Piggly Wiggly officially has their own house craft beer brand with the help of 3 Sheeps Brewing. The beers started hitting stores over the past few weeks.
Grant Pauly, founder of 3 Sheeps in Sheboygan, Wisconsin first started going Piggly Wiggly as a kind in nearby Manitowoc. Family shopping trips to the “Hoggly Woggly” aka “The Pig” left an impression all the way through adulthood. Piggly Wiggly might at one point be synonymous with The South hailing from Arkansas, The Pig brand is strong in the Badger State.
Piggly Wiggly already sells Pauly’s 3 Sheeps brands all over Wisconsin. Now, 3 Sheeps Brewing and The Pig have a new partnershp, Piggly Wiggly beer.
Three house-branded beers are available exclusively at Piggly Wiggly stores across Wisconsin. And unlike the typical grocery store beer play—slap a new label on an existing product and call it a day—3 Sheeps actually created each of these beers from scratch. No rebranding some beer sku here. 3 Sheeps is all in on some Pig originals.
The lineup includes a Midwest IPA, German Pilsner, and Amber Lager— three styles that are refrigerator staples. Triple dry-hopped gummy bear lactose imported vanilla bean rare coffee quadruple barrel-aged beers with a Saturday morning cartoon trademark infringed label need not apply.
If you think about it, the partnership makes perfect sense. Especially for Wisconsin. The land where their Kwik Trip gas stations are 30% beer cooler. Bars open early for knitting circles so grandma can have a beer before noon. The Midwest loves beer. So does Piggly Wiggly.
The first look at these beers, the branding is on point, but the expectations were low. Until you turn the can and see the 3 Sheeps Brewing branding on the side, dispelling any fears that this is a marketing stunt. The pilsner is crisp with a touch of bitterness, the Midwest IPA leans hard on the (Mid)West Coast, and our personal favorite – the Amber Lager is everything the style is supposed to be.
For now, the Piggly Wiggly beers are only available across Wisconsin. While the demand might be tempting to expand beyond the state, Pauly and Piggly Wiggly are happier than a pig in… beer to keep in local for now.
Next time a Wisconsinites are at The Pig grabbing a milk and some donuts, you can toss in Piggly Wiggly beer too. It’s probably the most Wisconsin thing you can do in the morning short of drinking it in the parking lot before you drive home.
