Robin Shepard
Even before Working Draft Beer Company, 1129 East Wilson St., opened its doors on March 5, it was generating buzz among Madison’s craft beer fans with its collaborative brewing projects.
Over the past several months, chief brewer Clint Lohman has been making beer with other local brewers in their brewhouses. He’s done eight beers so far, several of which are found on Working Draft’s opening tap list. “We did a lot of give and take,” says Lohman. “They have been true collaboration beers.” The approach has resulted in a lot of goodwill and a positive first impression in a very competitive beer-making environment. “I got to know so many people in making these beers,” says Lohman. It also let Lohman get a jump on production before the Working Draft brewhouse was up to scale.
The collaborators have been The Great Dane Pub and Brewery for a hazy Belgian IPA, Hop Haus Brewing for a double IPA, The Lone Girl Brewing Company for an imperial Maibock, Next Door Brewing Company for a rye Scotch ale, One Barrel Brewing for an American black barleywine, Parched Eagle for a weizenbock, Rockhound Brewing for an extra special bitter, and Wisconsin Brewing Company for a wild rice bock. Lohman wants to be known for these collaborative brews; watch for more of them on Working Draft’s rotating tap lines.
Robin Shepard
Working Draft's Head Brewer Clint Lohman and his wife Kristine Lohman take time to celebrate the taproom opening with a beer together.
Working Draft co-owners Ben Feifarek (also owner of the Wine and Hop Shop) and Ryan Browne (who coordinates educational programs at the shop) are also home brewers. “It’s every homebrewer’s dream to open a brewery,” says Browne. “Beer brings people together, and that’s what we’re excited to do.”
Working Draft is capable of turning out about 2,000 barrels of beer a year.
Working Draft’s initial lineup for its soft opening the weekend of March 3-4 featured a dozen beer choices and Tumeric Tonic, a non-alcoholic tea co-created with Macha Tea.
Working Draft’s in-house beers include Zwickle Vision, an unfiltered pilsner; Up is Down, a dark mild ale; Dad Bob, an oatmeal stout; Pulp Culture, a New England IPA; Near East, a West Coast IPA; and Spraytan, a milkshake IPA.
Down the road Lohman is looking forward to having a few more lagers on the beer board. Lagers require more temperature control during fermentation and are generally more challenging for brewers to make. “They’ll be the ones I’ll obsess about and maybe lose some sleep over,” says Lohman. His initial offering is Zwickle Vision, a keller-style pilsner. Up next will be a filtered pilsner called Local Poet. Lohman is also planning to explore seasonal lagers like bocks and Oktoberfests.
Working Draft is also partnering with Fox Heritage Farms to serve food in the taproom. For the soft opening there were a range of appetizers — beef skirt steak, smoked squash hummus and many cheese choices. Over the next few months, Fox Heritage Farms will offer pop-up menus to gauge interest and determine the regular menu items. Possibilities range from tacos to barbeque.
Robin Shepard
The brewery’s taproom is an open design where visitors can have a beer in full view of the brew kettles and fermenters. Communal tables are made from wood from the Village Lanes bowling alley.
The brewery also supports an artist-in-residence program offering space in the taproom to display artwork. The brewery also intends to regularly be a venue for acoustic music performances, poetry readings and local book clubs. In the bar area there’s a large wall mural showing outstretched hands with a water-like blue background. The painting is the work of local artist Jenie Gao and is intended to depict the isthmus and people coming together.
Working Draft Beer Company is open seven days a week, 3-10 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.
