At Pour Another Round, we’re story seekers. Not only do the craft beverages we’re indulging have a unique creation story behind them, but the characters bringing us these delicious drinks have their own story to tell!  

We’ve uncovered just a sampling of the stories behind the makers you'll meet along Madison On Tap. Head out on the trail, talk to those on the other side of your beer or cocktail glass, and get to know them not as a faceless individual behind the bar, but as people who have passion for the process of bringing you hand-crafted beverages. 

DELTA BEER LAB 

Tim Piotrowski, affectionately known by all as Pio, is Chief Beer Officer and founder of Delta Beer Lab in Madison. Pio founded Delta Beer Lab based on the principles of being connected to and benefiting the community.   

Pio found himself back in Wisconsin after growing up in Stevens Point, moving to Colorado and brewing for Oskar Blues in Colorado and then Rock Bottom Brewery in Minneapolis.

Delta Beer Lab stands for commitment to excellence and social change, environmental advocacy and just being damn good people. In fact, delta -  the triangle -  is the chemical and mathematical symbol for change. 

When Pio talks about his brewery, the beer is often the last thing he talks about because of all the great things they’re doing to benefit the people in the area. Find out more about Pio’s story and the community-driven support Pio is so passionate about by checking out the Pour Another Round episode here.

 

KARBEN4 - MADISON 

Karben4 Brewing’s story begins with Ryan Koga in Billings, Montana. Ryan was working toward his master’s degree in athletic training when he started working at a local brewpub getting hamburger hands on the canning line. Ryan actually didn’t like beer at all at that point…then he tried a ‘good beer’ and the bug bit him!  

Ryan’s younger brother Zak was working as a civil engineer at the time, managing a multi-million dollar project in Milwaukee. He was also looking at food truck and ice ball endeavors… quarter-life crisis anyone? 

Ryan talked Zak into going on the brewery venture with him and Karben4 was born. After looking at multiple cities across multiple states, they chose the home of Zak’s alma mater, Madison, to try out their fun branding, strong sense of humor and, of course, high-quality beers. 

You'll find yourself surrounded by gun-toting cats atop flame nostriled unicorns when you visit Karben4’s taproom near the Dane County Regional Airport While you're there. make sure to try their iconic Fantasy Factory IPA.  

Find the Karben4 story here with this episode of Pour Another Round.  

 

HIDDEN CAVE CIDERY 

Walker Fanning is a born-and-raised Madisonian and stayed in the capital city to attend UW-Madison. While studying Agronomy at UW, Walker worked as Director of Urban Agriculture for FH King Students for Sustainable Agriculture, where the group grew nutritious food and distributed it to Madison residents at no charge. After college, Walker stayed in Middleton, right outside Madison, and worked at a small orchard farm, tasting his first hard cider and developing a passion for apple growing.  

When opening Hidden Cave Cidery in 2018, Walker vowed to support local Wisconsin agriculture. You’ll find all of his hard ciders packed with Wisconsin apples.  

Now go on a hunt for that hidden cave! We haven’t found it yet… 

 

YAHARA BAY DISTILLERS 

When founder Nick Quint decided he was coming out of retirement at age 61 to start Madison’s first distillery, he was met with a lot of questions.  

Lucky for us, Nick endured and felt the community’s support of micro-breweries might be mirrored in that of micro-distilleries. After teaching himself the ins and outs of spirit making, Nick opened Madison’s first distillery - the second in Wisconsin - Yahara Bay Distillers. 

With Nick’s stepson as head distiller and his wife running the distillery art gallery, Yahara Bay has seen amazing growth since 2007 and has gone from producing three products to more than 40. They now have one of the largest import-bottling businesses in the Midwest.  

 

DANCING GOAT DISTILLERY 

Nick Maas’s family story of how Dancing Goat Distillery in Cambridge, Wisconsin came to be is a fascinating one.  

Nick’s great-great-grandfather, Frederik Maas and family came to America in the 1800s and settled their farm on a parcel of land in northern Wisconsin.  

Nick’s great-grandfather, JW Maas, left the farm when the farm was no longer large enough to support him and his family. He entered the lumber industry while moonlighting tech classes. After JW completed his engineering degree, he left the lumber industry, with one less leg attached, and never looked back.  

JW’s son, Duane (Nick’s grandfather) attended UW-Madison after his time in the Air Force to complete an engineering degree. A successful game of bridge landed Duane a job as plant manager at Fleischmann’s Distillery where he was filling barrels with bourbon in Owensboro, Kentucky. Duane is responsible for helping to open 16 distilleries in 9 countries!  

Following so far?

Tom, Nick’s father, started a bottling plant with Duane after retiring from Jim Beam in the early 2000s. 

Enter Nick Maas. Nick would help his father and grandfather in the bottling plant when home from college on the weekends.  

As Nick looked to start up Dancing Goat Distillery, Duane consulted on the project until he died in 2016.  The Dancing Goat is a gift from Nick’s father, meant to honor Duane. One day, Nick will give the distillery to his daughters to honor his father. Goosebumps activated. What a cool family lineage story!  

Want more stories?

We’ve got a cooler full of stories like these. Head to pouranotherround.com or wherever you listen to podcasts and browse through our 100+ episodes where we talk directly to the beverage makers and founders and understand what’s behind the drinks in our glasses.  

Be sure to explore Madison On Tap to earn points and prizes, all while sipping on some delicious beers, ciders and cocktails.