On Friday, Component Brewing, 2018 S. 1st St., is releasing its version on a collaboration brew that raises awareness and funds for, according to organizers, “Native American non-profits focused on ecological stewardship, access to ancestral lands and/or revitalization of traditional agriculture and food ways.”
The beer – a Mexican light lager called Native Land – will be available in the Lincoln Warehouse taproom on draft and in 16-ounce cans.
The recipe, name and coordination is a project of Albuquerque’s Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., which is the first Native Woman-owned brewery.
It was launched in November 2021 in celebration of Native American Heritage Month and within fewer than six months nearly 60breweries in 24 states were making their own batches of the beer.
“We are the first brewery in Wisconsin to brew and release the beer so we’re super excited about it,” says Component’s Jonathan Kowalske. “Plus it’s a light Mexican-style lager!”
As is the case with these broad-based collaborations, Bow & Arrow provided the recipe and label art and individual breweries often tinker with both.
Kowalske said they have adhered to the recipe, which uses heritage corn, for their seven-barrel batch.
The brewery is finalizing a nonprofit to which it will donate a portion of the proceeds.
You can learn more about the national beer collaboration here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
