Just off a small backroad (which is just off another small backroad) way up in unincorperated Pembine, Wisconsin, Tim and Toni Eichinger are brewing beer in a small log cabin that they built with their own hands.  The operation is called Black Husky Brewing, and it’s Wisconsin’s first nano-brewery.

If you haven’t heard the term “nano-brewery” before don’t worry, we hadn’t either. The exact definition of a nano-brewery is up for debate, but since they are required to meet all the same regulitory, federal and state laws, one could say they are simply a very small micro-brewery. Tim started home brewing in 2003 in an effort to drink something besides the macro’s that were widely available in the area. After some convincing by friends and neighbors their beer became commercially available on July 1st, 2010, and is locally distributed at several grocery stores, bars and restruants in the Pembine area. Tim brews on a 1.67 bbl system which allows him the flexibility to brew extreemly high quality and experimental beer. Besides the two humans that run Black Husky Brewing, there are several other members of the family. Each of their seven current beers feature a member of their dog sled team on the label. The pack is lead by Howler, who is featured in the logo. We had a chance to spend some time with Tim, Toni, and Howler touring the brewing operation, getting some history on how they got started and sampling some beer. Read on to get each of our takes on the events of the day.

Eriq: First pulling in, we were greeted by Howler, a maybe-menacing looking but ultimately lovable (and vocal) husky.  He’s Black Husky’s namesake, logo, and he clearly had a say in their slogan.  Tim greeted our group and welcomed us.  It’s a very cozy sort of feeling, meeting the owner, brewer, and mascot all in the first few seconds on site.  It was a personable and hands-on experience from the start.  And it’s those details that differentiate nano from micro which seemed to guarantee this wasn’t going to be just any brewery tour.

Inside the cabin, Tim and Toni made sure we each had seats and pint glasses.  We got to see the equipment and the fermentation tanks, but a great majority of the time was spent on tasting and discussing the beer.  Most tours give you a few samples and a few words about each beer.  At Black Husky each beer was a story and a lively discussion.  The conversations ranged from Tim’s unique beer ingredients, Toni’s favorite beers, to log cabin building and other topics.  All the while Howler was at our feet, making his rounds.

Overall the experience was humbling and something of an awakening.  With the macro-beer world constantly shouting that bigger is better, Tim and Toni are clearly focused on keeping the focus on great beer.

Brittain: This was by far the best brewery “tour” (sorry Lakefront) I have ever been on. It wasn’t so much a tour, as it was hanging out with Tim and Toni Eichinger, drinking beer. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t really expecting much as far as facilities and beer, but wow, Tim really has set the bar for nano-breweries. The facility was essentially a home brew operation gone pro, but even more that that, the beer is outstanding. He doesn’t brew to style, but more to what I would refer to as the realm, by this I mean, he seems to get an idea, and then assigns a style to it for marketing reasons. Not one of the beers that we tried, was I disappointed in. In fact, they got better as we went along. What could have been a half hour tour including tasting, turned into a 3 hour social gathering, thorough explanations of the process and how they became federally and state licensed, and the thought processes and his science behind his operation. Everything is done by hand, including the bottling and labeling. I hope he grows to as big as he wants. If you can get your hands on some, I highly recommend it. Especially the Sproose Joose, a Double IPA hopped with spruce tips! Fracking amazing!

Mike: Like everyone else, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Most of the beer I find when we visit northeastern Wisconsin is carbonated water with a slight yellow tinge, you know who you are. But this was nothing short of amazing. While touring the brewery we conjectured that if a large macro brewery is considered too large to brew artisanal, hand crafted beer and is driven more by shareholders and advertising then making things people love to drink, then a nano brewery should be exactly the opposite. Nano breweries herald back to the days before prohibition when hundreds of breweries across America provided their local communities with beer. In my opinion something was lost when everything got bigger. Tim was more than happy to discuss with us how he got started, gave us some tips for home brewing and techniques he’s experimented with over the years. The beers were excellent, but I’ll share my favorites in future reviews.

We left with a sample of what’s to come from Black Husky, and it’s wonderful. That’s all I can say for now, but keep an eye out for our reviews of their individual beers. Anyone traveling to or through the Pembine, WI area must stop and grab a six pack. Check the Black Husky Brewing website for current distribution. Tours are by appointment only, so be sure to plan ahead.

Website: Black Husky Brewing, LLC.