Interview Horny Goat Brewing Company revs up Milwaukee

There’s no doubt you’ve heard the radio spots, seen the ads, and maybe even eaten a free Usinger’s brat off the grill mounted to the back of the custom Hummer it designed just for “tailGOATing” at Milwaukee events. It’s the Horny Goat Brewing Company, and the company’s chief executive and co-owner, Jim Sorenson, is doing everything possible to let you know what he’s up to. Horny Goat came to Milwaukee last spring and recently opened a brewpub at 2011 S. 1st St. (where Pump House used to be located). But that’s just the beginning. The A.V. Club spoke with Sorenson about what goes into making a beer that justifies having the word “horny” on the label.

The A.V. Club: First things first. What’s up with your name?

Jim Sorenson: Well, our whole philosophy is that beer is fun. Drinking beer with your friends should be fun. Horny Goat is a fun name. It’s playful. It’s kind of to the line, not over the line. We have brands like Exposed, Hopped Up And Horny, Horny Blonde, Red Vixen, and Stacked Milk Stout. So everything we do is gonna be kind of edgy. We can’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re selling beer. And beer is about parties and enjoying your friendships and hopefully making new ones.

AVC: Why do you pick Milwaukee as a home for Horny Goat?

JS: We were looking all over the place. Where do we want to call Horny Goat home? Well, Milwaukee, Wisconsin—Beer City. I’m from Waterford, Wisconsin. This has been home for a number of years. And Milwaukee is a fun city. This is where we want to brand Horny Goat—as a Milwaukee beer. You know there are some great breweries in Milwaukee, and I think there’s room for one more. We want to embrace the community and be a full part of it. You’ll see us have a lot of fun over the next couple years.

AVC: You guys own a lot of land surrounding the brewpub. Are you already planning on expansion?

JS: We have a beautiful location on the river. We basically have a city block. We want to be more than just a brewpub, we want to be an entertainment complex. We’re gonna be building out more volleyball courts, and we’ll put a little portable stage out there where we can have wresting events and outdoor concerts. We also have 10 boat slips, for the summer months, and we’re applying for more. We’re looking at outdoor Friday night fish frys, all summer long, and Milwaukee is about tailgating. We can have 200–300 people out there grilling by the water. Our job is to throw a party every night of the week.

AVC: You’ve done a good job of marketing Horny Goat, but tell us: Why should we drink your beer?

JS: Our brewmaster, John Hannafan, has been trained all over the world. He’s brewed in Belgium, he’s brewed in Germany, he’s brewed in La Crosse, and he’s brewed here. He also kind of oversees our projects in Stevens Point, where we are brewing a lot of product. He’s got a number of years of experience behind him. So he’ll be brewing very high-end products: Russian Imperial Stouts, Double White Belgians, very unique, high-end beers that you can only get here at our pub.