On Wednesday, November 16th was the second Barley to Barrel Release Party at Company Brewing in Milwaukee. The event had a strong turnout with many supporters of the eleven aspiring entrepreneurs. Barley to Barrel is a 10-week program that provides a hands-on, in-depth look at what it takes to start a brewery.
The release party wraps up the program and three teams each unveil a specialty beer they crafted with a mentoring brewery. During this time, they also have the opportunity to give a five-minute pitch on their own aspiring brand or brewery to event attendees and investors.
The 10-week program includes courses on:
- Week 1: Building a business from scratch
- Week 2: Beer styles and recipe planning
- Week 3: Marketing & Trademarking
- Week 4: Brew Day!
- Week 5: Sales and Distribution
- Week 6: Building a Brewery
- Week 7: Sales Field Work
- Week 8: Mock Pitches & Brewery Licensing and Regulation
- Week 9: Packaging
- Week 10: Investors & Funding
Briess is a proud sponsor of this event providing malt donations for brewing to the class.

It was a full house with thriving atmosphere at the event.

Hanal Pixan Porter is a Mexican-Inspired Molé Porter. The artwork was voted for best label as well as the brew winning best beer of the night.

In addition to Hanal Pixan Porter, two other great beers were brewed by the teams, they were “Rustbelt Rye” and “Rowdy Night Inn.” Rustbelt Rye was a subtle and clean, but slightly complex rye beer that featured hints of caramel and toffee. Rowdy Night Inn was a creamy stout crafted especially for those wild Wisconsin winters.

Briess attended the event and set a small display of malts for brewers and craft beer enthusiasts to see the wide variety of malt styles available to create unique and memorable beers.

The bartenders were keeping busy providing tastes of the three team’s brews for sampling and judging.