The Story of Duesterbeck’s Brewing Company
As a child, Laura Johnson was enthralled with the inner workings of agriculture, evidenced by her involvement in 4H and the local Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter as well as raising pigs on her family farm. Laura has since turned her love of agriculture into a nearly five-year-old establishment she co-owns with her husband, Ben Johnson. On the grounds of a farm on the outskirts of Elkhorn that has been a part of her family since 1861, the couple created Duesterbeck’s Brewing Company.
Duesterbeck’s first opened in October of 2019, combining Laura’s desire to pay homage to her fifth-generation farming family heritage and Ben’s interest in concocting sudsy beverages. In the last five years, the establishment has evolved into a sprawling operation that includes a taproom, pavilion, spacious outdoor patio and outdoor stage, brewery, gift shop and hops yard. Laura, who agreed to take on the family tradition of caring for the farmstead, said several pieces came together that led to the eventual unveiling of Duesterbeck’s and its upward trajectory in the years that followed.
“Ben wanted a new business to share his beers, and I needed to fix the family farm,” Laura explained. “I was blessed with having this agricultural background, and I wanted our kids to learn about it as well, even though I don’t want to raise pigs anymore.”
At the age of 19 and a sophomore in college, Ben began dabbling with microbrews as an outgrowth of his studies in bacteriology, which he majored in at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ben, a self-described lover of science and the challenges the discipline provides, had his sights set on opening a taproom in Delavan, but his wife’s family farm proved to be the ideal location.
A looming pandemic and the operational challenges that would ensue were not in the Johnsons’ plans in the early days of launching Duesterbeck’s Brewing Company. As time progressed, the couple had to pivot sixth months into their young business and reprioritize their plans to allow for continued business growth in the face of unprecedented times.
“Because of COVID, it changed quite rapidly in those first two years as we adjusted to the different laws and rules,” Ben said. “We had already been thinking about creating an outdoor patio, so we got to work on that, and it opened over Memorial Day (in 2020). We now have a huge patio outside.”
Continued updates that intermingle Laura’s family history and the still-evolving business have continued in the years since. For example, a flexible indoor/ outdoor space was created where Laura once raised pigs. Fittingly, it’s been dubbed the Pig Barn Pavilion.
“It feels like you’re outside, but you’re shaded,” Ben noted. “It can be heated, so we can continue to use it in the fall and winter months.”
Currently, Duesterbeck’s serves more than 20 different styles of beer, all with agriculturally themed names, such as the Dairy Air Hazy IPA, which is double dry hopped and includes a bouquet of ingredients like citra. Another is Duesterbeck’s Roosterbeck, an amber ale that features notes of caramel and roasted barley.
While the Johnsons have been hard at work refurbishing the various structures that comprise Laura’s family farm, they have focused intently on the outside spaces. One of their current multi-year projects is the cultivation of their hops yard.
In 2023, Laura and Ben began the extensive project, carving out one-eighth of an acre for the yard. This year, they plan to double the amount of space. Ultimately, they want to continue expanding it to fortify their own operation—and wholesale their crops to others in the brewing arena.
“It brings more agriculture into the brewery,” Ben explained of the reasoning behind having a hops yard on the premises. Laura, who also has a background in horticulture, added, “We’ll continue building it out until we hit around three acres. The crop is pretty labor-intensive, and it’s all done by hand.”
In 2023, the Johnsons also opened a new brewing facility on the grounds of the family farm to continue meeting increased business demand. This past year, the couple signed multiple deals with distributors in an assortment of venues within their immediate vicinity. They aspire to continue introducing their brews in other areas of the state, including a launch in Milwaukee as spring gets underway.
While Duesterbeck’s functions largely as a brewery, Laura and Ben said it also is designed with community in mind. Music has been an important backbone of the business—particularly in the summer, as a smattering of outdoor festivals are sprinkled throughout the calendar. Examples include an Ag Tourism Weekend extravaganza and Wisconsin Dairy Air celebration, both in August, and Oktoberfest in mid-October. Duesterbeck’s is also home to brewery tours, live trivia nights, and bingo nights.
“There’s always something going on. Part of that was because of COVID, and part of it was trying to figure out a way to get people to come see us,” Ben said, pointing out the farmstead’s location three miles between Delavan and Elkhorn. “We wanted to give people a reason to come and visit. It seems to work well. We’ve been getting a lot of requests from bands to play live music at our place.”
Laura’s family already has made their mark on the Elkhorn-Delavan area, as evidenced by the 163-year-old history of the land used for today’s Duesterbeck’s Brewing Company. The couple hopes to strengthen, and broaden, their ties to the community, as evidenced by custom brews they have made for Old World Wisconsin and, most recently, a Christmas market that took place at Yerkes Observatory.
“We’re looking at doing a lot more things with the community,” Ben said. Visit Duesterbeck’s to discover community in the farmlands of Wisconsin, and bring a friend or two to share in the fun!
WRITTEN BY DAVE FIDLIN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF DUESTERBECK’S
