Episode 061A - Opening A Second Brewery Across State

Episode 061A: Lion's Tail Brewing Company - Nick Leak

Opening A Second Brewery Across Town.

Welcome to the last episode in our Opening A Second Brewery Location series. We hope you have enjoyed the different episodes describing the different challenges each faced as they opened a 2^nd location during a global pandemic, in a different state, across town, in your existing brewery and finally todays episode…across the state.

This last episode is actually 2 episodes. The first was our interview prior to their opening and the second was several months after they had opened. We wanted to find out what their thoughts and perceptions were prior to opening and in the follow up interview what the reality was.

Our guest Nick, the VP of Operations & Marketing, is someone you can have a great conversation with any day of the week, but his passion for what he does comes through in both interviews. When we met for the first interview, they had just completed painting the space and you could tell that Nick was a little worn out, but he became totally animated as he talked about the brewery, the new space and the people he had met in the community as they converted the space into a brewery.

NICK LEAK

Vice President of Operations & Marketing

Nick Leak is a Marquette University College of Business Administration graduate with over a decade of experience in Operations & Marketing.

A craft beer lover, he left his role as a Global Supply Chain Manager to pursue his passion of a life in beer. Now serving as the Vice President of Operations & Marketing for Lion’s Tail Brewing Co.

Nick oversees everything from production scheduling, to material sourcing and inventory management, to cost analysis and pricing strategy, to marketing creative and social media management, to PR and advertising, as well as project management of for the opening of Lion’s Tail’s second brewery & taproom location in Wauwatosa, WI in fall 2022.

Nick lives in Wauwatosa near the new brewery location, so if you see him out walking his dogs, Winston & Bailey, don’t hesitate to flag him down and say hello (and chat about beer, of course)!

Lion’s Tail Brewing Company

Lion’s Tail was born from the dream of a passionate home-brewer to one day have a taproom where he could share his love for quality craft beer with more than just his family and friends. Our owners Alex and Kristin Wenzel were able to make their dream a reality when they opened the doors to Lion’s Tail Brewing Co. in November of 2015. Our Brewery & Taproom is located in downtown Neenah, next to the Clock Tower, on Commercial Street in the 115-year-old, former Equitable Reserve Association that has since earned its spot on the Historic Register.

Our all-electric, 10-barrel brewhouse produces over 70 unique beers every year, with 40+ of them new, ranging in styles from traditional European lagers, to fruited slushie sours, to New England IPAs, and even barrel-aged stouts, with many other styles in-between. You can find our beers distributed from Wausau to Oak Creek and over to Madison, and with 24 of our beers on tap in the Neenah taproom, we’ve got an option everyone will enjoy inside this historic building or on our newly-constructed outdoor patio. We can’t wait to open our second Brewery & Taproom location in Wauwatosa, WI in Fall 2022 to spread our love of craft beer even further. Cheers!

Interviews Before and After Opening

In this series we met with 5 breweries, all on a different path, but with a common goal of opening a second location. There are many lessons learned from each about their experience with the process of opening. Whether you’re a craft beer drinker or a brewery owner, we know there is information within the series that you will find of value along with a little entertainment from the stories shared.

In this 2 part episode with Nick, this episode was taped before the brewery opened and the next is after the brewery was opened. Nick shares several perceptions he had prior to opening that were completely changed with the reality of opening their second location.

We hope that you will enjoy both of the interviews with Nick.

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