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ABOUT US
In 1996 two friends, Mike McElwain and Jerome Ebel bought an old brick
building on Highway 10 in Junction City, Wisconsin. The building, built
around 1920, was originally a Model A Ford dealership. Subsequently it
had a barbershop, followed by a liquidator of second-hand goods, before
being vacated in 1988. Purchased in 1996, it took two years to restore
and clean the building before the first beer production could begin.
With a building, the friends put together money to purchase used dairy
equipment. The dairy equipment was retrofitted to ultimately become
the brewery's first brewhouse. Months later, Central Waters Brewery
came to be.
They began using their own home brewing recipes. The original
included: Ouisconsing Red, Happy Heron Pale Ale, and Mudpuppy Porter.
The pair also made an award winning barley wine. In 2000 their Kosmyk
Charlie's Y2K Catastrophe Ale captured a bronze medal at that years
World Beer Cup Competition. The initial brews were offered in
growlers, twelve, and twenty four ounce bottles, and kegs.
Within a few months of first beer production, Paul Graham was hired to
help so Jerome and Mike could maintain their full time jobs. The
partner's start up was part of a national trend toward producing bigger
and better beers at a small, local level. The exact opposite of what
most Americans had seen since the emergence of modern refrigeration
and big national brands, these microbreweries revisited pre-prohibition
recipes and expanded them to include most varieties brewed across
the world.
After three years under the original ownership, the brewery went up
for sale. Brewer Paul Graham teamed up with, avid home-brewer and
literal 'beer fanatic', Clint Schultz to purchase the building,
equipment, and recipes. The team's choice only secured the place of
craft brewing in Central Wisconsin. While the original beer lineup
was good, Clint and Paul had ideas of their own. They expanded on
the original three beers to five by turning seasonal favorites Lac
Du Bay India Pale Ale (IPA) and Satin Solstice Imperial Stout into
regular brews. In addition they also wanted to offer bottles in six
packs. In order to achieve this the duo acquired an automated
bottling machine.
Shortly after the acquisition of the bottling machine, the original
brew house fired for the last time. Not being originally designed for
the stress it was enduring, the main brew kettle cracked beyond repair.
On the five-year anniversary Central Waters purchased a 15-barrel
brew house, similar to the one here at the pub, and two 30 barrel
fermenters to support the larger batches produced by the new brew
house.
In early 2006, Clint Schultz left the brewery to pursue other
interests. The brewery is now owned and operated by Paul Graham,
Anello Mollica, and Craig Ziolkowski, who bring over 24 years of
brewing experience into the company.
Currently, Central Waters Brewing Company has expanded its product
line to include eighteen beer styles and services over 200 retail
locations in Central Wisconsin. Moving from Junction City to a new
facility in Amherst, WI in January 2007, Central Waters can better
support demand. Although, only two of the original
dairy tanks are in use today, CWBC continues to build on the solid
reputation of producing the finest quality beers in Central Wisconsin.
Feel free to contact us with
questions and/or comments.
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