Milwaukee Brewing Company Calls on Sprinkman for New Facility
The 42
1130 N. Ninth St., Milwaukee
In 1997, Jim McCabe founded Milwaukee Brewing Company (MKE Brewing) with help from W.M. Sprinkman Corp., and its brewing systems. The two companies grew alongside one another and in partnership for the next twenty years until Brian Sprinkman, President of W.M. Sprinkman Corp., received a call from McCabe about news of expansion.
An old Pabst Brewing Co. building valued at $7.2 million with 48,000-square-feet was not McCabe’s first choice, as it seemed too large for merely a craft brewery, but after consultation with his attorney and Milwaukee Developer, Scott Lurie, the space presented more potential than McCabe had initially thought.
Lurie advised that the building house a craft brewery in part as well as a restaurant, event venue with rooftop access, and an additional 60,000 square feet of office space. McCabe agreed to the project and plans for MKE Brewing, The 42, began.
Needing all new brewing systems, McCabe leaned on a two-decade long partnership with Brian Sprinkman, President of Waukesha-based W.M. Sprinkman Corp., for The 42’s new equipment. Undoubtedly, the focal point will be the 60-BBL/4-Vessel Brewhouse, but MKE also asked Sprinkman to provide an array of cellar tanks and a 4-tank CIP system. Brian Sprinkman, gladly agreed and shared his proud reflection of Milwaukee Brewing Company, “It’s been nice to have a 20-year-old customer and watch them grow over time and help them realize their goals,” Sprinkman said. “There’s no way in 1997 we were even capable of building what we just put into their new space. (McCabe) would probably say there’s no way he would’ve imagined the (Milwaukee) Ale House turning into this.”
Both Sprinkman and MKE Brewing Company could not have imagined that when the company’s partnership began it would have evolved into what it is today. Sprinkman is happy to congratulate MKE on its expansion and continue seeing the company through more years of successful business to come.