From The First to the 100th: A Rosko's Evolution

The First, Brown Ale

We are excited to say that we have brewed over 100 batches of beer in 3 years, and over 70 of the beers were unique recipes!

We had many, many discussions for many, many months about what style of beer to brew to celebrate our 100th batch. Should we do a double hazy IPA quadruple dry-hopped twice, or a birthday cake brownie imperial stout aged on Lucky Charms? Sounds yummy, but No, No, No. That's not Rosko's.

Which leads to the question, what is Rosko's? Who is Rosko's?

The best kind of handoff

Our ethos as a brewery has remained the same since Day One, some of which includes these brewing beliefs:

1. First and foremost, create the best possible beers at all times.

2. Offer a highly drinkable, well-balanced tap list, appealing to a broad group of beer drinkers.

3. Rotate beers seasonally & at an appropriately rapid rate.

4. Track industry trends, don't chase them. Focus on our customer preferences and respond to what they want.

When you step into Rosko's you can expect a highly crafted, diverse beer menu. [For more details on our Tap List System, see the blog named the same.]

Adam & Taylor pictured from the first brew day, April 2022

Putting those four beliefs into place, the first beer we ever brewed, was The First, a brown ale that was intended to be a scaled up version of one of my favorite homebrew recipes. This homebrew recipe was an amber ale, similar to an original New Belgium Fat Tire amber ale. Meanwhile, scaled up from 5 gallons to 90 gallons, the beer turned out muuuch darker than intended & proven in the driveway. However, it still had remarkable drinkability. Unfortunately, it did cause some confusion in the initial customer reaction due to the dark color coming off the tap while expecting an amber ale. But, customers were pleasantly surprised & loved the beer, thus a Rosko's Classic was born and the beer had a highly rated debut.

Fast forward to today, 3 years and 100 batches later. We have honed our skills, sharpened our iron, and become a well oiled machine. Our nimbleness has allowed us to adapt and discover our identity as a local, hometown taproom brewery. Our passion lies in lagers & European "pub ales," the perfect companions to a day at the pub or on the patio. And the customer response to these styles has allowed us to lean into this identity.

It's Evolution, Baby! Amber Lager

So, for our 100th batch of beer we decided to "re-make" our first batch of beer with a twist of who we are today. It's Evolution, Baby! is a true amber lager that showcases our skill & evolution as a brewery. It's currently been highly received by our customer base and selling at a rapid rate, further confirming the path we are on as a taproom brewery.

Want to know the best part? You can try The First and It's Evolution, Baby! side by side, right now at the brewery. That's right, for batch #101 we remade The First so you can sip a piece of Rosko's past next to a piece of Rosko's Present.

Continue to follow us to see what will become of Rosko's Future!