3 Sheeps Brewing to make Wisconsin’s official 250th anniversary beer

3 Sheeps Brewing will make Wisconsin’s official beer for America’s 250th anniversary after the Wisconsin Semiquincentennial Commission picked the Sheboygan brewery on June 25, giving the independent producer a statewide showcase tied to the semiquincentennial. The choice puts Stay Golden, the brewery’s golden lager, into the center of Wisconsin’s civic commemoration at a time when breweries are chasing more than nostalgia from these heritage-minded releases.

Stay Golden is built as a 4.5% ABV lager with 24 IBUs and Cascade and CTZ hops, and 3 Sheeps lists it as an occasional release. The beer is pitched as a tribute to the lagers that helped define Wisconsin brewing, but the project also reaches deeper into Grant Pauly’s family story. Pauly has said his great-grandfather served as president of Kingsbury Beer, his grandfather was treasurer and his great-uncle brewed there after Prohibition, giving the beer a direct line to Sheboygan’s brewing past rather than a generic anniversary tie-in.

The packaging got a full patriotic reset for the 250th campaign. 3 Sheeps redid the label in red, white and blue, changed the bottom copy from “From Wisconsin, For Wisconsin” to “Proudly Independent Since 1776,” and swapped the tilted gold crown for a patriotic stovepipe hat. The special packaging is expected to run through Labor Day, a window that should give the brewery a longer seasonal push than a one-day announcement ever could.

That matters because the real payoff in official commemorative beer deals usually comes from volume, not ceremony. A state title can open more tap handles, keep a beer visible through summer events and send drinkers into the brewery’s own space. 3 Sheeps’ taproom at 1837 North Ave. in Sheboygan is a 10,000-square-foot, dog-friendly room with 25 taps, and it is set to mark the holiday weekend with special releases and food trucks. The taproom is scheduled to be open Saturday, July 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The state’s semiquincentennial effort is being organized through Wisconsin America250, also known as A250WI, which was established by 2021 Wisconsin Act 95. 3 Sheeps has said the selection fits a broader multi-state wave of official semiquincentennial beers, and the brewery is also leaning on 2026 as its 14th year in business. For now, the immediate value is clear: a familiar Wisconsin lager, a state-backed title and a shot at turning patriotic packaging into actual pours.