Cocoon Brewing Company, De Pere

Cocoon Brewing emerged from its… er, cocoon in 2023. Occupying a bright and colorful space in De Pere with a nice view of the Niagara Escarpment (locally referred to as the “ledge”) to the east, Cocoon has become a butterfly of a brewery. (We’ll ease up on the puns, we promise.)

The name comes from the fascination its founders, Matt and Mike, had with exploration and butterfly collecting. The Tap Room is bright and airy, with games and vinyl records inside and fire pits and hammocks outside. The kitchen, where they make unique pizzas, is right in the midst of it all.

The beers at Cocoon Brewing vary widely and you can study your options on a menu or by looking at the one on the wall above the taps with the honeycomb pattern behind it. They tend to rotate beers frequently and note that they only brew 10 barrels of each at a time. At last check (you can get the latest here) they had 95 different beers listed. The styles included Lagers, Pale Ales, Kolschs, Fruited Sours, IPAs, Hazy IPAs, Oat Wines, Ambers, Pilsners, Belgian Trippels, Stouts, Saisons, Sours, Barrel-Aged, Pastry Beers, and more. Who knows what you’ll find there?

The brewery is designed to be a good place to relax with a group too, including outdoor activities from hanging by a fire to swinging in a hammock. They have a “Games Lawn” and an “Event Lawn” and often host live music. The Event Lawn has individually-themed “Cocoons” to hang out in and enjoy. They really take this cocoon thing seriously.

Along with the own craft beers, Cocoon Brewing offers a variety of cocktails, NA beers, and sodas. For food, they have some good appetizers, salads, two types of sandwiches, even risotto bowls… but their specialty is pizza. Classic pizzas, seasonal pizzas, even a decadent S’mores dessert pizza. You’ll find a beer to pair with anything on their menu!

Cocoon Brewing is on Kaftan Way, several miles from the likes of Highway 172, I-43, I-41, Highway 32, or Highway 57. It’s on the east end of De Pere by the rapidly emerging burg of Ledgeview, southeast of Green Bay. It’s worth going out of your way for a stop there!