In idyllic Mineral Point, population 2,581, Mike Zupke, the owner of Commerce Street Brewery Hotel, is running one of the only combination hotel/breweries in the state. “I never thought I’d be back in Wisconsin, let alone running a brewery hotel,” he said with a chuckle. 

Zupke grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee. “When I turned 18, I left the state and never thought I was coming back,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is in the middle of nowhere. I gotta get out of here.’”

Like many young gays, he had his sights set on the coast. He went to Ithaca College in New York state for his undergrad and, without much of a plan, found himself in law school at the University of Minnesota. “I thought, ‘I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my life. So I guess I’m going to go to law school,’” he said.

While in law school in Minneapolis, Zupke started working for a local firm in internet domain name arbitration. “If somebody claims your domain name is infringing on their trademark or something, you could file an arbitration instead of going to court. So that became my jam for years after law school,” he said. A chance job offer to work at the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (“the center of keeping the internet working,” according to Zupke) took him to Los Angeles for more than a decade. 

Wisconsin comes calling

But it wasn’t long before Zupke got the itch to start something new. “I was starting to feel burnt out in Los Angeles, and I thought, ‘I want to try something new,’” he said. “So I moved from LA to San Diego to have some fun, and I decided to enroll in beer school. It was perfect for me. And that’s when I decided I wanted to run a brewery hotel. That became my dream.” 

Brewery hotels are not common. There are only a handful in the country. After completing beer school, Zupke was on the hunt for a property. And wouldn’t you know it, he found the perfect one right here in Wisconsin. “I was looking at locations all over the country where I could run a brewery hotel,” he said. “I put in a couple offers but nothing panned out. And then this place in Mineral Point came on the market, and I felt like this is kismet. I’ll be close to home again, and my parents will be happy.” 

Zupke was no stranger to Mineral Point—he vacationed there with his family when he was eight. “My mom had read some book about Cornish miners and she really wanted to have a pasty, and that’s what Mineral Point’s known for: Cornish pasties.” Seeing it as serendipity, Zupke bought the Commerce Street Brewery Hotel and moved in January 2018.

From lawyer to brewmaster

Zupke wasn’t daunted about making the transition from internet domain lawyer to brewmaster. “Change doesn’t scare me,” he said. “I’m a ‘dive in and worry about it later’ kind of a person.”

But when Zupke had a stroke a year ago, he realized quickly he needed extra help. He turned to one of his old draft-line cleaners who recently lost his job. “I asked him, ‘Do you want to make beer for me?’ And he said, ‘I definitely do.’ So Zeke’s been making beer for me for the last year,” Zupke said. “He’s having fun. We always have new beers on tap.” 

The Commerce Street Brewery Hotel has two different brew houses—one that houses 15 barrels, and one that houses one barrel (which is about 31 gallons). Zupke loves setting Zeke loose and encouraging his creativity. “He gets an idea, I tell him go ahead, and he runs with it.” 

Right now the brewery hotel is serving up a pre-prohibition lager using recipes from before the 1920s. Others in the current lineup include the Blonde Betty (a cream ale ode to Betty White, whose third husband was born in Mineral Point), the Stroked Out (a hazy IPA in honor of Zupke’s stroke), and the flagship beer, the Brown Pointer Dog (a dry Irish stout). 

Beers for Betty

The Blonde Betty is one of their most popular beers. “We started a chalkboard where you could buy a friend a beer,” he said. “So people would come in, see their names on the chalkboard, and realize they had a beer waiting for them.”

Zupke said the list quickly grew to about 50 or 60 people at one time. And due to Betty White’s local connection, somebody bought a beer for Betty White as a joke. “But once people saw Betty White on the board they started buying her Blonde Betty beers, and it didn’t stop.” 

What started as a happy hour joke turned into a full-fledged fundraiser. “When she died, people from all over the world started trying to PayPal me and buy her beers. We ended up selling $6,500 worth of beers for Betty White,” Zupke said. The hotel donated the money to local humane societies, since White was an animal welfare advocate. Zupke says they still get occasional orders for Betty White, but they encourage people to donate directly to local humane societies instead. 

What you’re missing in Mineral Point

Zupke said the Betty White story is a reflection of the tight-knit, accepting community of Mineral Point. “Mineral Point is such a cool little town,” he said. “They don’t allow chain businesses, everything is locally owned, and there’s a strong sense of community. It’s such a friendly place.” 

As a gay business owner in rural Wisconsin, Zupke feels like part of the community. “Mineral Point is kind of an anomaly. It was founded by lead miners, then was quiet for a while, and then this gay couple who met in the 30s, Bob and Edgar, took it upon themselves to restore this town to its original shape,” he said. “They preserved all these old buildings and saved these historically significant buildings from falling down.” 

Zupke says that spirit of local pride has stuck with Mineral Point. “The town is full of artists. Everyone is open and accepting.” 

“Locals and tourists love stopping in for a drink, a good meal, or a nice stay,” Zupke said. “We have five rooms, and they all have oversized Whirlpool tubs.” The rooms are large and comfortable, with original brick and hand-carved wooden accents, and some have gas fireplaces. But the brewpub on the first floor is the star of the show. 

The brewpub where they serve their homemade beers and pub classics like shepherd’s pie, as well as Wisconsin favorites like giant pretzels and cheese curds (ask for the jalapeño version). 

The whole place exudes old-world, European charm. It was originally built in 1854 as a warehouse and dry goods store. Since then, it’s been a livestock exchange, barn, veterinary clinic, and factory. 

The pub’s original, exposed wood beam ceiling and handsome, antique bar create a warm, convivial atmosphere. Cozied up to the bar is where you can usually find Zupke, who lives in the hotel’s owner suite. “People expect to see me there,” he said. “But that’s one of the beauties of running a business like this. I’m always making friends, you know? The people who come in become my new buddies. It’s the best job.” 

From internet lawyer to brewmaster to hotel proprietor, Zupke was the last person who thought he’d end up back in Wisconsin. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. “The people here are so welcoming. If you look lost, somebody will probably walk up to you and help you out. They’re so open and wonderful,” he said.