There was a river and two brothers…

Wisconsin is known for its love of beer, but apparently Shawano County is one of the better segments of the state when it comes to beer and where its brewed.

Travel Wisconsin has announced that Stubborn Brothers Brewery in Shawano and Pigeon River Brewing Company in Marion are among the top 20 finalists in the state for its Wisconsin Brewdown. Either one has the opportunity to be designated the top brewery in the state, as fans get to vote once per day through July 24 at www.travelwisconsin.com/wisconsin-brewdown and determine who has the best beer in the land.

Stubborn Brothers is the new kid on the block among the breweries, opening in late May after being delayed two months by the coronavirus pandemic. Owned and operated by Aaron and Eric Gilling, the pair spent several years renovating the old Crescent Theater and adjacent buildings to create a brewery and entertainment venue in the heart of downtown Shawano.

The Gillings use locally sourced malt and hops, wanting to form a strong partnership with local farmers and to keep their beer as fresh as possible. Among the specialty beers they’ve created are Whiskey Fugitive, an amber ale, and Imperial, a vanilla milk stout.

Aaron Gilling was excited about learning that his brewery made the list and that people were willing to nominate Stubborn Brothers for the honor.

“The fact that people nominated us, and we’re in the top (20) so far, it’s utterly incredible,” he said. “I know that we can win this competition because it’s a big thing with people reaching out. We’ve only been open four weeks, and it’s just amazing.”

Gilling acknowledged that it has some pretty good competition with Pigeon River, praising its neighbor to the south. However, it’s going to come down to people in the community getting the word out and encouraging their friends and neighbors to vote online in order to beat out the other breweries around the state, some of which are in larger communities than Shawano.

“This could bring huge business to Shawano, Wisconsin,” Gilling said. “All of the people who spend a dollar here at the brewery go and shop at Tumbleweed. They shop at the Stock Market. They shop at ‘Til the Cows Come Home. They go to all these places and spend a dollar. I know it sounds trivial about a contest, but beer people care a lot.”

It’s not too shabby, in Gilling’s view, that two of the 20 finalists are in Shawano County.

“It shows that people care about their craft beer,” Gilling said. “It shows you’ve got two talented breweries right in your home county. That’s pretty darn cool.”

Pigeon River has a longer history in the community, opening in a small building along U.S. Highway 45 in 2012 before renovating and expanding into the Northwinds Banquet Hall on North Main Street a few years later. Nathan and Kayla Knaack, who grew up in the Marion area, own and operate the business.

Pigeon River has 11 year-round brews that they create, along with four seasonal brews that include an Oktoberfest lager and a shandy called Cherry Drop. Pigeon River already has a couple of accolades under its belt, being named the fastest growing brewery in Wisconsin and 11th-fastest growing in the United States.

Kayla Knaack expressed delight at being nominated for the honor, especially being in a community as small as Marion.

“We’ve never had a huge cult following in the craft beer world; we’ve always just grown organically through community support,” Knaack said. “So, it shows a lot that we can get this kind of support from our small community.”

Knaack noted that being named a fast-growing brewery helped to put Pigeon River on the map. The company’s beer and other products are available in the Fox Valley, Green Bay and other northeast Wisconsin communities.

“We have hopes in the next few years to be statewide,” Knaack said.

Having two of the 20 finalists locally has made the county a “hotspot” for craft beer, in Knaack’s opinion.

“They’ve had some great established breweries in Madison and Milwaukee for decades, so it’s kind of neat seeing it come to our small town, and our small town people are becoming more open to trying new kinds of beer,” she said.

As of July 9, Stubborn Brothers was ranked third in votes on the Travel Wisconsin website, and Pigeon River was ranked sixth.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com