Oshkosh 2020: The Year in Beer

It's been a hell of a year. Some parts were just hell. But the beer scene in Oshkosh still managed to provide a few bright spots amid all the bad news that 2020 brought us. Here's a look back at Oshkosh's year in beer.

Gardening in a Drought
The 20th year of the 21st century got off to a start that looked promising. In January, the Oshkosh Common Council passed a resolution to hold a series of summer beer gardens in Menominee Park. They'd feature locally made beer, live music, and food trucks. The council's only dissenting vote came from Oshkosh Mayor Lori Palmeri who vacantly wondered "Why everything in Wisconsin has to revolve around drinking." Go figure. Anyway, it was all for naught. Like most public events scheduled for the summer of 2020, the planned beer gardens never happened.

Craft Beer Week
Late in January, the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau announced it would act as the coordinating sponsor for Oshkosh's first Craft Beer Week. The week would consist of a series of events held in brewery taprooms and beer bars.

An Oshkosh Craft Beer Week sticker.

Craft Beer Week began On March 7 with the 3rd Annual Winter Beer Fest at Bare Bones Brewery. All four Oshkosh breweries, among other area breweries, were on-site pouring their beer. The weather was fine and the turnout was excellent. That afternoon felt like the realization of something that has been building here for the past five years or so. It was a high-water mark for the beer scene in Oshkosh.

Winter Beer Fest, March 7, 2020.

The festive mood changed a couple of days later. The spread of COVID-19 triggered waves of public-event cancellations. The EAA's Hops and Props beer tasting scheduled for March 14 was supposed to be the culmination of Craft Beer Week. But the event was called off. Craft Beer Week ended on a low note.

The Pandemic Comes to Oshkosh
On Tuesday, March 17, Governor Tony Evers issued an emergency order prohibiting drinking and dining in Wisconsin bars, taprooms, and restaurants. By the end of the month, each of the Oshkosh breweries was selling beer on a to-go basis. People showed up at the taprooms, but instead of sitting down and ordering a beer they were picking up packaged beer and walking back out the door.

  

Beer being prepped for takeout at Bare Bones.

Taverns and restaurants were hit hardest. Most struggled through the spring selling take-out. Sales plummeted. The support these businesses received from their patrons would prove to be crucial. The support they received from every level of government was feeble. One of the most highly taxed sectors of the local economy was left to sink.

Barley and Hops Pub, Oshkosh; late March 2020.

The shutdown order stood until May 13 when it was invalidated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A number of Oshkosh taverns re-opened within minutes of the court's ruling. People flooded into the open bars. The story was picked up by state and national news outlets. The customary social life of Oshkosh was presented as an aberration.

Andy's Pub and Grub in Oshkosh, May 13, 2020.

On March 14, Winnebago County attempted to institute its own shutdown. Hours later, the county's order was rescinded after it had been reviewed by legal counsel. All businesses could now fully open without the government threat of legal action.

Despite the lifting of restrictions, 2020 remained bleak for anyone making their living in bars, breweries, or restaurants. The crowds never fully returned. Things picked up somewhat in summer with the re-opening of beer gardens and outdoor dining, but there has yet to be a recovery from the drop-off that occurred in March.

A sense of what's happening can be gleaned by looking at beer production. By the end of October 2020, total beer production in Oshkosh was down by more than 18 percent compared to the same time last year. It doesn't appear as if that trend will be reversed in the near term. This is a perilous time for any business that relies on beer sales to sustain it.

The Varsity Club on N. Main, late March, 2020.

A series of restrictions and executive orders have been issued by the governor's office since the lifting of the shutdown order. Among them is a mandate to wear face masks and limits on the size of public gatherings. But there's been little enforcement. Some bars, brewery taprooms, and restaurants in Oshkosh have followed the orders. Others disregard them.

This past fall, the metropolitan area that includes Oshkosh became site of the most rapid spread of COVID-19 in America. That again put the city into the national news.

From the New York Times; October 2, 2020.

A story that became part of that thread centered around Mark Schultz, co-owner of Oblio's Lounge in Oshkosh. In early October, Schultz gained national attention with a series of YouTube videos he posted from his hospital bed while suffering from COVID-19. Schultz pleaded with his viewers to take the disease more seriously. Oblio’s closed at the beginning of October. It has yet to reopen.

Mark Schultz, October 9, 2020.

The Beer
In spite of everything, the beer never stops flowing. All together, Oshkosh's four breweries released over 150 unique beers this year. There's never been a period when breweries in this city have had such a constant flow of specialty beer coming out. Fifth Ward accounts for approximately half of those new releases.

Fruited Beers
Fruited beers continued to be highly popular in Oshkosh in 2020. Fox River’s Blü Bobber, a blueberry-flavored ale, was again the best selling beer produced by an Oshkosh brewery. It’s held that position since 2014.

Fifth Ward's heavily-fruited, “Frootenanny” sours came strongly to the fore this year. Throughout 2020, Fifth Ward has released beers in this series on an almost weekly basis. These are frequently the best selling beers in the brewery's line-up.

Lager Beers
Lager beer saw a significant revival this year. It's part of a trend among small breweries that’s occurring nationally. All four Oshkosh breweries released a lager this year. This is the first time that's happened here since 1894. Bare Bones' Oshkosh Lager remains the only year-round lager in production in Oshkosh. It's the brewery's second-best-selling beer.


Oktoberfest and Bock beers were among the notable lager styles brewed in Oshkosh in 2020. Each Oshkosh brewery released a bock beer this year. That's the first time that's ever happened. Bare Bones, Fifth Ward, and Fox River each released an Oktoberfest in late summer. It was the first time there have been three Oshkosh-brewed Oktoberfests on the market concurrently.

Oshkosh brewed Oktoberfest beers of 2020.

Collab Beer
Another first was the collaboration beer brewed in August by Bare Bones and Fifth Ward. New Top Dog Golden Ale was the first beer produced by Oshkosh breweries working in tandem. The beer was released in September as part of a fundraiser in benefit of the Oshkosh Area Humane Society and the Oshkosh Mid-Morning Kiwanis Club.

From left to right: Ian Wenger and Zach Clark of Fifth Ward
with Jody Cleveland of Bare Bones during the New Top Dog brew.

Barrel-Aged Beers
Fifth Ward continues leading the way in barrel-aged stouts. The brewery released 14 barrel-aged stouts this year along with five other barrel-aged ales conditioned in repurposed spirits barrels.

Barrel Aging at Fifth Ward.

Fox River launched Oshkosh's first ongoing, barrel-aged sour program this year. The initial beer in the Foxxine series came out in September. It was fermented with a mixed-culture of lactic bacteria, pediococcus bacteria, and Brettanomyces yeast. By the end of the year, Fox River had released seven beers in this series.

Brewmaster Drew Roth of Fox River.

The Canning Comeback
Consumption patterns changed radically this year in response to the spread of COVID-19. It’s caused draft beer sales to crash. Brewers increasingly came to rely on sales of packaged beer to make up for the loss. The packaging also changed profoundly this year. For the first time, canned beer is now favored by Oshkosh breweries.

In May, Bare Bones brought in a new canning line. It became the first Oshkosh brewery since 1972 to have its own automated canning machine. Bare Bones has since discontinued bottling its beer.

Canning beer at Bare Bones.

Fifth Ward also acquired an automated canning machine this year. The brewery’s canner went into production in mid-December. Going forward, most of Fifth Ward’s packaged beer will be in cans.

Canned beer from Fifth Ward.

Fox River continues to package in bottles while also canning significant quantities of its beer. This year, Fox River has used a leased, mobile canner along with the canner at Bare Bones. It’s the first time an Oshkosh brewery has used the equipment of another Oshkosh brewery to package its beer.

Homebrewing
The homebrewing scene in Oshkosh remained vibrant in 2020. In fact, the Pandemic seems to have benefitted homebrewing here. The Cellar Brew Shop in Oshkosh reported that it saw an increase in sales that began with the March shutdown. That uptick has been echoed by homebrewers I've talked to; most of whom say their output increased this year.

The Society of Oshkosh Brewers (SOBs) homebrewing club continues to be active, though many of the club's meetings had to be conducted online. Among the SOB highlights this year was the wort exchange that took place at Fifth Ward in July. The brewery produced extra wort for an Oktoberfest beer that SOB members took away in carboys to ferment at home.

Zach Clark of Fifth Ward (left) and Logan Anderson
of the Society of Oshkosh Brewers during the July wort share.

The link between local homebrewers and pro-brewers was also apparent later in the year. In October, Fox River brewed a porter using the recipe of the beer that won the SOB's annual club competition in July. Dick Waltenberry's Bedford Porter went on tap at Fox River in November.

Dick Waltenberry at the Fox River brew kettle on October 2, 2020.

Breweriana
The interest in Oshkosh brewing history continues to grow as was shown by the increased visibility of Oshkosh breweriana in 2020. Collector Steve Schrage had a portion of his Oshkosh collection on display at the Oshkosh Public Library. The exhibit ran through most of January and February.

Steve Schrage with his son Smith and daughter Kennedy
at the Oshkosh Public Library Exhibit.

There was also a breweriana show in Oshkosh this year. The last time that happened was some 40 years ago. The B’Gosh it’s Good Brewery Collectables Trade Show was organized by Jared Sanchez. It took place on October 4th at Fifth Ward. The event proved so popular that Sanchez is now looking at making it an annual occurrence.

A part of the beer show in the beer garden at Fifth Ward.

A Recovery in Waiting
It's been a punishing year for local bars and breweries. At the moment, there’s no relief in sight. We're not likely to know how bad the damage will be until about this time next year.

Missing for most of the year has been HighHolder Brewing, Oshkosh's only nano-brewery. HighHolder ceased production in March after the lockdown order made its business model nearly impossible to execute. But because of that model, HighHolder is also one of the few breweries in the state that can afford to weather such a long-term interruption. Mike Schlosser of HighHolder says he plans to reopen the brewery and get back to full production in the first part of 2021.

This year marks 171 years of commercial brewing in Oshkosh. In all that time, there's been just one other year like this one. The Pandemic of 1918 caused disruptions similar to those we're seeing now. That period was even more cataclysmic in that the brief recovery that followed was snuffed by National Prohibition. Still, the beer culture in Oshkosh endured. In 2021, we may get to see the beginning of another comeback.