Campus Connection

Alumni couple helps revive Wisconsin community rebuilt around brewing

[caption id="attachment_5643" align="aligncenter" width="685"] Steve and Jen McCoy on Main Street Potosi, Wisconsin, where they’ve both recently moved. They’ve both lent their skill sets to help build Potosi’s growing tourism after the brewery reopened in 2008. Behind them is the original brewery, which opened in 1852 — now home to a restaurant and pub, as well as the National Brewery Museum.[/caption] Husband and wife Steve and Jen McCoy have helped revive tourism and build community around one of the nation’s most historically significant places when it comes to beer. The alumni couple recently moved to the small community of Potosi, Wisconsin, on the Great River Road — home of the 160-year-old Potosi Brewing Co. and the National Brewery Museum. Potosi Brewing Co. survived prohibition and grew shortly thereafter to become the fifth largest brewer in Wisconsin. But after post-World War II consolidation of the beer industry, Potosi's facility was closed in 1972. But life came back to the Brewery and the Potosi community after a historic brewery restoration and reopening in 2008, amid a craft beer boom. Steve was hired as brewmaster and director of brewing operations in November 2013 to expand Potosi’s brew production and generate new beer brands. Jen, who previously managed the People’s Food Co-op in La Crosse, followed Steve to Potosi and is getting to know the locals in "the best way I know how.” “For me that means opening a shop,” she says. Both credit their UWL roots for some of the skills and values they're sharing in their new community. Quenching the thirst of small town America [caption id="attachment_5654" align="alignright" width="277"] Jen McCoy, ’96, an English major and Creative Writing minor, opened Bottle House Gifts and Creamery in Potosi, Wisconsin, on Memorial Day. The new shop complements the Potosi Brewery across the street where her husband Steve is brewmaster.[/caption] When deciding what kind of business to open, Jen talked to locals. She wanted her new shop, located on Potosi's Main Street across from the historic brewery and museum, to complement the brewery and be a space for people to gather. On a Wednesday at around noon, that’s just what locals and a few tourists are doing inside her business, Bottle House Gifts and Creamery. She sells ice cream — based on community suggestions — as well as fair trade goods and coffee. Jen’s new business is just one example of the entrepreneurship that has come back to Potosi after the reopening of the brewery, notes Frank Fiorenza, Potosi village president of 25 years. He is happy to have Steve and Jen join the community. “They have become part of what we are trying to accomplish here,” he says. [caption id="attachment_5652" align="alignleft" width="264"] Downtown Potosi, Wisconsin, is making a comeback after the restoration of its brewery. Two UWL alumni have played a part in reviving the community.[/caption] What Potosi is accomplishing — something many small towns across America have yet to do — is reviving its old, rundown downtown and rebuilding a sense of community. Fiorenza describes Potosi as a relative ghost town before the brewery reopening. The brewery building was vacant and in shambles. The local population primarily found work outside of the village in Dubuque, Iowa. What lacked was a sense of community, vibrancy and life that filled the village about a half century before. A group of Potosi residents, including Fiorenza, decided to do something about it. “You can sit there and lament ‘poor us — a small community' or you can do something,” explains Fiorenza. “We decided to consider what we did have — the river, the bluffs, the scenic beauty, and the Potosi Brewery, and we could do something with that.” The historic brewery restoration was overseen by Potosi Foundation Inc., which was formed in 2000 and owns Potosi Brewing. The historic building now houses a restaurant and pub, as well as the American Breweriana Association National Brewery Museum. The venue attracts 60,000–70,000 visitors a year to see the eclectic collection of beer advertising memorabilia. [caption id="attachment_5661" align="aligncenter" width="685"] The historic brewery was restored and now houses a restaurant and pub, as well as the American Breweriana Association National Brewery Museum.[/caption] Residents worked hard to attract the national museum to Potosi. They succeeded in doing that over other large cities in the running such as Milwaukee and St. Louis. Fiorenza now travels the state and beyond to talk about how to recharge small communities based on Potosi’s success story. His primary message is that there is hope for small communities if they consider what they have and take action. “There is a certain amount of excitement and satisfaction in seeing the community grow and stay viable,” says Fiorenza. “It helps to preserve the long history and heritage of the community.” [caption id="attachment_5658" align="aligncenter" width="685"] A look inside the American Breweriana Association National Brewery Museum. Potosi succeeded in attracting the museum over other large cities in the running such as Milwaukee and St. Louis.[/caption] Jen enjoys that her business is not just about helping grow local tourism, but also about helping rebuild a sense of community in Potosi. Jen first learned about community building in college where the sense of community was strong from day one. She recalls a campus tour leader who was constantly greeting people throughout the walk around UWL. “That made me decide I wanted to go to UWL — the sense of community is really strong there,” she says. “UWL prepared me to immerse myself in community life in other places.” What’s brewing [caption id="attachment_5656" align="alignleft" width="221"] Steve McCoy, ’03, brewmaster at the Potosi Brewery, stands by stainless steel fermentation tanks that hold the Potosi Oktoberfest blend to be released in August. Steve worked at City Brewing Co. in La Crosse for five years before starting his position in Potosi in 2013. He has used his UWL biology degree heavily in both roles.[/caption] Steve proudly explains the brewing process as he walks amid the large, stainless steel fermentation tanks and bottling line. When the brewery first reopened in 2008, most brewing and bottling of Potosi beer happened in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Potosi then added its own brewery production facility in 2015 allowing the non-profit to brew all of its beer in-house. Today about 372,000 gallons are brewed and packaged per year at the facility Steve runs and those numbers are growing. Production grew by 40 percent from 2014 to 2015. Potosi brewery also contributes to the economy by employing eight full-time and 10 part-time people at the production brewery facility alone. When Steve started at the brewery, he was charged with crafting original beers to revive the Potosi beer brand. He drew heavily on skill sets he learned studying biology and chemistry at UWL, along with working at La Crosse’s City Brewery. “When I was a student, I heard that UWL had a good science program, but what that meant I didn’t know,” says Steve. “But as I grow in my career and continue to use those skills I learned in Cowley Hall, I realize what a good education I had. You look back and see how valuable it was.” A taste of Potosi The annual Potosi Brew Fest is Saturday, Aug. 27, featuring activities such as beer samples, live music and a beer stein holding contest. Jen will be at her shop and Steve will be pouring beers and sharing information about them. Learn more at http://www.potosibrewery.com/news-events/.