Photo via New Barons Brewing/Facebook
New Barons Brewing Cooperative
The brew master at New Barons Brewing Cooperative (2018 S. First St., inside Lincoln Warehouse), John Degroote, knew that he made some pretty good beers while home brewing in an apartment on Milwaukee’s East Side. At the encouragement of his wife, Nora, he created a business plan with an intent to do something original and unique.
His research led him toward a co-op model. “It was a relatively new thing at the time,” he says. “It’s a grassroots feel with community behind a brand—that resonated with me.” Degroote became incorporated and brought in co-founding partners including service industry veteran Heidi Dalibor, now NBBC’s CEO and taproom manager, who used her connections to help expand New Barons’ presence.
The first batch, brewed in February 2017, was Pecan Porter, which is still a popular fall offering. Today, at 400 members strong, NBBC has a taproom and brewing space inside the hip Lincoln Warehouse.
So what is a brewing co-op? Dalibor explains their taproom open to public as well as member-owners, but there are member-only events and special releases. As consumer owned, members get a share of the company when they sign up.
“Tangible benefits members get right away include $1 off each beer in the taproom, 20% off merchandise, discounts on to-go beer, early access tickets to events, and a member market, where we will promote your own passion project or business,” she says.
In addition, NBBC leads beer education events. Members can run for the board of directors, and they get to vote on new beer names and which charities the brewery should support.
“We like to turn that question around and also ask members what they want to get out of it,” Degroote says. He emphasizes that member participation is what truly matters. “If you want to get involved, run for the board of directors or volunteer. Signing up to be a member-owner is just a start.”
Unlike crowdsourcing, New Barons doesn’t take beer suggestions from member-owners, but their beers are inspired by members.
Tried and True Classic Beers
Every beer on tap at NBBC is inspired by somebody or something that happened in the history of the co-op. Behind! a crisp, pale Mexican-style lager, is inspired by Dalibor. “Behind is a word used in the service industry when you’re walking behind somebody. It means don’t move or you’ll be in the way!” explains Dalibor.
Others on tap include Spike’s First Flight, a Belgian Tripel inspired by local homebrewing equipment manufacturer and member-owner Spike Brewing. Drive-Thru Dubbel was brewed in collaboration with Faklandia Brewing and the Exploruim Brewpub, co-hosts from a beer drive-thru event held during the pandemic shutdown.
“The process of building a new brand of beer has to happen organically,” says Degroote. “It’s a slow process. We can’t just brew three new beers and have three new stories attached to it. That’s what great about the co-op—slow and steady wins the race. All these stories and brands left an imprint on the business.”
He adds they don’t experiment with styles that are too crazy, instead staying in the lane of tried-and-true classic beers.
Supporting the Brewing Community
Degroote participated in Barley to Barrel, a brewery incubator program through Crafter Space. He wants to pay it forward to new brewers by letting them do a taproom takeover, where they can sell their product and interact with customers. They also plan to open brewing space to upstart brewers that might not have the resources to start their own breweries.
NBBC also partnered member-owners and other people in the community to create Love Milwaukee. The Love Milwaukee unity six-pack is a collaboration of six breweries and six different organizations throughout the community that honors different demographics throughout Milwaukee. Look for it at a release party at the taproom on Oct. 1. Other upcoming events are listed on their social media pages.
For more information, visit newbaronsbrewing.com.
