Our Story

The brewery is built

Anton Fischer, a German immigrant, settled in the area in 1858 and built our building, the first brewery in Outagamie County. In 1860, Anton sold the Fischer Brewery to Carl Muench, who added the outdoor beer garden that remains a popular institution to this day. 1884 saw the building suffer a fire but was thankfully saved and rebuilt to continue operations the same year.

George Walter and Adler Brau

In 1918, the business was sold to the Walter Brewery Company, established by George Walter.  George Walter and his brewery introduced a mild, light lager called Adler Brau (German for “Eagle Beer”). It soon became the most popular beer in the area, and remained so until the 1970’s. The doors of the Walter Brewery closed for the last time in 1974. Adler Brau beer came back in production in 1989, not with the George Walter Brewery, but with new ownership as the Adler Brau Brewery and Restaurant. At the time, it was Wisconsin’s third Brewpub.

Stone Cellar is born

In 2004, father and son partners Tom and Steve Lonsway took over the brewery and restaurant. After only five years as Stone Cellar Brewpub, our brewery’s production was nearly maxed out as we began supplying over fifty different bars with our beer.

Focus on sustainability

Starting in late 2009, we began to focus heavily on becoming as sustainable as possible. We reduced waste almost 80%, sent our spent grain to feed animals, started composting, and began replacing old inefficient appliances. By 2011, head chef Brady Ahrens had made a large number of connections with local farms and suppliers and we switched our meats to better options. All of our beef became all-natural and certified humane, including a 100% grass fed burger. Our chicken became all-natural, free range, and hormone free. We also started our organic and local salad bar for lunch.

Growth and changing the name

Due to the demand for our beer, we began a brewery expansion in 2012. We started producing bottled beer for sale externally and ended up needing to change our name to Stone Arch Brew House as the Stone Cellar trademark was reserved.

Continued Growth and beyond

In February 2017 we condensed our name to Stone Arch Brewpub to align our various brands. This process continues as we expand operations to include catering, events spaces, music, new community partnerships, our new location at Stone Arch Tied House, and more to come! However, we will always offer the same great beers, same great menu items, and still operate under the same ownership.