UW-Madison works with brewing company on wild lager

MADISON — A Wisconsin brewing company official says a project with the University of Wisconsin-Madison aims to create the first wild lager brewed in North America.

Wisconsin Brewing Co. President Carl Nolen tells The Wisconsin State Journal the project uses a Wisconsin yeast strain never used before in commercial beer production.

The weeks-long brewing process began Oct. 11. Students assisted Wisconsin Brewing Co. brewmaster Kirby Nelson with creating the wort, a sugar-rich liquid that's extracted from barley. Students then added the Sheboygan yeast strain into the wort.

The university has long had an on-campus brewery for food science and microbiology students to study the fermentation process. The university and the brewing company began working together in 2015 to bring student recipes to market.