Do you enjoy drinking beer? Do you enjoy taking tours in Breweries? Then the Stevens Point, Point Brewery is for you! They have been making great beer for 150 years now! The brewery is Wisconsin-owned and independently operated.
Started in 1857 by Frank Wahle and George Ruder, a loyal following of the brewery slowly started to develop. The two partners worked hard on malting and grinding grains to produce one of the very first American lager beers! Point Special lager is a well balanced, full bodied premium beer. It was first introduced in 1857, and it is still selling to this day. It has won quite a few awards also, including the #1 beer tasted of all US beers in a Chicago Daily News Taste Test back in 1973.
The breweries newest addition to the family is Point Light. It was just introduced in April of 2006. It only has 105 calories to it. Some of the other beers in the family are Honey Light, Cascade Pale Ale, White Biere, and Spring Bock. Spring Bock was first introduced in 1938, and it has become a popular favorite for many. It is only available from January to May. So when the local stores get a stock in, it goes quickly! Their White Biere is my favorite! It is Belgium style white ale with hints of Curacao orange peel and coriander. You can put an orange slice in it for some extra flavor but I think it is great on its own.
Besides brewing beer, Point Brewery also makes its own gourmet sodas. They are each balanced well and as reminiscent to the sodas produced during the Prohibition. The sodas they offer are Root Beer, Diet Root Beer, Vanilla Cream, and Black Cherry Cream. These have also become very popular.
The most recent Brewmaster is John Zappa. He has been the Brewmaster in Point since 1976, then age 27 and fresh out of Chicago’s famous Siebel Institute for Brewing Studies. Throughout his career, John has received more than 25 awards for his high-quality handcrafted beer. If you have ever tasted any of Point’s beers, you will know why he is receiving so many awards.
The Brewery does do tours. On the tour you will get to see how they have brewed great beer for 150 years. And you will be a part of visiting the world’s 5th oldest continuously operating breweries in the country. The tour is 45 minutes long and gives you a history of the place and a walk through look at the brewing, aging, packing and warehouse areas. You will also get to sample some of their brews! Reservations are highly suggested though. And you can make one by calling 1-715-341-9310 or 1-800-369-4911.
It is a great historic brewery to take a tour of and their beer is awesome. Make sure you check out the gift shop on the way out and buy some of the Point beer bottle shaped sausages and Point beer can fishing bobbers! They have a lot of fun items in there. So if you are ever in the area of Stevens Point make sure you swing by the brewery and check it out.
