STEVENS POINT,Wis.  (December 20, 2011) – As sales of its handcrafted specialty beers continue to grow despite the weak economy, the Stevens Point Brewery has been adding jobs. Five positions have been created since the summer of 2010, when the brewery began an expansion to boost production capacity by 25 percent to 100,000 barrels.

The new positions include two new Sales Managers, a Logistics Manager, a Brewery Operator and a full-time Lab Technician, according to Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Operating Partner.

“For the third consecutive year, we anticipate double-digit growth in sales of our craft beers in 2011. We expanded our brewing capacity and warehouse space, and as a result we needed to expand our workforce, too,” said Martino. “The final new position was filled in November, so we are now fully staffed and fully equipped to take on 2012.”

New positions in Sales, Brewing, Distribution

The two Sales Managers were hired forMilwaukeeand Chicago, two of the Stevens Point Brewery’s largest markets. The Logistics Manager works with the brewery’s national wholesaler network, making sure the right beer is shipped on time to the right locations. The full-time Lab Technician plays a key role in the brewery’s quality efforts.

The new Brewery Operator works in the brewhouse and on the bottle and can packaging lines with several other Operators, Martino said. “Our Brewery Operators are trained to work on any piece of equipment in the brewery, so when our brewing and packaging operations are in high gear we can quickly assign people where they are needed most,” he said.

The Stevens Point Brewery

Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, uses only the highest-grade barley malts, specialty malts, grains and the choicest hops to brew their handcrafted beers, including flagship Point Special Lager, which won the gold medal in the American Premium Lager category at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival.

Seasonal specialty brands include Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, a dark, abbey-style ale available from November through February; Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, an award-winning unfiltered wheat ale; and Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style Märzen beer for the fall.

Point’s year-round specialty beers include Point 2012 Black Ale, a robust dark ale; Point Horizon Wheat, an unfiltered wheat ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale; Point Burly Brown American Brown Ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, a hoppy American-style pale ale; and Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager. The brewery’s craft beers also include the Whole Hog Limited Edition Brewmaster’s Series of “big beers,” including year-round Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale, and seasonal Whole Hog Raspberry Saison, Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, Whole Hog Barley Wine Ale and Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale.

Stevens Point Brewery also brews the James Page specialty beers, including Iron Range Amber Lager, Burly Brown Ale, and Voyageur Extra Pale Ale.

Gourmet soft drinks from the Stevens Point Brewery include Point Premium Root Beer, Point Premium Diet Root Beer, Point PremiumOrangeCream, Point Premium Vanilla Cream and Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda. Point Premium Root Beer, made with pure cane sugar, natural vanilla andWisconsinhoney, was awarded a gold medal by the Beverage Testing Institute.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, visit www.pointbeer.com or call 1-800-369-4911. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the web site.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, visit www.pointbeer.com or call 1-800-369-4911. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the web site.