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Laughing Sun Brewing to launch Bismarck’s only locally crafted beer

By   /   July 17, 2012  /   3 Comments

Brewing beer started as a pastime for Mike Frohlich. But soon it’s going to become his full-time job.

Frohlich and his business partner Todd Sattler are planning to open Laughing Sun Brewing in downtown Bismarck in September. They have already purchased the brewing equipment and leased space on Fifth Street north of Main Avenue for the brewpub. The City Commission approved a liquor license in late May.

Here is an artist's rendering of the Laughing Sun Brewing Company's pub that will be located in downtown Bismarck.

“Everyone’s dying for this pub to open, people are really waiting,” Frohlich said. “We’re going to get there. Its close now, it’s real.”

The last step is getting a permit from the U.S. government to begin brewing and selling beer. Frohlich said he expects to receive the federal permit by mid-July.

Federal approval has proved problematic for others who have attempted to begin marketing North Dakota’s first commercially available microbrew – Edwinton Brewing Company was set to launch in Mandan last year but was stymied by federal regulations. So far, there is no fully operational brewery in North Dakota.

“I’m just excited that Bismarck is going to have its own beer,” City Commissioner Josh Askvig said after Frohlich presented his plans to the city on May 22. “This is a testament to Mike and his partner’s perseverance.”

At first, beer made by Laughing Sun Brewing will be available only at Frohlich’s brewpub. The brewery will have the capacity to produce about 400 barrels (12,400 gallons) of beer per year, which isn’t enough to distribute on a wide scale. At some point, Froehlich said, the operation might grow large enough to begin selling beer through a distributor at other locations.

But customers will be able to buy half-gallon growlers of beer to take home with them, Froehlich said.

“If we can’t make enough beer to keep up with demand, that would be a good problem to have,” he said. “But we want to see how it goes before investing in more brewing equipment.”

Right now, Froehlich’s garage is packed full of stainless steel beer tanks – some so large that he had to flip them on their sides to fit them through the garage door. He has had some of the equipment for years while brewing beer for family and friends, and the rest he purchased recently to prepare for the brewpub’s launch.

Laughing Sun will have five regular beers on tap, with one seasonal beer in the rotation. Frohlich believes he’s perfected his beers and has won numerous awards to prove it. He says his friends and family like it so much that he can hardly keep enough for himself.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he said. “A lot of people think they can brew beer, but brewing good beer consistently is a lot more difficult than it might seem.”

Right now, there are no plans for the Laughing Sun brewpub to serve food. Frohlich said he doesn’t want to compete with the restaurants that are already downtown and others that are on the way.

“We don’t want to be a regular bar, we don’t want to be a restaurant, we just want to make some beer and let people drink it,” he said. “It might be a place for some music if that works out.”

There will be some appetizers at Laughing Sun, and Frohlich said he is talking with downtown restaurant owners about the possibility of working together.

“We’d like to offer a to-go or take-out option, where you call out and we send a runner over,” he said. “I have no desire to open a restaurant. I want us to concentrate on the beer.”

The Laughing Sun brewpub will have enough space to seat 70 people. Renovations will begin after installation of the brewing equipment. Froehlich said he thinks the new brewpub will fit in with the development happening in Downtown Bismarck.

At least four new restaurants and bars are expected to open downtown in the coming year. Lauren Galpin’s development on Broadway includes space for a fine-dining restaurant, Rick Becker’s three-story building on Main Avenue will include a bar and restaurant, and JL Beers is slated to open a bar on North Third Street.

“I think we’re going to be filling a niche,” Frohlich said. “There’s so much going on down there.”

Kate Herzog, assistant director the Bismarck’s Downtown Business Association, said Downtown Bismarck is becoming an entertainment destination and it’s great to see another business move in. She thinks the community will embrace the brewpub.

“These are local businesses for the most part, they’re unique businesses,” she said. “The public’s going to want to be a part of it.”

-Shawn McKenna is a freelance writer for the Great Plains Examiner.

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3 Comments

  1. Laughing Sun Brewing plans to become North Dakota’s third brewery | BeerPulse says:

    [...] via Great Plains Examiner. [...]

  2. Jim Dosch says:

    can’t wait for you to open!!

  3. Bismark restraunts | Blacklakerecor says:

    [...] Laughing Sun Brewing to launch Bismarck's only locally crafted beer … [...]

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