Notes
Visited: November 20, 2001
Opened: 1996
Closed: 2001
Annual Production: 230 bbl
Finally! More than eight years of homebrewing, four years of unemployment, the fiasco on Moloka`i (which continues to this day), and the eight-week Professional Brewer Certification Program at the Siebel Institute of Technology have paid off. I brewed most of the beers listed here, so my reviews are probably even less objective than the others. (Although some people say I'm harder on my own beers. Maybe you should just drink them yourself and make up your own mind.)
Egan's was established in 1996 as a microbrewery to produce bottled beers for the Hansen's Dairy Store next door. We added a bar in 1997, and a restaurant in 1998 to become a full-blown brewpub. Then in April 2000, Nick Egan entered a partnership with the Gallagher's folks whereby the restaurant became "Gallagher's of De Pere", and the brewery went back to being a micro only. Now Hansen's is getting out of the beer business, so I don't bottle anymore, and 80% of my production is still sold over the bar at Gallagher's of De Pere, so I guess it's a lot like being a brewpub anyway.
Unfortunately, without a dedicated restaurant, there just isn't a demand for packaged craft beer in and around Green Bay. The relationship with Gallagher's didn't work out the way we had hoped, and so the Egan family decided to close their brewery on September 30, 2001.
While I was looking for work, I helped Bill Winsand at Slab City Brewing part-time.
After some five months of job-searching, I landed at Fox River Brewing in Oshkosh WI. (But not for long.)
Nick Egan passed away on December 22, 2002 after a long illness.
Updated: January 5, 2011
Beer List
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Date: January 9, 2001 (#3753)Package: draughtPlace: at the breweryScore: 15½ pointsOverall Impression (3)
Red-amber, low head. Malty, woody aroma, with some honey. Thick, chewy, malty, some caramel. Lots of warming alcohol at the end. I think the honey prevented this beer from aging quite as well as it might have. Brewed in June 1999.
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Date: October 28, 1998 (#3092)Package: nitrogenatedPlace: at the breweryScore: 17½ pointsOverall Impression (3)
Dark red, thick dense head. Very roasty aroma. Fairly light body, real nice roasty flavor with just a hint of sweetness. Clean dry finish.
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Date: July 19, 2001 (#3860)Package: draughtPlace: at the breweryScore: 18 pointsOverall Impression (3)
(An extra-big version of Abbot Pennings Trippel.) Hazy deep golden, big thick head. Spicy estery aroma, hints of cinnamon, bananas, faintly musty. Big body, creamy, warming. Big malty flavor followed by a blast of esters, then a long warm fruity alcoholic finish. Carbonation could be higher.