3 Sheeps Brewing: Sheboygan Wisconsin

We've just returned from a weekend in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin area. Sheboygan is a small city an hour north of Milwaukee along the shores of Lake Michigan. The three things Dave knew about Sheboygan before the trip: 1) it was in Wisconsin 2) John Candy's polka band in Home Alone was from Sheboygan 3) 3 Sheeps Brewing was out of Sheboygan.

We first had 3 Sheeps Baaad Boy Black Wheat last summer at the Drumbar in Chicago. Ever since, it has been in constant rotation at our home thanks to our local grocery store maintaining stock. When we found out tours were offered we decided to add the event to our weekend's itinerary.

This was a little tricky. We read on the 3 Sheeps site that the brewery was somehow attached to the bar Hops Haven. We figured a side door or other kind of separate enterance. Nope, the brewery was inside the bar (that they did not own). We verified with the bartender we were in the right place and proceeded to order a seasonal 3 Sheeps product. The process for joining the tour was to sit at the bar and wait for someone to come get you. Ok.......

Five of us were gathered from the bar and led to the brew room by brewery founder Grant. He skipped the conventional brewery tour norms of the process of how beer is made and turned the half-hour session into a more personal Q&A conversation. We learned about his family's history within the beer industry, 3 Sheep's relationship with the bar owners, and the fact that they are a 5-man operation. Grant also conveyed how their seasonals differ from their year-round offerings in ingredients and alcohol levels. We've always loved their iconic tap handles and found out they were designed by a Sheboygan tattoo artist and each one is hand-painted. Added one to our collection.

The next day we made our way to a local grocery store. We cleaned them out of Hello, My Name is Joe the coffee seasonal we enjoyed during the tour, got one pack of Ewephoria, made with Cocoa nibs and ginger, plus one small batch bottle of Roll Out the Barrel Belgian Ale aged in Chardonnay barrels.

 We had a fun time on the tour and enjoyed the Hops Haven bar.  Both are worth checking out when in Sheboygan.