Rhinelander Brewing Company brewing up success in ‘Hodag’ country

Rich Palzewic

Staff

May 12, 2025

RHINELANDER – Though Rhinelander – the home of the Hodag – a city of 8,000 in Oneida County, is often known for its recreation, lakes, nature and forests, its craft-brewed beer has made a name for itself as well.

After the original Rhinelander Brewing Company (RBC) closed in 1967, almost 60 years later, the brewery is alive and well again.

General Manager George-Anna Karl said RBC has a mixture of what she calls its “Hodag Beers” and other favorites in the taproom, which seats about 50 patrons.

“RBC has two different beer selections under the Rhinelander Brewing label,” she said. “Our Hodag ales and lagers are brewed on site in small batches – mostly one to three barrels at a time, but that can get up to six. We rotate those beers with upwards of 70 different recipes a year.”

Karl said of the 10 taps on site, five of them are reserved for the brews RBC makes in house.

“The first five taps are constantly rotating,” she said. “The second we run out of one, we put something completely different in.”

Karl said the most popular Hodag ale available is the O’Dag.

“It’s an Irish Red Ale that was the first beer brewed in Rhinelander under the Rhinelander Brewing label since the closing of the original brewery in the late 1960s,” she said. “That beer has won us a silver and a gold at the U.S. Beer Open Championships. I would say it’s our flagship in-house beer.”

The other five taps on site, Karl said, are brewed at Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe.

“Those beers are what we package and distribute,” she said. “Minhas has a huge capacity – they used to be Joseph Huber Brewing Company. Huber originally bought the naming rights and recipes from Rhinelander Brewing when it closed in the late ’60s.”

Karl said anything released after RBC closed in the late ’60s was brewed by Huber under the RBC label.

“That was done a lot,” she said. “When smaller breweries closed, but they had a really good namesake, they’d keep those labels to get more marketing. Huber Brewing eventually became Minhas.”

Karl said RBC’s current owner is Canadian Jyoti Auluck.

“When Jyoti went through the archives at Minhas, she fell in love with the legend of the Hodag, the story of Rhinelander and the shorties we used to have,” she said. “From there, she decided to bring back Rhinelander Brewing Company, so it was revived in 2008. At that time, it was just packaged beer being made and distributed.”

That was, Karl said, until the taproom on Brown Street opened in 2018 in an 8,000-square-foot space.

“With the opening came that smaller brew system where we began producing the Hodag ales and lagers that are exclusive to the taproom,” she said. “We also have a gift shop and a museum showcasing some of the history of the brewery.”

Speaking of history…

According to the brewery’s website (rhinelanderbrewery.com), the original brewery was founded in 1883 by Otto Hilgermann and Henry Danner. 

The original brewery was located on Ocala Street next to the Pelican River.

Though the brewery burned down in 1897, it was subsequently rebuilt.

“Where the old hospital by the Pelican River used to be, there is a big Victorian brick house – that was the Hilgermann house,” Karl said. “They built that, and it’s still standing today.”

The website also states that during the Prohibition Era, the company closed its operations but reopened after it ended in 1933 by issuing stock.

Later, in 1967, financial difficulties led to the company closing its doors before Huber purchased the Rhinelander brands and their recipes.

The website states that at its peak, the Rhinelander Brewing Company produced 40,000 barrels annually and was once among the most prominent local breweries in the country.

More than just beer

Karl said the brewery is more than just a place to drink “a good craft beer.”

She said RBC offers trivia nights and occasional live music.

“In the summer, I’ll try to do live music probably once a month,” she said. “Our trivia nights are very popular. We used to do more live music, but an old bank behind the brewery was converted into a bar about two years ago, and they have music every Friday and Saturday night all year long.”

As for food, Karl said they offer frozen pizzas for purchase and free popcorn.

“The frozen pizzas are new for us,” she said. “We’ve always offered free popcorn, and we also have board games – we are family friendly. We also allow people to bring food in. Not only does that give patrons more options, but it also supports the other great local restaurants in the area.”

A traditional start

Karl said proud Rhinelander homebrewers – Al Ewan and Brian Carpenter – are the original creators of RBC’s Hodag ales and lagers.

“They both got their starts (as many others in the industry have) as homebrewers,” she laughed.

Carpenter, a teacher in the Rhinelander School District, said RBC still has his beers on tap.

“I’m still homebrewing,” he said. “Most beverages at RBC belong to Al, but four are my recipes, while four others are ones I helped develop. Currently, they have my Darth ‘Dag Black IPA on tap. Also, they brewed my jalapeno/mango a few weeks ago, and that will be on tap soon.”

RBC is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The brewery is closed Sundays.       

For more on Rhinelander Brewing Company, check out its Facebook page.