After 157 years, production of ‘Leinie’s’ to cease at western Wisconsin brewery

Leinenkugel’s Brewing Company will be shutting down most of its historic western Wisconsin operations in Chippewa Falls next year.

Molson Coors, the parent company of Leinenkugel’s, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.

Dick Leinenkugel, a retired Leinenkugel Brewing Co. president, issued the following statement to the Leader-Telegram of Eau Claire:

“I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Molson Coors leadership team to close our Chippewa Falls brewery and home,” he wrote. “For over 157 years and six generations of family management, Leinenkugel’s has been brewing great beers for our legions of fans throughout Wisconsin and across the country.

“I feel for all impacted employees and their families in Chippewa Falls and trust that the Molson Coors leadership will do everything possible to ease their pain during this challenging time. I know the Molson Coors leaders don’t take these decisions lightly. It’s clear to me that they determined that the savings resulting from the closure were significant enough to justify this difficult decision.”

Dck Leinenkugel continued: “None of our family members were aware or counseled ahead of the decision. It’s a sad day for our family and our fans. In 2017, we came together in Chippewa Falls to celebrate our brewery’s 150th anniversary. It was the defining moment of my career in beer. Alongside my brothers, Jake and John, and members of our fourth, fifth, and sixth generations of family, we proudly toasted our beer drinkers, retail customers, and distributors to thank them for their loyalty and support. Today, on behalf of the Leinenkugel family, I thank them again and will toast them this evening with a Leinenkugel’s Original and a tear in my eye.”

Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said the brewery and the city are synonymous to many visitors and people around the world.

“There is a lot of romance to the name. You think of Chippewa Falls, and you think of Leinenkugel’s,” Hoffman said. “It’s the name recognition. The Leinenkugels have been such a part of the community. But we will continue to evolve, and work through this.”

Charlie Walker, Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation executive director, was stunned by the news, noting it comes in the same year the city lost HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital.

“The Leinenkugel family has been good. It’s a major loss to the community,” Walker said Wednesday evening. “It’s a sad day. In good news, they aren’t closing the lodge and they’ll continue the tours.”

Walker said this news is why economic development is important to a community, to have the infrastructure to find new jobs when a business leaves.

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company was sold to Miller Brewing Co. in 1988. It later became part of Molson Coors. The brewery employs around 120 people, including those in the Leinie Lodge bar. Employees in the brewery went on strike for just over a month from July 2023 until the end of August 2023.

The brewery generally doesn’t release production numbers, but on a daily basis, about eight beers are brewed in Chippewa Falls. It’s about 40,000 gallons of beer brewed a day, or about 185,000 barrels of beer a year. Most of the Leinenkugel’s varieties are made locally, but some of the top sellers, like Summer Shandy and Honey Weiss, are also made in Milwaukee.

The 13,500-square-foot Leinie Lodge opened in its current location on June 15, 2003, at a cost of about $2 million. In the old lodge, adjacent to the brewery, the company averaged about 32,000 visitors annually. Visits jumped once the new lodge opened. The lodge was built on a 2-acre site that once was the home of the Woolen Mill, across Duncan Creek from the brewery. Dick Leinenkugel previously said about 75 of the 120 workers are part-time or full-time workers in the lodge.