A local brewery shut off a majority of their taps for a sober night.
PetSkull Brewery in Manitowoc is known for its wide array of beer options, but on January 17th, Paul Hoffman and his team teamed up with Lighthouse Recovery Community Center to host the first annual Sober Shindig.
Those in the recovery community and those who don’t consume alcohol packed the bar to enjoy a variety of non-alcoholic beers and three mock-tails while enjoying the bar atmosphere.
While the mock-tails were crafted specifically for the event, Hoffman says they have offered non-alcoholic options for quite some time.
“I want people to know what our non-alcoholic options are,” he told SeehaferNews.com. “We have a lot of them for years. We always make our own half water, which is like a kind of like a sparkling water that’s hopped. We bring in nonalcoholic beers from different breweries.”
While the main focus of the night was giving the sober community, or those practicing dry January a place to socialize, Hoffman said it was also a great way to show people what they offer besides beer.
“We run a lot of live music throughout the year and I think a lot of people that don’t drink would love to come and watch live music,” he explained. “Our full kitchen was open, so now I’ve got people coming in and I mean, our kitchen was busy. We were cranking food out because I think a lot of people didn’t really know what we do.”
Hoffman admitted that closing off alcohol sales on a Friday night was a big risk, but for his family and his PetSkull team, supporting local non-profits is a part of their DNA.
“I pay my bills by producing alcohol, and I understand that some people have problems with that and I’m sensitive to that,” Hoffman said. “Could I have made more money had I been open? Yes. Do I feel like I did the right thing? Yes.”
Hoffman called the first-ever Sober Shindig at PetSkull Brewing a massive success and that he is more than willing to do it again.
One aspect of the shindig that will continue is the mocktail menu.
While there were three available that night, Hoffman said he plans on continuing to serve at least one on a regular basis.
He also pointed to some other local businesses that are focused on the sober community, such as The Nook, located at 211 North 9th Street in Downtown Manitowoc.
