SHAWANO, Wis. — A trip to the Main Street grocery store is part of the recipe for success at a Shawano brewery.

What You Need To Know

  • Stubborn Brothers Brewery in Shawano opened in June 2020

  • It just won a gold medal in the American Wheat Beer category at the Great American Beer Festival

  • Hand-peeled oranges from a local grocery store are one of the key ingredients​

Stubborn Brothers Brewery was awarded a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for its Sweet Peel beer, a light wheat beer made with hand-peeled oranges.

“While I was walking (in the store) I saw these Florida Sweet Oranges and we were like, ‘Wouldn’t that be great in a beer?’” said Aaron Gilling, one half of the stubborn brothers. “We brought them back, hand peeled them and put them into our beer.”

The brewery and brew pub opened in June 2020 in a repurposed theater in downtown Shawano. It’s owned by Aaron and his brother Erik.

“We’ve only been open a year so the fact we walked away with a gold medal is beyond our wildest dreams within a year,” Aaron Gilling said. “If we were 20 years in and we won our first gold, that would be awesome as well. But at one year old, we won a gold medal, so we’re really thrilled.”

For Brewer Lyle Hari, the award is a nod to the work they’re doing.

“It definitely means we’re doing something great with our beers and we’re on the right direction,” he said. “I’m looking forward to winning more and not just this one.”

Gilling said the medal is fuel to keep on producing quality beers.

“It was really just confirmation that we were making a great product,” he said. “We’re going to continue to make great products and focus on just continuing to improve. Every single day make a better product. Use the best equipment we can, but the best equipment we can and improve, improve, improve.”