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PetSkull Brewing – a force to be reckoned with in Manitowoc

Owner/operator Paul Hoffman credits community support for brewery success, growth

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January 27, 2025

MANITOWOC – Since opening the doors of the City of Manitowoc’s first taproom, Paul Hoffman – PetSkull Brewing owner and operator – said the community has rallied its support, which has helped create a mini-empire of sorts in the brewing industry.

An idea brewing

Hoffman said he got into brewing in 2006 wherein he fell in love with craft beer and how fun it was to make at home.

Progressing from stovetop brewing to brewing 10 gallons at a time – at one point having a kegerator at his home with eight of his own beers on tap – Hoffman said “I was pretty popular in the neighborhood.”

As he and his wife traveled around to breweries with small taprooms, Hoffman said they realized that Manitowoc – a city of nearly 35,000 people – didn’t have any craft breweries – small or large.

This discovery, he said, disappointed him – inspiring him to fill the gap.

However, one thing stood in his way – a day job, one he said he really enjoyed.

“I had a great day job,” he said. “I was a teacher at Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) as an IT instructor. Great job, great salary, great benefits and the summer off.”

However, as the idea of opening a brewery in Manitowoc continued to ferment in his brain, Hoffman said they ultimately decided to give it a shot.

The couple said they rented a small space about two blocks from where PetSkull is currently located at 1015 Buffalo St. – cobbling together what Hoffman said was “not a real brewery.”

“When you have zero money and no bank will give you money – I did what I needed to to get it up and running,” he said.

This, Hoffman said, included looking to some of his LTC connections to help restore some kettles that needed work.

He said PetSkull opened “for real” in 2017 and almost immediately it went “gangbusters.” 

The space had a capacity of about 40, Hoffman said – a far cry from what they can hold now.

At the time, he said he was still teaching, on top of brewing, bartending and doing all the marketing – all with very little staff.

As people continued to show up, Hoffman said he realized Manitowoc could support a craft brewery.

Even so, he said he wasn’t sure at that point how far he wanted to take the brewery.

PetSkull Brewing Owner and Operator Paul Hoffman said his daughter Veronica, works as bar manager. Chris Rugowski Photo

About two and a half years into the first retail space, Hoffman said he decided to go into the brewing business full-time.

Now with the business officially established at the Buffalo Street location and the strong customer base serving as proof that it was a welcome addition to the Manitowoc community, Hoffman said he was able to take the leap, do it properly and add a kitchen that serves shareable party food.

Though he’s found years worth of success as a small business owner, Hoffman said he never imagined this is where life would lead him – especially since he was content in his role as a teacher.

However, he said he doesn’t regret any of the decisions that got him to where he is today.

“Even if I wake up and think about how many days in a row I’ve worked, what keeps me going is knowing that every month that I pay the bank loan, I’m building equity in myself,” he said. “Every month, I’m one month closer to owning my equipment.”

Today, Hoffman said he shares his love of the brewery with his daughter, Veronica, who serves as the bar manager.

It’s all about the options

Though much has changed since launching the brewery, Hoffman said the first beer he ever home-brewed –  a German Hefeweizen, which he said “turned out great” – remains a staple on the PetSkull menu, using the same recipe he started with.

Hoffman said that is a common theme at the brewery – keeping to authentic old-school styles.

And though he recognized that the craft beer world is full of extreme styles and flavors, he said he has always been a fan of the traditional styles and building a great craft beer from a trusted style – “simple, but elegant and different enough to be craft.”

On any given day, Hoffman said PetSkull has 20 beers on tap – which affords him the opportunity to have a handful of traditional styles, while also venturing outside the box and brewing unique beers.

PetSkull, he said, also has what he calls Cocktails on Tap – meaning everything is premixed and put into kegs.

Hoffman said the establishment currently has eight cocktail offerings.

Though non-alcoholic options – like NA beers, soda and water – have always been available at PetSkull, Hoffman said he has started making hop-water.

The hop-flavored seltzer, he said, is a great alternative.

In the future, Hoffman said they plan on canning their mocktail options for sale as well.

“We really want to expand the NA options we have, because, with as many events as we have in a year, we’re going to have more people who want those options,” he said.

Hoffman said he is willing to try anything once – a mindset proven by the brewery’s dry night event held earlier this month.

The event – which he said received a huge response from the community – was held in collaboration with the Lighthouse Recovery Community Center and The Metal Ware Corporation.

Hoffman said he hopes to make it an annual event.

Community support

Hoffman said before he opened, nobody, apart from friends and neighbors, knew who he was. 

When he got more serious about the brewery, that started to change.

“I remember going on Facebook and blasting the brewery page to all my friends,” he said. “I said ‘I’m taking it to the next level, Kathi and I are starting a brewery. Please share the good word.’ It’s grown massively from there.”

That grassroots effort he used in the early days of PetSkull, Hoffman said, is still used today.

When customers walk in the door, he said they are instantly greeted by the honest energy, enthusiasm and goofiness of the PetSkull team. 

When the brewery had to pivot to selling crowlers (32-ounce cans) during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoffman said the community came out in masses.

Today, at any given time, Paul Hoffman said PetSkull has 20 beers on tap. Chris Rugowski Photo

“The community absolutely supported us,” he said. “We had cars lined up around the corner waiting to do their pickups. It was crazy, just crazy.”

Hoffman said he also credits the support received from city leaders for helping make PetSkull Brewing a success.

Giving back

Hoffman said it’s not just the community supporting the brewery, it’s also vice versa.

Without the support from the community, he said he knows he wouldn’t exist, so any chance he has to give back or connect to the community he will take.

Last year, Hoffman said the brewery started a program called “Brew Your Own Beer Business of The Month” and it was a hit.

He said businesses choose the style of beer they want from the brewery, they can name it, they can develop artwork for it, and PetSkull cans 25 cases of it for the business to give to employees or customers.

On top of that, he said the business received a big tapping event and PetSkull promotes their business on social media for a month.

In the nonprofit sector, Hoffman said he has done work with Gumby’s Club for a Cure, a local organization that raises money for families affected by cancer – a cause near and dear to his heart after losing a good friend to cancer two years ago.

He said 25 cents of every pint sold of the specialty beer is donated to Gumby’s Club for Cure.

In 2024, Hoffman said this amounted to $3,000.

Live music

As a musician himself, Hoffman said he loves live music, so much so that PetSkull hosted 160 music events in 2024.

As the popularity of the brewery and the live music it hosted grew, he said he continued to increase the size and style of the musicians brought in.

In the summer months, he said live music events are held under a tent on the grass lot outside the brewery.

Last year, Hoffman said the Styx tribute band brought 800 people to the brewery.

He said the brewery has also hosted a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute group and a Metallica tribute group.

Every Wednesday from May to September, Hoffman said, is metal night at the brewery.

He said PetSkull hosts an annual Metal Fest each fall, as well.

Last year’s event, Hoffman said, featured 14 bands, including the international death metal band, Suffocation.

A full list of events, as well as beer and food options are available at petskullbrewing.com or on PetSkull Brewing’s Facebook page.

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