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Its grand opening will
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Joe Katchever stands behind the bar at Pearl Street Brewry in the gift shop . Dick Riniker photo |
be from 4 to 7 p.m. today at
the brewery, 1401 St. Andrew St., in part of the former LaCrosse Footwear Inc. factory complex.
Joe Katchever, who owns the brewery with his father, Tony, said the tasting room/gift shop will offer free samples of its products, including some that aren’t yet on the market.
It also will offer tours and sell bottles and half-gallon “growlers” of its beers as well as souvenirs such as T-shirts, sweatshirts and beer glasses with the brewery’s logo. Katchever plans to expand the merchandise selection.
“We’ve always had demand from people to have something like this,” Katchever said
of having a tasting room,
souvenirs and tours. “Now
we’ll actually be open to the public.”
Hours will be 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Pearl Street Brewery has six employees and Katchever wants to hire two more, including a “beer ambassador” to welcome people to the tasting room/gift shop, lead tours and handle off-premise events.
The business opened in 1999 in the basement of the Bodega Brew Pub at 122 S. Fourth St. in downtown
La Crosse.
In May 2006, Katchever began making beer in the brewery’s current location in the former LaCrosse Footwear complex. He and his father bought one of the buildings.
Since it began, the brewery’s beers have been available on tap at area taverns and restaurants.
Since July, bottled Pearl Street Brewery beer has been available in area grocery and convenience stores. So far, three of the brewery’s beers have been bottled — D.T.B. brown ale, Pearl Street pale ale and El Hefe hefeweizen ale. A fourth beer, Lucky Logger lager, will be available in bottles in about six weeks, Katchever said.
Steve Cahalan can be reached at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.
Joebob wrote on Nov 21, 2007 9:48 AM: