In Business: Portage Brewing Company In Walker Celebrates Grand Re-Opening

It’s been 11 months since the popular brewery in Walker, Portage Brewing Company, was destroyed in a fire. On Saturday, a grand re-opening ribbon cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the brewery being back in business.

“Just more people, it’s great seeing all our old friends back again, it’s like coming home again which is really awesome, it feels like a big hug,” co-owner Carolyn Arndt said.

Frequent customers of the brewery say the grand opening is extra special and they’re glad that the brewery is back.

“When you have a place like this in Walker to bring your friends and then have it all gone in an instant was upsetting. But to watch the community come together, different fundraisers, things like that, to see them and to see this place now re-open, it’s breathtaking,” said customer Jerry Heaslip.

“It’s more than just the beer. The community and everybody is so friendly. And the owners are just so wonderful and just taking to them and getting to meet them. So helping them where we could and then getting a hug from them saying, ‘you are now part of the family,’ so it’s more than just the brewery of the beer,” customer Tim Kuchinka said.

Head brewer Jeff Vondenkamp says they are constantly experimenting with new beers and the menus will continue to change each week.

“The allure to Portage for locals especially is being able to come in here every week and try something a little bit new,” Vondenkamp said. “You’re not stuck with the same eight, 10, 12 beers. Every two weeks you come in, there might be an entirely different menu in front of you. And we’re just very focused on that small batch experimentation.”

The owners of Portage Brewing Company says the reconstructed building is bigger and more efficient than the previous building and will accommodate more people.

“We’re able to produce more beer than we produced before, almost double what our production capacity was before,” co-owner Mark Vondenkamp said. “It’s a more efficient brewhouse. Square footage in the taproom is significantly larger. We went from about 1,600, 1,700 to about 2,400 square feet.

The brewery is now open to the public, but the exterior of building is not quite finished.  The owners say the building will be painted blue once the weather warms up.