Last year, the Stevens Point Brewery celebrated 150 years of beer making in Wisconsin, but it was only six years ago that the brewery returned to local control. Joe Martino and Jim Wiechmann -- both of who live in Milwaukee and commute to Stevens Point -- purchased the brewery from the Chicago-based Barton Beer in 2002.

"(Jim and I) heard Barton wanted to sell it so they could focus on importing, so we contacted them and a year later we closed on the deal," says Martino. "And the good news is, the brewery returned to Wisconsin ownership."

Last October, Martino attended the National Beer Wholesaler Association trade show in Las Vegas, which led to distribution contracts in Georgia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Kentucky and at least four more states that are still in the works. Prior to the trade show, Point beer was available only in the Midwest.

Martino says his product is well received because it's "true to style" and it's a beer that people can easily consume more than one per sitting.

"We don't make beers that are on the fringe and appeal to a small audience. We want to offer products that appeal to a wider demographic," he says.

However, Martino says his company has more in common with small breweries like Lakefront and Sprecher than massive operations like SABMiller.

"I'm a member of the Brewers Guild of Wisconsin and Russ Klisch (co-owner of Lakefront Brewery) is the chairman," he says. "I find the small brewers very cordial."

The Stevens Point Brewery -- often referred to as the "Point Brewery" -- is considered a regional brewery. It produces about 70,000 barrels of beer a year, which is roughly a million cases.

The company offers Point Special, Horizon Wheat, Cascade Pale Ale, Belgian White, Point Amber, Premiere Light and four seasonal beers: Einbock, Oktoberfest, St. Benedict's Winter Ale and the spanking new Nude Beach, a wheat ale, which will hit shelves for the first time at the end of April.

Nude Beach is edgier than the other Point products, featuring a label with naked beach dwellers. (No, "private" body parts are not exposed.)

Point Brewery employs 30 people, including its brew master of 30 years, John Zappa, a distant cousin of the late musician, Frank Zappa.

"We kept everyone at the brewery when we purchased it," says Martino, who worked for a variety of large breweries before purchasing the Point facility.

Martino says the decision to focus on maintaining and adding new employees forced the brewery partners to make the difficult decision to leave Summerfest.

"We stayed at Summerfest for two years, and the exposure was terrific and the event is run by nice people, but we did a cost-analysis and thought it would be more beneficial if we spent the money in other ways," says Martino.

Martino says his brewery is having its best first quarter to date, and although other breweries are challenged by a hops shortage due to failed crops in the northwest, Point is hanging in there.

Despite the fact so many companies are becoming eco-focused, Point is one of the few breweries that offers returnable bottles.

"Everybody is talking about 'going green' and in my opinion, having returnable bottles is about as green as it gets for a brewery," says Martino.

As for the future, Martino says he and Wiechmann have no plans to sell the brewery, and although they are expanding distribution, they plan to keep Point a Wisconsin-owned-and-operated brewery.

"We want to remain independent. We're having fun and enjoy being on our own. My goal is to work on this until I can no longer work," says Martino.