In 1867 Jacob Leinenkugel founded his brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wis., to brew beer for thirsty lumberjacks. Six generations later, Leinie’s continues to delight beer drinkers with German-style beers brewed with a Northwoods twist.
(That includes Leinie’s Summer Shandy, which is based on a classic beer recipe from Germany.)
To celebrate this milestone, Leinie’s has already introduced Anniversary Lager, a collaboration with Hofbräu München. (The Anniversary Lager label features an image of the bridge from the Chippewa Falls brewery.)
Now it’s getting ready to celebrate that anniversary. The 14th annual Leinie’s family reunion will be held at the brewery on June 17. And then Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, the brewery will celebrate its 150th anniversary at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls.
Volume One caught up with Leinie’s president Dick Leinenkugel to talk about the family heritage, what Leinie’s means to the community and how he got his start stapling cases in the brewery.
He also talked about some upcoming beers, including Pomegranate shandy. From the story:
We’ve got a Pomegranate Shandy coming this summer, it’s tested well and people seem to like it a lot. Then we’re cautiously optimistic about this Cherry Blonde Lager, which is currently part of our Summer Explorer variety pack. We’re going to continue to focus on interesting German styles, primarily lager beers that we can add a certain twist to.