What Minhas Breweries and Distillery does

Minhas Breweries and Distillery, operating primarily as Minhas Craft Brewery, is a privately held, vertically integrated beverage manufacturer headquartered in Monroe, Wisconsin. The company traces its origin to 1845 (Mr. Bissinger's Monroe Brewery), making it one of the oldest continuously operating breweries in the United States. Acquired by siblings Ravinder and Manjit Minhas on October 3, 2006 from the prior owner (the Weinstein family's Joseph Huber Brewing Company), the business has been repositioned around large-scale private label and co-packing services spanning beer, non-alcoholic, RTD (ready-to-drink), FMB (flavored malt beverage), and non-carbonated beverages, alongside an owned-brand portfolio that includes Mountain Crest Lager, Axe Head Malt Liquor, Boxer Lager, Clear Creek Ice, Huber Craft Beer, Berghoff, and Blumers Classic Soda. Production capacity grew from roughly 30,000 barrels in 2006 to 320,000 barrels by 2012, supported by a 300,000+ sq ft historic downtown facility, a separately built 500,000 sq ft warehouse, and 25 large fermentation/holding tanks of 10,000–100,000 liters.

The company's business model is multi-revenue-stream. The core is B2B private label and contract manufacturing, including co-manufacturing Trader Joe's 10X Vodka and Rum of the Gods Silver/Gold Rum. A second stream is owned-brand distribution through wholesale (e.g., General Beer in Wisconsin) plus on-site direct-to-consumer sales via a tap room with golf simulator, a 200-seat Minhas Kitchen + Wine Garden + Pizzeria restaurant, and a retail liquor store. A third stream is bulk alcohol sales (neutral malt base, grain neutral spirit, gin, rum, whisky, brandy) to other manufacturers. The Minhas Micro Distillery, established in 2012 across from the brewery in a historic 100-year-old building, adds small-batch spirits and supports celebrity co-branded products such as Money Bag Vodka (with Gene Simmons) and Artingstall's Gin (with Paul Feig). Ancillary revenue comes from paid brewery tours ($20/person). Pricing for B2B work is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; only tour pricing is listed.

Go-to-market is primarily direct, with brand awareness supported by organic social (Facebook, Instagram for @MinhasCraftBrewery and @Minhaskitchen) and on-premise hospitality. The customer base spans national enterprise retailers (Trader Joe's), celebrity/influencer brand partners, regional distributors (General Beer/Weinstein family, who are also investors), other beverage manufacturers purchasing bulk alcohol, and on-site consumers. The company is family-owned with no institutional or private equity backing disclosed; reported headcount is 11–50 employees. Manjit Minhas serves as CEO and co-founder and has been a panelist on CBC's Dragon's Den since 2015; Ravinder Minhas is sole owner of the Monroe operations and oversees production and quality.

Name

Minhas Breweries and Distillery

Legal name

Minhas Craft Brewery

Website

https://minhasbrewery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1845

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Minhas Craft Brewery (founded 1845, Monroe, WI) is a privately held, vertically integrated beverage manufacturer offering private-label and co-packing services across beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic categories, while operating owned brands, a micro distillery, and on-site hospitality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beverage Manufacturing

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Distilleries (312140), Wineries (312130), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Production Breweries (Limited/No On-site Service) (THAFALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA), Taprooms & Brewpubs (CRANACAF), Liquor Stores (Off-Premise Spirits Retail) (CRANABAA)

Keywords

• Craft beer brewing
• Private label beverages
• Contract distilling services
• Co-packing manufacturer
• Craft spirits production

Headquarters

HQ city

Monroe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Private Label Manufacturing / Co-packing: Contract manufacturing services for other brands seeking production capacity. The company produces beer, spirits, and other beverages under private label or co-packing arrangements.
2. On-site Food, Beverage, and Hospitality: Revenue from the on-site restaurant (Minhas Kitchen + Wine Garden + Pizzeria with Southern BBQ), tap room, and retail liquor store. 200-seat restaurant capacity.
3. Owned Brand Sales: Sales of company-owned brands including Mountain Crest Lager, Boxer Lager, Huber Craft Beer, Clear Creek Ice, Axe Head Malt Liquor, Blumers Soda, and spirits brands such as Money Bag Vodka (Gene Simmons partnership) and Artingstall's Gin (Paul Feig partnership).
4. Brewery Tours: Paid tours of the facility offered daily from 1pm-4pm on the hour, including facility walkthroughs, history, product tastings, and a free 6-pack to take home.
5. Bulk Alcohol Sales: Sale of bulk alcohols including Neutral Malt Base, Sugar Brew, Grain Neutral Spirit, and various spirits (Gin, Rum, Whisky, Brandy) for other manufacturers.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Minhas Breweries and Distillery is a vertically integrated beverage manufacturer operating America's oldest brewery (founded 1845) in Monroe, Wisconsin. The company produces and packages beer, spirits, wine, non-alcoholic, RTD, FMB, and non-carbonated beverages both under its own brands (Mountain Crest Lager, Boxer Lager, Huber, Blumers Soda, Money Bag Vodka, Artingstall's Gin) and as a private label/co-packing contract manufacturer for brands such as Trader Joe's. The Monroe facility also houses the Minhas Kitchen restaurant, tap room, golf simulator, and a micro distillery.

Product overview

Minhas Breweries and Distillery operates as a diversified beverage manufacturing company with a vertically integrated portfolio spanning beer, spirits, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages. The company functions as both a brand owner and contract manufacturer, offering private label and co-packing services alongside its owned brands including Mountain Crest Lager, Axe Head Malt Liquor, Boxer Lager, Clear Creek Ice, Huber Craft Beer, and Blumers Classic Soda. The Minhas Micro Distillery produces small-batch spirits including Money Bag Vodka (with Gene Simmons), Artingstall's Gin (with Paul Feig), Blumer's Moonshine, and private label products for Trader Joe's. The company also operates hospitality services including an on-site tap room, golf simulator, restaurant (Minhas Kitchen + Wine Garden + Pizzeria), and brewery tours at its Monroe, Wisconsin facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mountain Crest Lager: Premium lager at 5.5% alc./vol., crafted with finest malt and hops, aged longer than any other beer in its category
• Axe Head Malt Liquor + Seltzers
• Blumers Classic Soda
• Boxer Lager
• Clear Creek Ice Craft Beer
• Huber Craft Beer
• Money Bag Vodka
• Artingstall's Gin
• Blumer's Moonshine
• Apple Pie Moonshine
• Polo Club American Gin
• Trader Joe's 10X Distilled Vodka
• Rum of the Gods Silver and Gold Rum

Products and services

• Mountain Crest Lager Flagship premium lager at 5.5% alc./vol., crafted with the finest malt and hops, aged longer than other beers in its category. Sold to retail and wholesale customers across multiple states.
• Axe Head Malt Liquor + Seltzers Malt liquor and seltzer product line offered under the Minhas portfolio.
• Boxer Lager Lager brand produced and distributed as part of Minhas's portfolio of private label and co-packed beverages.
• Clear Creek Ice Craft Beer Craft beer brand included in Minhas's product offerings.
• Huber Craft Beer Craft beer line originally associated with Joseph Huber Brewing Company, including Huber Bock, Huber Regular, and Berghoff beer variants.
• Blumers Classic Soda Classic soda brand with historical roots dating back to the Blumer Brewing Company era, produced at the same Monroe, Wisconsin location.
• Blumer's Moonshine Small-batch moonshine produced at the Minhas Micro Distillery.
• Apple Pie Moonshine Flavored moonshine produced at the Minhas Micro Distillery.
• Polo Club American Gin American gin produced and packaged at the Minhas Micro Distillery.
• Money Bag Vodka

Quantifiable outcome

• Production grew from 30,000 to 320,000 barrels between 2006 and 2012
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Broad incumbents

• Boston Beer Company: Largest U.S. craft brewer (Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly), also operates a spirits/adjacent portfolio. Broader incumbent in the same craft + adjacent beverage category, though at meaningfully larger scale than Minhas.
• D.G. Yuengling & Son: America's oldest operating brewery (founded 1829), larger regional producer with multi-state distribution. Comparable as a historic, family-owned regional brewer leveraging legacy brand equity, though materially larger scale.
• Pabst Brewing Company: Iconic portfolio brewer whose primary model is brand ownership supported by extensive third-party contract brewing. Comparable business-model architecture (asset-light-ish brand owner leveraging partner production) to Minhas's owned-brand + co-packing balance.
• Lagunitas Brewing Company (Heineken-owned): Major craft brewer now within Heineken's portfolio. Comparable as a mid-sized craft operator with multi-category extension (IPAs, IPAs, hop-forward seltzers) competing for the same co-packing and distribution shelf.

Direct peers

• Genesee Brewing Company: Historic Northeast U.S. regional brewer with both owned brands and significant contract-brewing work for other labels. Mirrors Minhas's hybrid brand-owner + co-packer model with similar scale category.
• Bell's Brewery (Lion-owned): Michigan-headquartered craft brewer with adjacent spirits/seltzer lines and on-site brewpub-style hospitality. Comparable Midwest craft scale, family/independent heritage now absorbed by a strategic acquirer — a relevant comparison point for category consolidation.
• New Holland Brewing: Midwest craft brewer with an attached distillery (New Holland Spirits) and on-site hospitality (pub, restaurant). Closest peer to Minhas's brewery + distillery + restaurant combined operating model in the Midwest.
• Stevens Point Brewery: Midwest (Wisconsin) packaging/production brewery with deep private-label and contract-brewing heritage. Closest functional analogue to Minhas's co-packing model among regional brewers of comparable size.
• City Brewing / FX Matt Brewing: Large-scale U.S. contract brewer and co-packer headquartered in the Midwest. Direct competitor for private-label and contract-manufacturing RFPs with overlapping beer, FMB, and RTD capabilities.
• FX Matt (contract brewing services): Listed separately because FX Matt runs one of the largest dedicated U.S. contract-brewing operations (Saranac, private-label at scale). Relevant competitor for the same B2B private-label contracts Minhas targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/minhascraftbrewery
• Instagraminstagram.com/minhascraftbrewery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minhas-craft-brewery

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minhas Breweries and Distillery