Our Story

Rush River Brewing Company  in River Falls, WI provides locally brewed ales throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. Owner/Brewers Nick Anderson and Dan Chang started the company in 2004 with the help of a third partner, Robbie Stair after relocating to Minneapolis from Seattle. Robbie owned a farm in scenic Maiden Rock, WI just above the confluence of the Rush River and Lake Pepin. After converting a pole barn into a fully functioning brewery, the trio produced a limited quantity of draft-only beers while steadily building a reputation  for brewing high quality ales. After two and a half years of growth, it became evident that bottled beer was the next move to be made. Luckily, the town of River Falls, WI came to the table with an offer to build a custom building for a brand new brewery. In 2007, the new facility opened its doors with the addition of a refurbished bottling line, and additional fermenters. The new Rush River brewery was now poised to increase production and distributorship. We now have ten distributors in two states and produce nine brands including seasonals. Our small size still allows us to experiment with new styles, while the larger capacity for brewing and storage keep our regular brands flowing out the door.

We produce only unfiltered and unpasteurized ales. This more traditional method of brewing means that we need to stay local to keep our product at peak freshness. Without the filtering of our beer, which strips out the yeast and valuable flavor profiles, it is necessary to keep our products cool at all times. We don’t stabilize our beers with pasteurization so our ales are a fresh, natural product and we sell only locally to keep our flavor profiles in tact. Each bottle and keg will have residual amounts of brewers yeast and proteins in the beer oftentimes giving it a slightly cloudy appearance in the glass. It also contributes to a heartier mouthfeel which is characteristic of a naturally brewed beer. Our brands are full flavored and stand up very well both in cooking and pairing with food. Our goal is to remain at the forefront of small batch, locally brewed ales. We brew for locals only concentrating on consistency of product and innovation of ingredients. We hope you try all of our styles, and enjoy them responsibly.