Beau and Jeanette have lived in the Midwest all their lives. Beau was born and raised in Milwaukee County and had two grandfathers who worked in breweries while Jeanette grew up on a 40 acre farm outside of Westby. When they first met, Jeanette thought beer was gross and Beau thought he'd never live further than 20 minutes from the Brewers stadium.

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Ten years later, Beau and Jeanette had happily moved their family to a 38 acre hobby farm in rural Monroe County and were dreaming of opening a craft beer bar together.



Beau would look at old buildings while driving and fantasize about how cool they would be as a craft beer bar. Beau's musings kept returning to one building in particular

(and it was actually for sale - a detail that grabbed Jeanette's attention).

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The building that now houses Beer Shop started its life in 1939 as a gas station and auto repair shop. Beau, the dreamer, would go on and on about the potential of "a building like that", describing in detail how he'd set up a tasting room and what kinds of beers he'd stock. Jeanette, without much patience for make-believe, lovingly told her husband "Let's make it happen or shut up about it, already - I'm getting thirsty!"

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And so, much like their three children (with lots of love and a fair amount of yelling), Beer Shop was born.