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Grant for $125,000 will be used to expand Driftless Brewery production
chris rebecca
DRIFTLESS BREWERYS Chris Balistreri shares a beer with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch after the announcement of a $125,000 grant that will enable the brewery to expand its production and create a tap-room for beer tasting. There were more than 60 people on hand for the ceremony on Tuesday awarding the state grant.
CHARLEY PREUSSER
Updated: May 16, 2018, 7:21 PM
Published: May 16, 2018, 7:24 PM

SOLDIERS GROVE - On Tuesday, May 8, the Driftless Brewing Company LLC is launched an expansion project at its brewery in Soldiers Grove to a 15 BBL brewing system and 70 seat taproom. This launch, attended by more than 60 people, was made in conjunction with the WEDC announcing a $125,000 grant to the Village of Soldiers Grove in support of the project.

Driftless Brewing Company, LLC, located in the Solar Village of Soldiers Grove held the ceremony to receive the grant that was presented by Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Klefisch on behalf of the WEDC. Wisconsin State Senator Jennifer Shilling and State Representative Lee Nerison were also on hand for the presentation along with a host of economic development people, investors and other brewery supporters.

“In a few short years, demand for our beers has far exceeded the current small production capacity and we are fielding requests for our products from as far away as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Des Moines and Chicago,” said Cynthia Olmstead, the Driftless Brewery Business Operations Director.  “Our expansion to a 15-barrel brewery will allow us to serve customers throughout southwestern and southern Wisconsin and provide a destination brewery and taproom for those seeking quality, local craft beer in the Driftless Region.”

This expansion, with funding totaling nearly $1.2 million, is supported by equipment and building renovation bank loans from Citizens First Bank of Viroqua; SBA 504 equipment and building renovation loans via Wisconsin Business Development; a WEDC Community Development Investment grant of $125,000 to the Village of Soldiers Grove in support of the project; a Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC) CMV Growth Development Fund business loan for working capital, and funding from private investor members of DBC.

“We are committed to producing quality craft beers that reflect the values of our brewery and our region: using the finest local and regional ingredients; environmentally progressive production and marketing; and passion for artisan beer-making that is communicated to our customers across the state,”  Olmstead explained. “We use local and regional businesses, co-ops and farmers for 95 percent or more of our ingredients. Our beers, in name and taste, reflect the rich abundance of the Driftless Area and many of our ingredients are sourced within a few miles of the brewery, including fruits and berries picked by our own staff!

“Our Brewer Chris Balistreri’s collaborations have included working with a wide variety of other businesses in the area---one of our most popular has been our milk stout ‘Cow Cult,’ a local favorite and collaboration with Organic Valley,” Olmstead said. “With the release of our ‘Deep Rooted’ ale this month, we are also the first brewery in Wisconsin to brew beer with ‘Kernza,’ a perennial wheat grain that shows promise as a deep-rooted perennial for soil conservation and forage, in partnership with Plovgh (www.plovgh.com).

“We also have support from our small community as a successful driver of economic development in a poor, rural county,” Olmstead noted. “The Village of Soldiers Grove has supported our brewery since its inception with a community development loan for our small system and now as a grant partner on our expansion project. We believe Driftless Brewing Company is poised to become one of the leading craft breweries in our region and a growing force in the Wisconsin craft brewing industry.”

The Driftless Brewing Company announced it is deeply grateful to all of our investor members and funding partners: Village of Soldiers Grove; Mark Tallman, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC); Tom Weston, Citizens First Bank of Viroqua; Kyle Kuntz, Wisconsin Business Development (SBA Loan); and Greg Flogstad of Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC). In addition, James Bowman of Driftless Development Inc. was invaluable during 2017-18 in assisting with our final funding acquisition.

Driftless Brewery anticipates having their newly renovated brewery and taproom open and under production by the end of the year. Most of the new equipment will be purchased through Wisconsin manufacturers (Quality Tank Solutions) and the building renovation team will be led by Scott Chyco of Delta 3 Engineering of Platteville. They are all local or regional contractors.

 
Paddler safety issue broached at board meeting
Lower Wisconsin River
Barge near Sauk Bridge constr paddler safety issue
A DANGEROUS spot for paddlers on the Lower Wisconsin River is an area downstream of the Sauk City bridge. Construction of the new recreational trail bridge at that site may be making the area less safe, for example this barge located just where there is a dangerous vortex in the river’s current. The hope is that communication between the con-tractor and stakeholders will improve to promote safety for navigational users during the construction project.
GILLIAN POMPLUN
Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout
Updated: Jul 24, 2025, 1:11 PM
Published: Jul 23, 2025, 3:19 PM

Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board (LWSRB) executive director Mark Cupp reported a paddler safety issue had popped up near Sauk City. The area contains a dangerous stretch of the river, and construction of the new Sauk Recreational Bridge may be presenting challenges for paddlers navigating that stretch of the river.

“I had a conversation with WDNR’s Harry Stone this morning,” Cupp told the board at their July 10 meeting. “This is the second time I got a call from Cindy Bender, who operates a canoe rental at Sauk City. With the Lone Rock Bridge construction project, the communications were exceptional. They communicated with the canoe livery operators, with local stake-holders, with the Riverway Board, DNR, and everyone. With this project, there's been almost zero communication.

“Cindy said that today there's a barge there, right there by the bridge, and that is such a difficult place to navigate to begin with. Then you put a barge in there, and then nobody knows about it, let alone the people that have private boats, canoes, and kayaks.”

Cupp said that he’d contacted Marty Krueger, who's on the Sauk County Board. Krueger had assured him, the last time they spoke about the same complaint, that someone from Sauk County Parks would be talking to the construction company.

“So I left a message for Marty this morning and asked him to please give Cindy Bender a call,” Cupp said. “It's important that we find ways to alert recreational users on the river to changes in navigation at that site, because it is a dangerous place with that big vortex that still exists even after they've made some improvements. You need to be bank ready when you come through there with a paddle craft.”

WDNR’s Harry Stone reported that he’d sent an e-mail to a colleague about the situation, and hoped to hear back soon.

Canoe trips

Cupp told the LWSRB that he and executive assistant Marsha Curtis are in the process of rescheduling voyageur canoe trips that had been cancelled, due to high water on the river.

“This year was very similar to last year, where we lost the first part of the season because of unusually high water,” Cupp said. “Now last year, we were setting all kinds of records for specific dates for unusually high water. This year, I don't think we have set any records for specific dates, but we've had unusually high water so much so that we've had to cancel multiple trips.”

 Cupp said they were fortunate that they could extend their use season beyond when he normally would have taken the canoes back, because no one else had them reserved.

“So we're trying to squeeze as many rescheduled trips in as we can.” Cupp told the board. “It's difficult. It puts a lot more pressure on Marsha and on me, because we have to then re-contact everyone. We have to look at their respective schedules, and juggle a lot of the other things.”

Cupp said there's nothing much you can do if Mother Nature decides to have a lot of rain throughout the Wisconsin River Watershed, and he refuses to compromise on safety.

“We had one canoe out today, and Rich Ten Pas was on that trip. We saw some beautiful things today, mature and juvenile, eagles and deer swimming across the channel,” Cupp observed. “We also had a lot of knowledgeable people that could point out some other bird life and flowering plants, and we talked about forestry and trees. So it was a very good trip, other than a little wet at the end.”

In other business

In other business, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board:

• heard that 50 people had turned out to observe the Summer Solstice at Frank’s Hill

• learned that after an extended period of high water on the river, upstream flow gauges indicate that water levels are falling quickly, and should be improved by Sunday or Monday, with sandbars once again visible on the river

• postponed officer elections and committee assignments to the board’s September meeting

• approved an extension of a management permit in Town of Millville in Grant County.