Like all good things, Beaver Island Brewing Company was conceived over several pints after a night of home-brewing and dreaming of what it could become. With the vision and drive of a few key individuals, Beaver Island Brewing Company was born.
Although Co-Founder Matt Studer loved to brew and made a decent beer in his garage, he knew a production brewery might be a bit out of his wheelhouse. So over a few more pints and grandiose visions, 20+ year veteran to professional brewing, Chris Laumb, joined the team as another co-founder and BIBCo’s brewmaster. And so began the crafting of award-winning local beers.
“Beaver Island” is a tip of the hat to the Beaver Islands that break up the mighty Mississippi right here in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. A stunningly beautiful natural resource for us all to enjoy, float, paddle, cast your line or simply galavant upon. This was the perfect platform to share the beer that we brew with heart from the heart of Minnesota.
Once the beer started flowing through the vintage lubrication station that is our tap tower, it was apparent that we were not only passionate about this craft, but we had the seeds to go the distance. And what a ride it has been!
Named one of Forbes’ 50 fastest growing breweries in the United States, we went from a four-beer taproom, to a 10,000 square foot production facility cranking out award winning beers and lubricating the masses with over 50 different beers, 27 distributors, 4 states and tens of thousands of faithful followers. Without each and every one of you, none of it would have been possible.
And for that we’ll forever be grateful.
As the story for many of us in this industry goes, we too were very much negatively impacted by the global pandemic that seemingly shaped the way we all operate. The supply chain issues and costs to do business in the way we were became impossible to navigate, and we had to make the difficult decision to shutter our large scale distribution efforts, to go back to what built us in the first place, and that was our taproom.
The river we float now is far less treacherous. The rapids are smaller. The obstacles, though very much still there, are much more manageable. We may not be on every shelf at every liquor store or on every tap tower around town anymore, but the same beers you’ve come to know and love still flow where they always have.
We’re not just here to brew great beer; we’re here to build a better community. That’s why the same dedication and passion we put into every pint extends to how we give back to the community that has supported this endeavor in so many ways. This beer unites us. So come on in and join us for a round of DAM. FINE. BEER.