A lot can change in a year, and that's just what Muskego-based
Eagle Park Brewing is hoping for. A year after acquiring
Milwaukee Brewing Company’s intellectual property, recipes, and branding, Eagle Park is hoping to introduce consumers to a more modern version of the brand.
The brewery, which is on track to produce 13,000 barrels of beer this year and has grown to 85 employees, essentially doubled production overnight following the Milwaukee Brewing deal.
To support that growth Eagle Park expanded to the west within its Muskego taproom, adding about 30,000 square feet.
While the brewery has been leasing that space for about a year and a half, construction on the company’s new brewhouse didn’t start until the beginning of this year.
“The big thing with the expansion was just being more environmentally friendly, being more efficient and making the work environment better for our staff,” said
Max Borgardt, co-owner of Eagle Park.
For example, the new brewhouse system being installed is a mash system manufactured by Menomonee Falls-based
Aegir Brewing Systems. The brewhouse introduces a new way of brewing beer. That method involves a unique filter that uses air pressure to squeeze the wort out of grain instead of relying on gravity to do it. That means the brewery can expect to use 30% less water and about 25% less grain throughout the brewing process.
“It’s a 20-barrel system, which is the same size we had before,” said Borgardt. “It can do five-barrel batches all the way up to 20-barrel batches. It’s twice as fast, so we can do up to 104 barrels a day. Normally, we could only do 60.”
Over the past four to five months, Eagle Park’s packaging operations were moved into the new space. That included the company’s canning lines – a second line was recently added -- and bright tanks. An automated filler and cleaner was also purchased for the new packaging area. Borgardt said this new piece of equipment increases Eagle Park’s filling ability ten-fold.
Eagle Park has also used the past year to fine tune some Milwaukee Brewing recipes (a new yeast is used to brew Outboard and Louie's Demise) while unveiling new offerings under both brands.
The newest addition to the Milwaukee Brewing roster is a lemonade-tea hard seltzer called 19th Tea.
Moving forward, customers can expect more seasonal products from Milwaukee Brewing and even some limited time beers. A new spirits line launched last year under the Milwaukee Brewing brand which includes an offering of blackberry and a ginger brandy, along with a potato-based vodka. Ready-to-drink cocktails from Eagle Park are still in the works.
“We’re going to really push the fact that we’re a distillery as well. Obviously, we’re known for our beer, but our vodka has double gold medals,” said Borgardt.
The entire Milwaukee Brewing beer lineup has also seen a brand refresh with updated logos and packaging that pay homage to the company’s history.
“We left little Easter eggs everywhere that represent the old artwork,” said Borgardt. “We wanted to give it a modern approach, but it has that nostalgic color scheme.”
By the start of next year, Eagle Park is hoping to launch an immersive brewery tour at its Muskego taproom so customers can get a closer look at what’s happening with both brands.
Borgardt said the brewery is also close to finding a new brick and mortar location for Milwaukee Brewing. He declined to specify where the company is looking but did say the new space would be within Milwaukee County.
