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Narrator
With its' lumber industries on the Wisconsin River, Stevens Point became a bustling boomtown. And as early lumberjacks, river rafters, and sawmill workers would soon find out, it was also a perfect place to brew beer. In the mid-1850s, a brewery built on the outskirts of town would go on to become one of the oldest breweries in the country.
John Harry
The brewery had different ownership throughout the years, and it wasn't until the 1880s with Andrew Lutz, that he started branding his barrels with Stevens Point Brewery. And the name just kind of stuck then.
Narrator
The namesake brewery grew along with the city, although it faced competition. In the early 1900s, the Polish Brewing Company arrived in town.
John Harry
But in 1908, there was this huge cyclone that ripped through Stevens Point, right along the river, and totally decimated the Polish Brewing Company. They did rebuild. But then, in about 1916, they had a spoiled batch of beer, and Prohibition was already kind of seen on the horizon, and they decided to not reinvest in opening the brewery again. So 1917 was the last time that Point had an in-town competitor.
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Narrator
Point Brewery outlasted the competition, with a focus on only serving the local community. A growing Stevens Point led to a thriving Point Brewery.
John Harry
Now, that all seems to be going great until Prohibition hits.
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Art Oksuita
And that really put a strain on the brewery. It was difficult for them to continue operating, but they did. They never shut down.
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Narrator
Prohibition hit breweries hard across the nation. And Point Brewery was no exception. Survival meant ingenuity. Breweries turned to soda products or near beer, a non-alcoholic beer, to keep them afloat.
John Harry
In 1927/28, the Stevens Point Brewing Company came up with a new near beer, and they decided to call it Point Special Beverage.
Art Oksuita
It was basically taking Point Special and boiling all the alcohol out of it. So it was a non-alcohol beer.
John Harry
After Prohibition, all they did to the label was change the word "beverage" to "beer." Throughout brewing history, breweries mainly focused on one or two beers a year. Point Special was the flagship beer since Prohibition.
Art Oksuita
We've dabbled in different things over the years, but it's still, when you think of Stevens Point Brewery, you're thinking of Point Special.
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Narrator
With the challenge of Prohibition behind them, Point Brewery faced a new threat. Fierce competition from bigger brewers. Wisconsin was once home to 350 breweries. By 1973, only nine remained, with Stevens Point the smallest and the most vulnerable.
Art Oksuita
The competition was really getting tough. And the biggest one is price. A Miller or Budweiser could certainly underprice us. And they did. It's a good deal for the bar owner, but it's bad for the Stevens Point Brewery because that's our competition. And that was really, really tough.
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Narrator
But in 1973, a big boost.
Art Oksuita
There was an article by a writer in Chicago. His name is Mike Royko. He wrote an article basically saying that most American beers tasted like it went through a horse. So what he did was he had a blind taste test. And somehow Point beer got over to him, and we came out the number one beer in the United States, second beer in the world. Well, that was phenomenal for the brewery.
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Art Oksuita
I truly believe that that kept the brewery going. And there was an instant 20% increase in sales.
John Harry
They got requests for beer from TWA Airlines, as well as distributors all over. And they knew that they would not be able to keep up with the orders and the capacity that these places needed to be able to have Point beer. So they said, "No, if you want this beer, you have to come to Stevens Point." It was always really important that Point Brewery could supply the people of Stevens Point and central Wisconsin with their beer.
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Narrator
The newfound fame of Point Special brought attention to an important factor that contributed to its quality.
John Harry
Stevens Point is known for many things. One of them is the water quality there. The tap water is some of the best in the country.
Art Oksuita
The quality ingredients that go into making beer are hops, water, yeast, and grain. Every one is very important. We do an ultrafiltration on it, but we use the water as it comes from the city. The water here at the brewery is perfect. It's part of that original formula. It's the beer That's light and clear You ask any, any of the people in the surrounding area if they remember the Point jingle, they'll all sing it to you. Tastes so good Satisfies completely Like good beer should I mean, I heard that jingle all my growing up years. Point Special beer How many cities can say that they have a beer that's actually part of the city's name? The brewery really is integral to the city and integral to the community. Point Special beer
Announcer
Brewed in the city of wonderful water. Won't you make it A point to buy Point
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