Sprecher's top 12 Moments of 2023

Dearest Customer,

Warm greetings from the Sprecher family to you and yours! We sure have had one heck of a year here at the Sprecher house. 

Sprecher is growing up so fast. We are 38 years old now, going on 39. We've been traveling a lot this year, shipping soda to every state in the USA and showing up in lots of new places--like your local CVS! But that's not all. Not by a long shot. We have so much news to share in this year's holiday missive that we made a list (and checked it twice).

From our family to yours, here are the top 12 Sprecher moments of 2023. 

1. Sprecher had a Blast at the 2023 Glendale Root Beer Bash!

 

Around the holidays, they always say that to give is better to receive. Sprecher has that attitude year-round! This August, we partnered with Bayshore and Welcome to Glendale to host our Annual Root Beer Bash. At this free event, we gave away free root beer floats and donated $1 to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin for each float we gave away. Everyone had a blast enjoying the event's petting zoo, face painting, balloon twisters, community art project, kid’s dance party, art & artisan vendors, food trucks, a DJ, and live music from 5 Card Studs.

2. We Released THREE New Sprecher Sodas 

2023 was a big year for new soda releases. Sprecher started off the summer by releasing a Limited-Edition Door County Cherry soda made with Grade A Montmorency cherries from Cherry De-Lite, one of door county's premier cherry growers.

But why stop there? We also re-released Watermelon Soda for the summer. Pretty soon, the question on everyone's minds was, do Hodags like watermelons?

There was hardly any time to ponder this before Sprecher came up with an amazing new fall seasonal soda: Honeycrisp Apple. Made with locally sourced Honeycrisp apples from Wood Orchards, this soda became an instant classic!

3. Sprecher Sponsored the Sprecher 150 ARCA Menards Series Race

For the third year running, we had the pleasure of sponsoring the Sprecher 150 ARCA Menards Series race at the Milwaukee Mile. We absolutely LOVE sponsoring this event. Our CEO, Sharad Chadha, put it best when he said, “The Sprecher 150 race at the Milwaukee Mile is something we look forward to all year long. It’s been a tremendously positive experience for us ... [i]t will be a great day for race fans all across the state of Wisconsin.”

4. Frank the Tank Visited Sprecher Brewery

Barstool Sports' Frank the Tank has been tasting Sprecher soda on video since at least 2021. We reached out to him and began sending him tons of samples to try, and our friendship grew over the years. This year, we thought it was only right for us to invite him over, and he came to visit the brewery! He got a private tour and tasting lead by none other than our Vice President Kecia Sprecher and our CEO Sharad Chadha.

5. Sprecher Acquired Ooh La Lemin and Excent LLC

This year Sprecher made two big acquisitions--Ooh La Lemin Lemonade and Excent LLC. Both acquisitions are very exciting for different reasons. Ooh La Lemin makes a delicious all-natural lemonade with no added sugar, low carbs, and just 10 calories per can. Sprecher is excited to add all-natural lemonade to its offerings of craft beverages. Excent LLC is a state-of-the art automatic robotic production line in Richfield, Wisconsin that will enable Sprecher to package and store more craft soda to meet the growing demand! 

6. We Started Construction on Two New Production Lines

We already know what one of our New Year's resolutions is going to be: make even more craft soda! In addition to acquiring Excent LLC to ramp up production, Sprecher started construction on two new production lines at our original location. This means more delicious soda and more jobs for the craftspeople of Wisconsin.

7. Sprecher Collaborated with Some Amazing Local Partners

For the holiday season this year, Sprecher decided to work with some awesome local companies to create quality handcrafted gifts. We worked with Carrie's Crispies in West Allis, WI to create Root Beer and Maple Root Beer flavored rice crispies made with real Sprecher soda.

We also worked with Milwaukee Candle Company to create a line of hand-poured craft soda scented soy candles. They come in three stupendous scents: Maple Root Beer, Orange Dream, and Cream Soda.

Sprecher has also continued to work with our long-time partner What's Poppin' to make Root Beer Float Popcorn a year-round treat.

Finally, Sprecher has expanded its line of craft-soda flavored lip balms in collaboration with Intaca Private Label Lip Balm in Eau Claire, WI.

8. The Sprecher Traveling Beer Gardens Returned to Milwaukee Parks this Summer

We continued our partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and transformed 8 different parks into temporary beer gardens over the course of the summer! People enjoyed craft beers and snacks served out of Sprecher's signature restored fire trucks. As always, part of the revenue from the traveling beer tour went back into improving the parks.  

9. We Sponsored Ten Wisconsin Offensive Line Stars

This August Sprecher renewed its sponsorship agreement with ten of Wisconsin's Offensive Linemen.  The sponsored student-athletes include: Tanor Bortolini, Dylan Barrett, Nolan Rucci, Riley Mahlman, Michael Furtney, Treyton Wedig, Jack Nelson, Joe Brunner, Joe Huber and Barrett Nelson.  Go Badgers!

10. The Sprecher Taproom Came to Bayshore Mall

Over the summer, Sprecher opened up a mini pop-up Sprecher Taproom at Bayshore Mall. The Sprecher retail team had a blast serving up delicious beer, soda, and snacks to shoppers visiting Bayshore Mall.

11. We Partnered with the National Honey Board for National Honey Month

Sprecher proudly joined the National Honey Board to celebrate National Honey Month and take part in the Honey Saves Hives educational program in September. The national program spotlights brands that use real honey in their products and bring awareness to the importance of honey bees and their crucial role in our ecosystem and global food supply. We at Sprecher get the honey for our craft sodas from Kallas Honey Farm in Wisconsin.

12. NY Magazine Gave Low-Cal Root Beer a Shout Out

New York Magazine's Leah Finnegan wrote a glowing review of Sprecher Low-Cal Root Beer. She said "It goes down like velvet but has the gentlest sparkle on the tongue. The sweetness (and the 45 calories) comes from the inclusion of “real Wisconsin honey,” ... but it tastes decidedly less artificial than other diet root beers — even my beloved Barq’s." We'll take it!

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So, dear reader, it is safe to say that a lot has happened at Sprecher this year--more than could even fit into this letter! What were your top moments of the year? Leave us a comment and let us know. 

We hope you have had a great 2023, and we'd like to offer you a big Sprecher cheers to 2024! Ring in the new year with an ice-cold root beer. We know that's what we'll be doing.

Happy holidays to you & yours.

Cheers,

The Sprecher Brewing Team