Waunakee-based Octopi Brewing says it will no longer make the 3rd Sign Brewery brand of beers. Octopi opened in 2015, primarily as a contract brewer for other breweries. Octopi’s sales director, Joe Goldfine, says that contract brewing is unaffected by this decision and will continue as it has. Octopi makes beer for several companies in the Midwest and nationally. In Wisconsin, these have included Door County Brewing, One Barrel and the Hop Haus.
However, Goldfine says Octopi will end production on its own in-house brand, marketed as 3rd Sign Brewery. The 3rd Sign brand had been distributed in Dane County by River City Distributing of Watertown, which was recently sold to Wisconsin Distributors of Sun Prairie. In the transition, the brewery and River City were unable to reach an agreement, which resulted in Octopi pulling the plug on its 3rd Sign beers.
In April, Octopi had announced it would stop selling 3rd Sign products in Dane County, but that it would continue the line in Milwaukee, with the help of a distributor there. However, it has now decided to end production altogether. “We’ve killed the brand,” says Goldfine.
The name is a reference to the third sign of the zodiac, Gemini, and the brewery's logo depicted twins. The brewery released its 3rd Sign beers in pairs, often two different versions of a style. Differences were most evident when two glasses were sipped side by side. A few of those beers: Jungle and Forest (IPAs), Madagascar Vanilla and Sumatra Coffee (mild ales), Pollux (Belgian wit) and Castor (hoppy wheat) and Osiris and Osiris Afterlife (imperial stouts).
Goldfine says no brewery employees will lose their jobs as a result of ending 3rd Sign beers. He adds that Octopi may someday try again with a house brand, but there’s no timetable for that.
The brewery is looking to expand in its taproom business and is working with Waunakee officials on ideas for allowing more food offerings to be sold at the brewery.
Editor's note: Since press time, we have learned that 3rd Sign's closing will not affect Untitled Art, the collaboration between Octopi and Funk Factory Geuzeria.
