Parched Eagle Brewpub Information

In 1995, when Ken and Joanne Goronson gave their 29-year-old son Jim a Mr. Beer homebrewing kit, little did they know it would lead over 18 years later to Parched Eagle Brewpub! Jims love of craft beer (called microbrew back then) was already well established. Because of the likes of such imports as Youngs Old Nick Barleywine and Spaten Optimator and early U.S. craft beer favorites Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Goose Island Honkers Ale, Jim was hooked. Brewing his own was the next logical step in enhancing his knowledge and love for the worlds third most popular beverage (after water and tea). Plus, brewing a five-gallon batch of ones own was more cost-effective than buying beer at microbrew/import prices: the equivalent of 2 cases for $20 to $40! Flash forward to 2008. After Jims 13 years of slacker brewing at an intermediate level, his friend Page Buchanan, master brewer/owner of House of Brews, prodded him to move up to the advanced all-grain level of homebrewing. Jims enthusiasm for brewing grew exponentially, leading to his realization in the fall of 2009 that his lifes calling is to own and run a brewpub. Jim is a 2012 graduate of the World Brewing Academy (Siebel Institute) Concise Course in Brewing Technology. Jim has also learned professional craft brewing at House of Brews under the tutelage of Page. He has been a beer judge for homebrew contests, having been certified by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) since 2009. In the fall of 2010, sipping homebrew around a campfire up north, a friend suggested to Jim that the Sauk City/Prairie du Sac area would be good for a brewpub, perhaps on the banks of the Wisconsin River. While investigating the viability of that area, Jim came up with the name Driftless Brewpub, for the location in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin. Alas, there was a brewery-in-planning near Virocqua called Driftless Brewing Company, so another name had to found. A visit to Thirsty Pagan Brewing in Superior, WI in 2011 combined with the popularity of Prairie du Sac as a ...