gone are the bright blue signs and white-boarded walls that once dominated the building’s exterior. Now, the building boasts sophisticated brick walls and enormous floor to ceiling windows that make the most of natural sunlight. Inside, the building has been completely gutted; 100-year-old hemlock floors have been completely removed but and installed as part of the brewery’s new rustic ceiling. A newly installed concrete floor will make cleanup easier.
Each element of the remodel has been meticulously thought out with local materials that speak to the brewery’s central Wisconsin roots. Local contractors and suppliers make up the majority of those involved in the brewery’s metamorphosis: Wausau Tile is fabricating the bathroom sinks and bar top, which has been crafted from Wisconsin River rock. Esser Glass installed new windows. A&B Process in Stratford supplied the kettles in which the beer will be brewed. A Milwaukee artist designed and crafted new, breathtaking chandeliers that will be installed later this week.
“We wanted to keep everything as local as possible,” said Kearns, who will become the nation’s 17th female brewer when the business opens its doors in the coming weeks. “Sometimes that makes it more expensive, but it’s absolutely worth it.”
Kearns said she hopes the business will be a catalyst for other Mosinee businesses and will help stimulate the city’s tourism in the process. Initially, the brewpub won’t include a full restaurant, but will have some limited menu items available. Groups who hold gatherings or parties will be allowed to bring their own food for their events. But a restaurant could happen down the road, once the brewery is up and running smoothly, Kearns said.
Mosinee Brewing Company will hold a ribbon cutting this week with the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, but the brewery won’t be open to the public until mid-November. For updates, visit the Mosinee Brewing Company Facebook page.
Top photo: Lyn Kearns and Greg Sperry pose for a photo in front of Mosinee Brewing Company, which will open next month at 401 Fourth St., Mosinee.
