By Bill Barth and Stephanie Klett
ELKHORN, Wisconsin — Duesterbeck’s Brewing Company will exceed your expectations.
Even if sampling craft beer isn’t your first motivation.
Here’s why.
As you head out of Delavan or Elkhorn through the lush countryside, the first thing you see approaching Duesterbeck’s is the distinctive spread of bright red farm buildings. Five generations of Duesterbecks have lived and toiled here, before a new enterprise breathed fresh life into the property.
The brewery’s co-owners are Ben Johnson and Laura (Duesterbeck) Johnson. Ben is the brewmaster and an entrepreneur at heart. Laura is the creative force and the trained horticulturist behind the many growing things around the property.
The business is a family affair. Laura’s mother, Cathy, owns the surrounding 120 acres of farmland, which has been in the family for 164 years. She bartends and books bands. Laura’s sister Leslie is the general manager. Ben’s brother Adam is the operations manager. The Johnsons’ six kids help out in various key roles.
Brewmaster Ben – the guy behind 1,700 barrels of beer a year, up from 800 barrels two years ago – is also a busy dentist, with dual practices in Delavan and Whitewater.
“I was a homebrewer since I was 19,” Ben told us. When we reminded him that’s underage, he laughingly replied it’s only illegal if you drink it.
“It will be six years this October that the brewery opened,” he said. “I remember about two weeks before we opened we were trying the beers because they were finally ready to go and we thought ‘Oh, gosh, they were pretty good. I’m glad they turned out.’ And Laura was like, you mean there was a chance this wasn’t going to turn out?”
The original Taproom opened in 2019 and here’s the kicker. For Ben and Laura, the vision included keeping the footprints of the old farm buildings. The old barn came down, but on the same spot the new building housing the brewery and Taproom recreated the look with modern conveniences and a bright red exterior. The Taproom repurposes historic barnwood touches, mixed with modern comfort. It’s a beauty.
Since 2019 the concept has carried through – four buildings in five years – including several bright red projects named after the former farm buildings they replaced. The Pig Barn, the Grainery, the Cabana, and an outdoor patio or beer garden, complete with a music stage and an incredibly huge television screen.
“This was the real footprint of the buildings so we kind of already had the design the right way,” Laura said, through her ever-present big smile. “The farm didn’t change in the look, really, except it got a lot cleaner.”
It’s a brewery. So what about the beer?
Originally, the Taproom housed the bar and the brewing operation. Soon enough, though, that 7-barrel brewhouse could not handle the volume. The Johnsons opened their new 20-barrel brewhouse in 2023. It’s a big operation capable of turning out a lot of product as the business expands
“We always have 20 different styles on tap,” Ben explained. “We have about 10 flagships we always do, which are the same ones we distribute. Then we have another 10 or so that are kind of seasonal, or one-offs. In a year we’ll probably brew about 50 different styles.”
Duesterbeck’s works with three distributors. The product is sold in about 750 locations, all in Wisconsin. Since our hometown is Beloit we were thrilled to hear Duesterbeck’s provides the beer for Beloit’s Sky Carp professional baseball team at ABC Supply Company Stadium.
“We’re the largest production brewery that’s on a farm in Wisconsin,” Ben said. “And we are the only brewery that we know of that recycles 100% of our water.”
It takes a lot of water – about seven gallons to make one gallon of beer – and all of it is recycled on the farm. The Johnsons take sustainability seriously.
We asked Ben about his most popular styles. He said some people “may be a little hesitant about craft beers,” and their blond ale is popular because it tastes similar to some well-known national brands.
“This time of year our Oktoberfest is very popular. In fact we sold so much we had to pull it off our tap line” to save enough for distribution, he said. “After October nobody wants it anymore,” he laughed.
It’s all personal taste and there’s a style for everybody. Ben said a beer called Old Girl Sticky Bun tastes like cinnamon rolls “and sells out quickly.”
We tried one called Nutty Bill. It tastes like peanut butter. Heavenly.
Duesterbeck’s is open all year, Tuesday through Sunday, from noon (11 on Saturdays) through 10 p.m. The property is kid-friendly and plenty of families join the fun.
Weekends are busiest, with several hundred people coming to sip beer and enjoy live entertainment. Patrons can order pizza made by Pepperoni Pub of Elkhorn, along with a selection of yummy snacks like giant pretzels. Food trucks are often on-site adding selection Fridays and Saturdays during the high season from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Ben and Laura sink 100% of profits back into the business, with the dream of passing on a successful family business based on the farm for generations.
Family is always at the center of the couple’s thoughts. In the Taproom there’s a sign that reads, “Reserved for Dennis Duesterbeck.” That’s Laura’s late father, who lived 12 years after undergoing a heart transplant. He lived long enough to know about Ben and Laura’s dream. Not long enough to see it open.
He would have been proud of them.
As Steph said as we drove away, “I think we found a new summer hangout.”
Bill Barth is the former Editor of the Beloit Daily News, and a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame. His wife, Stephanie Klett, is the President and CEO of Visit Lake Geneva, and the former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
