Minhas Craft Brewery
The Minhas Craft Brewery is located in Monroe, Wisconsin, owned by brother and sister, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas. It is the Midwest's oldest brewery and the second oldest in the United States. It survived the Great Depression, Prohibition and a fire. It is currently the 18th largest craft brewery in America.
Capabilities
The Minhas Craft Brewery produces a variety of over 233 beers, spirits, liqueurs and wines. Their products are shipped across Canada, the U.S. and 16 other countries worldwide. The facility offers daily brewery tours and beer tastings. It also houses the largest brewery memorabilia museum in the United States.This brewery is one of the alcohol manufacturing companies owned by the Minhas siblings – collectively designated as Minhas Brewery- that generate more than $155 million in revenue annually. The other companies under the Minhas Brewery umbrella are: Minhas Micro Brewery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Minhas Distillery in Monroe, WI; and Pizza Brew Restaurant in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
History
Minhas Brewery was founded in 2002 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by siblings Manjit Minhas and Ravinder Minhas. Originally incorporated as the Mountain Crest Brewing Company, the enterprise began by producing affordable beer for the Western Canadian market under the slogan "Damn Good Beer."In 2003, the company gained national attention when it challenged major beer suppliers in Alberta over pricing practices, contributing to the liberalization of beer retailing rules in the province. Within a few years, Mountain Crest became one of the largest independent breweries in Western Canada.
In 2006, the Minhas family acquired the historic Joseph Huber Brewing Company in Monroe, Wisconsin, the second-oldest brewery in the United States, originally founded in 1845. The acquisition marked the company’s expansion into the American market and the rebranding of the facility as the Minhas Craft Brewery. The Monroe site became the main production centre for both Canadian and U.S. distribution.
Following this expansion, the company diversified under the Minhas Beverage Group, encompassing the Minhas Micro Brewery, Minhas Distillery, and Minhas Winery in Wisconsin, as well as the Minhas Brewery in Calgary. Its portfolio includes beers, spirits, wines, and ready-to-drink beverages distributed across North America and internationally.
Manjit Minhas later gained national prominence as a venture capitalist and television personality on the CBC show Dragons’ Den.
As of the 2020s, Minhas Brewery remains one of the largest privately owned breweries in Canada and among the few with significant operations in both Canada and the United States.
Beers
Minhas Craft Brewery packages beer, soda and alcopops in 236 mL, 355 mL, 473 mL and 710 mL aluminum cans; 207 mL, 330 mL, 650 mL and 1,183 mL glass bottles, and a variety of polyethylene terephthalate bottles.Among the most well-known beers and malt beverages produced at Minhas Craft Brewery are:
Boxer
Varieties include Lager, Light, Blonde, Gluten Free, Ice, Watermelon, Apple Ale, Bubbly, Moscow Mule, and Hard Root Beer.Lazy Mutt
Varieties include Farmhouse Ale, Gluten Free, Oktoberfest, Shandy, Alcoholic Ginger, Hefeweizen, Chocolate Cherry, Hazelnut Dark, Pumpkin Ale, Wet Hopped IPA, Winter Bock, Traditional IPA, So Cal IPA, American IPA, Belgian White Ale, and Strong Ale.Bad Hare
Varieties include Autumn Ale, Blonde Ale, Rum Ale, Rye Ale, Scotch Ale, Bock Light, Oatmeal Stout, Espresso Stout, and White Chocolate.Uptown Girl
Varieties include Premium Light, Cherry Belgian Red, and Strawberry Blonde.Minhas Craft Brewery also produces Mountain Crest Classic Lager, Kirkland Signature Light, Simpler Times Pilsner, Huber Bock, 1845 Pils, Boatswain H.L.V. Ale, Minhas Swiss Style Amber, Axe Head Malt Liquor and Imperial Jack.
Trader Joe's
Minhas Craft Brewery Simpler Times Pilsner, Simpler Times Lager, Boatswain series and others are sold at Trader Joe's.