O'so Brewing, Wisconsin
The Brewery
O’so Brewing was established in 1997 by two childhood sweethearts from Wisconsin. Katina and Marc are a real life love story but more importantly, so is their love for beer!
As is often the case, Marc was heavily into home brewing but it was a leap of faith and the shared belief of others around them that gave the couple the courage to give up their “proper jobs” and start a brewery. By early 2013, the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association released a memo that declared O’so Brewing Company the 2nd fastest growing brewery in the state.
You are only as good as the people you surround yourselves with
As Marc, rather romantically, puts it: “All this is possible because we have met some incredible people along the way that believed in our dreams as much as we did. You are only as good as the people you surround yourselves with, so we must be some pretty cool folks. Thanks to everyone that has supported us and helped us to get where we are today. Most importantly I want to thank my very understanding wife Katina for not only letting me quit my “real job” to chase my dream, but for actually making my dream her dream.” Ahhh.
Meet the Brewers
Two other key people in the brewery nowadays are Ray Wagner, the Brewery Operations Manager and James Vokoun, The Brewer.
Originally from Nebraska, Ray started home brewing in the fall of 2001 when he studied computer science and business management at Iowa State University, as he was not at all satisfied with the beer being served at the parties on campus. If he wasn’t studying, camping, gardening, going to concerts, festivals, or working, he was brewing beer. Bored with restaurant management and ready for a new adventure, in the beginning of 2012 he made the move to Wisconsin to try his hand at professional brewing. His favorite band is Primus and he really digs gardening, specializing in peppers and ridiculously hot chilies. His favorite styles of beer are “session” ales, especially APA’s, and he loves trying to coax as much flavor as possible out of beers below 5% abv.
James Vokoun (aka: the wedding planner), the Brewer, grew up in Chardon, Ohio and graduated from Michigan Tech University in Forestry where he started home brewing. He was a brewer at Blue Heron brewpub before coming to O’so to perform every job in the place. Eventually James' hard work paid off and he was promoted to Head Brewer. He treats each beer as one of his babies and is passionate about the details of crafting beer. An affinity for wild beers and real ales keeps his job interesting and fits his off-beat and funky personality.
Join the fight against boring beer at O’so Brewing
The Beers
O’so Hop Whoopin' American IPA
“Hopheads” spoke and O’so listened. We have taken the acronym S.M.A.S.H. and turned it upside down. Single Malt and Single Hop is now Single Malt and All Sorts of Hops. Every time it is brewed we will use an interesting hop variety that we don’t usually get to play with. Check the date coding tick mark on the bottle to figure out what hop we featured in your bottle. This is a true Crafty Experiment for Hopheads!
Description on label
INTENSE * FREAKISH * OBNOXIOUS * EXCESSIVE * DERANGED
7% ABV
95 IBUs
Beer Advocate Score: 87 (Very Good) Rate Beer Score: 97 Style, 97 Overall
Available year round in bottle.
O’so Night Train American Porter
This complex Oatmeal porter is crafted with judicious amounts of Crystal and Munich malts for a rich, smooth, creamy experience. Voted one of the best Porters in the state.
Description on label:
TOASTY * CHEWY * ROBUST * JUDICIOUS * CREAMY * BOLD * COMPLEX * IMMENSE
6.7% ABV
49 IBUs
Beer Advocate Score: 87 Very Good Rate Beer Score: 96 Style, 94 Overall.
Available year round in bottle.
If you're interested in stocking either of these bees, get in touch and we'll get some to you.