At its peak, the Eichinger family in rural northeast Wisconsin was more than 20 strong. There was Tim and Toni, their son Jake, and a slew of colorful characters: Lothar, the bitterest of the brood; Creek, the family’s hard-nosed staff sergeant; Doris, the sweetheart; and Howler, the cool-headed womanizer. These other family members were of the four-legged variety: The Eichingers once owned a sled dog kennel in Pembine, Wis., which is now more of a retirement home for huskies in their twilight. But these old dogs still inspire Tim when he rolls up his sleeves in the brewery adjacent to the kennel. The brewery itself is named for Howler, the philandering black husky who Tim says “owned him,”and each beer is a representation of one of the Eichingers’ litter. Take Lothar, the acerbic dog prone to biting, who is naturally the face of Black Husky’s Sproose Joose II IPA, a bitter, high-alpha beer made with local spruce tips.

The kennel has slowed recently, but the nanobrewery is ramping up: This year, the Eichingers will quadruple their capacity with a 5-barrel system, expand their line of 22-ounce bottled beers and release a smoked beer and an imperial red—inspired by dogs Smoki and Harold, respectively.  –Christopher Staten