Beer Run: Badger State Brewing Co.

Head Brewer Sam Yanda

Here’s a new brewery just an hour north of Oshkosh that’s worth checking out. Badger State Brewing is a Green Bay nanobrewery launched by former homebrewers Andrew Fabry, Michael Servi and Sam Yanda. They began selling their beer in early December 2013. Their brewery is now open weekdays with growler sales on premise. The place is something to see.... and smell.

I stopped in last Friday just as head brewer Sam Yanda was adding cinnamon and cocoa nibs to an oatmeal stout he was making. The aroma was incredible. The brewery is located in a good-sized open space in the back of a manufacturing building near Lambeau Field. Yanda brews on a 15-gallon Sabco system that feeds 42-gallon Blichmann Conical Fermenators. The set-up is getting plenty of use. Yanda says he’s brewing almost daily to keep up.

They had three beers available when I was there – New Green Chop Session IPA; Waloon Belgian Wit Beer; and Bunyan Badger Brown Ale. All three of the beers were quite good. I wound up taking a growler of the brown home.

At the moment, Badger State beers are available at the brewery and at Adams St. Pub and The Libertine, both in Green Bay. But the best way to see what they’re about is to stop in at the brewery, get a tour and pick up a growler or two. It’s rare that you get to see this kind of small-batch brewing taking place on a professional level. We need more of it.

For more on Badger State Brewing, see their webpage and their Facebook page.