Photo credit: Component Brewing Company
DJ Kowalske lived in Boston for a decade, but whenever he returned home to Milwaukee to visit family, he was always wowed by beer brewed by his cousin, Jonathan Kowalske. “At Christmas, I tried some of his home brews, and I was really impressed. I just paid $8 for a beer in Boston, and his was just as good, if not better, than what I paid for.”
DJ also dabbled in home brewing. When he moved back to Milwaukee, he’d get together with his brother, Steve, and Jonathan, and they’d hang out and brew beer in the garage while their children played. They hadn’t planned on turning their hobby into a business, but when their friends at Eagle Park Brewing Company were vacating their space in Lincoln Warehouse for larger digs, the Kowalskes saw an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. DJ, Jonathan and Steve launched Component Brewing Company in June 2018.
“It was somewhat turnkey, and we wouldn’t have to build everything from scratch,” DJ says. “We thought that if we were going to do this, it’s now or never. We’re still a little surprised we made it happen.” Component Brewing Company is nestled on the second floor of Lincoln Warehouse, near Twisted Path Distillery. Visitors can enter on the north end of the building or ring a buzzer near dock 17 on the other side of the building.
Component Brewing’s warm, family friendly space has 10 tap lines (sometimes there are fewer beers on tap if they sell out quickly). Patrons can get a full pour, a taster or 16-ounce cans to go. There are board games to keep kids busy, although DJ jokes that games end up getting played more by adults than the kids. Socialized dogs are welcome.
The Kowalskes use a small, one-barrel brewing system, which allows for experimentation with different hops. “If a beer’s not up to our standards, it’s not the end of the world if we have to dump it down the drain. We’re high critics of ourselves. We don’t expect someone to spend their hard-earned dollars on something that’s not up to our standards.”
In addition to a rotating selection of brews like Bay View Brunch II brown ale or Everybody’s Named Franz lager, they make a base portfolio of four beers: Mosaic Theory, an American IPA; the popular Chase Ave. Chaser, a refreshing, easy-drinking, German pilsner for patrons not used to hoppy craft beer; Coffee, No Coffee imperial stout; and Rose’s Sour, a kettle sour named after the Kowalske’s great-grandmother, Rose. “The raspberry and mango give it a beautiful color, and like most sours, this one’s a little lighter in alcohol content, so you can have a couple and not fall asleep at the bar,” DJ says. “It’s just the right amount of tartness for a sour, so it’s good for people who want to dip their toes in the water when trying different craft beers.”
Component Brewing will hold a one-year anniversary celebration on Sunday, June 30. DJ observes that since they started, Milwaukee’s craft brewing scene has grown, but there’s room for more. “I think we’ve been pretty friendly and collaborative with each other, and it’s been great to have more people in the business. We’ve gotten a lot of help along the way. We’re hyperlocal; we get customers from all over, but we have a nice base of local people in Bay View supporting us.”
For more information, visit componentbrewing.com.
