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Lakefront Brewery was founded in 1987 by brothers Russ and Jim Klisch. In short, sibling rivalry and common interest led to both brothers entering homebrewing contests and winning awards. It wasn’t long before family and friends encouraged them to turn their hobby into a business.
The brothers decided to start small and chose a location within walking distance of their home: the site of a former bakery in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. They began brewing with 55-gallon, stainless steel drums and used dairy equipment. On December 2, 1987 they sold their first barrel of beer to a tavern within “rolling distance” of the brewery. By 1998, production had reached nearly 3,000 barrels in the small 3,600 square foot space, and Jim and Russ decided it was time to move. It was then Lakefront Brewery found its current location -- the old Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company’s coal-fired power plant.
Lakefront’s pioneering spirit has created many U.S. brewing-industry firsts. Among these, the brewery introduced the first beer in the United States made from 100% in-state-grown ingredients with the barley, wheat, hops and a first-of-its-kind, indigenous Wisconsin yeast strain (Wisconsinite Summer Weiss), the first certified organic brewery, producing the country’s oldest certified organic beer (Organic E.S.B.), and the first government-certified, gluten-free beer (New Grist). Lakefront currently offers 20 different beers available in over 30 states and distributed to Ukraine, South Korea, Sweden, China and Canada.