Chippewa Falls Brewery Workers Bid Farewell To Historic Era

The last batch of Chippewa Falls brewed Leinenkugel's beer has begun. It was a bittersweet moment for employees at the brewery, as they each took a moment to add a scoop of ingredients, all the while knowing they will soon be moving production of the Minnesota favorite beer to Molson-Coors' facilities in Milwaukee.

I saw a sad video this week that showed the employees adding the final ingredients to the final batch of Chippewa Falls-brewed Leinenkugel's beer, as the operation will be moving once the beer has been brewed and bottled.

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"There are some low spirits in Chippewa Falls as the last batch of Leinenkugels beer is brewing.

A mix of workers on the campus contributed to starting the final brew before all production is moved to Milwaukee.

A video posted online says, “We are the pride of Chippewa Falls! Proud of what our brewery team has built and accomplished inside this 157 year old brewery. It’s a one of a kind production facility.”

The Chippewa Falls brewery is owned by Molson Coors, the world’s third-largest brewer with 17,000 employees and a value of $12 billion. But with revenue and profits slowing over the past year, the company announced in November the Chippewa Falls plant would shut down Jan. 17, 2025, in time for the last batch to move through “process,” the employee says.

Directly, 56 jobs will be lost."

UpNorthNewsWI shared the video on social media.

The video is set to the Counting Crows song, A Long December, which details, according to American Songwriter, that "the song was inspired by visits to a friend recovering from being hit by a car (hence the line “The smell of hospitals in winter.”) But [lead singer Adam] Duritz also admitted that, despite the song’s somber tone set by piano and accordion, “A Long December” was his way of seeing his glass of eggnog as half full for a change. “It’s a song about looking back on your life and seeing changes happening,” he said, “and for once me, looking forward and thinking, ‘Ya know, things are gonna change for the better — ‘maybe this year will be better than the last.’”

While bittersweet that Leinenkugel's is moving operations to Milwaukee, I am glad they are going to keep the brand around because it's not officially summer in Minnesota until you've had a Summer Shandy.