Lithia Beer makes its public debut today, Friday, May 9, at the Riverside Brewery in West Bend.

"I'm very pleased with the product," says Riverside Brewmaster Christopher George who has been working to recreate the beer the past few months. "I've put a lot of work in trying to figure out how to do it. I don't think there's any way you could say this is a reproduction of what Lithia brewed, but as far as being brewed by people who care and know their craft, in that sense it's a reproduction of what Lithia represented when it was here."

Lithia history

The West Bend Lithia Company was a 120-year-old family brewery, owned by Charlie Walter, Jr. The company brewed 75,000 barrels a year and has a rich history in West Bend.

Washington County Board Chairman Herb Tennies said when the Lithia brewery was in town there was nothing like getting a freshly brewed beer right from the tap house.

"When I worked in construction with my dad we put additions on at the brewing company. They brought sausage from the butcher shop at 10 a.m. for your brunch break along with fresh bread from the bakery and we'd go in the tap house and have ice cold beer from the keg," he says.

Area farmers would come to West Bend Friday nights and while the women shopped at Bylow's Grocery the men would go to Pat Pault's Tavern or Palashes Liquor and pick up cases of Lithia to last them the week.

"Christmas Lithia was a little heavier beer and maybe a little darker," says Ed German who remembered paying $2 a case 30 years ago. "And you needed a bottle opener because twist-off tops hadn't been invented yet. I used to go out to Schwai's because he had a better price. I'd buy five cases at a time and that would last me two to three weeks," he says, recalling how he'd carry the cases out one at a time and place them in the back of his station wagon.

Lithia's claim to fame was the lithium in the beer, which came from the well water at the brewery. "They made an attempt at one time to remove the lithium, but before that the brewer actually promoted it," said local historian Tony Geiger referencing the sedative effect of lithium.

The latest Lithia

Local businessman Gunter Woog bought the rights to the label and the recipe and is the force behind the resurgence of Lithia.

"The process of recreating Lithia will be a work in progress," says Woog, who is initially marketing a Creamy Light Ale, developed in the spirit of Lithia Light of the past. "Popular tastes in beer have changed and matured, as has the brewing process. We've chosen to initially develop beers that will be popular with customers in our community and then utilize the same process to roll out Lithia's Old Timers, Christmas Beer and others as we progress."

Brewmaster George says he's very pleased with the product. "I'm happy with the color, happy with the head retention, happy with the flavor. Like I say, it's not an exact reproduction of what Lithia was but I'm very pleased with it."

Woog is adamant that Lithia Beer will again be exclusively based in West Bend with strong ties to the community. A portion of its sales will go to The Washington County Historical Society and West Bend's Museum of Wisconsin Art.

Lithia gets tapped at 11 a.m. Friday morning at the Riverside Brewery, 255 S. Main St. in West Bend.