USA, WI: Like Minds Brewing Co. back in Milwaukee

After a long and complicated journey, Like Minds Brewing Co. is back in Milwaukee and now open for business on the city's east side, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported on October 5.

"It means a lot to us to be back in Milwaukee and now brewing beer in our home state again," said Justin Aprahamian, the co-owner and brewer.

When Aprahamian, who also is co-owner and executive chef at Sanford Restaurant, wanted to open a new brewery and restaurant with Like Minds co-owner John Lavelle, he was forced to move the brewery outside the state of Wisconsin to Chicago due to complications involving the retail liquor license he had at Sanford.

In spring of 2015, he was told by the state Department of Revenue that he couldn't open the brewery in Milwaukee.

After working with state Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield), who, Aprahamian said, "put him in front of the right people," he was told there is "no reason to leave the state." Soon thereafter, the complications were cleared up, and Aprahamian set on a path toward brewing beer in Milwaukee.

What he found is that, because beer is only a small percentage of total sales at Sanford, he was able to get an exemption to brew beer.

“What really happened is that they reexamined the statute, and in the statute, this exception exists,” he said.

Like Minds has now moved brewing operations to Milwaukee, but is still keeping its Chicago facility for the purposes of barrel-aging sour beers and bottling beers.

In Milwaukee, Like Minds occupies a 5,000-square-foot building at 823 E. Hamilton St., split evenly between the brewery and restaurant.

While Aprahamian is not formally trained in brewing, he is a James Beard Award-winning chef, and will be working on recipes, pairings, flavors and use of ingredients in Like Minds' beer, from a chef's perspective.

The idea, he said, is to "treat beers like they are dishes. We want the beer to be balanced and well-rounded, and we use ingredients to play off each other."

This results in some fairly unique brews, like, for example, a wheat pale ale with black currants and lemon verbena as ingredients.

Aprahamian said the brewery has no plans to bottle in Milwaukee, and that any beer from here will be in kegs at the restaurant and other bars around town. Bottled beer will be sold at various craft beer distributors in Milwaukee.

06 October, 2016