Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellan Bartosch.
Hi Kellan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My brother Davin has always had unique interests and excelled in ways other kids didn’t – our parents deserve a lot of credit for encouraging that. He was good at chess, racquetball, robotics, and went to cooking camp to name a few. So when he started homebrewing it at first became an all encompassing hobby, but after he graduated from college and was trying to find his footing in the world of work with no luck it became a “how can you brew for a living?” Once I graduated from college and was trying to find my path, I felt like I had the entrepreneurial spirit in me and I knew Davin could be great at this so it became “how can we open a brewery together?” That led us on separate paths to learn all that we could about brewing and the business of beer before we came back to our hometown in 2012 to work on opening WISEACRE. Davin had gone to brewing school in Chicago and then German before coming back to Chicago to work as a professional brewer. I went to grad school at night in Nashville working on our business plan while spending 3 years working for a beer distributor before I got a job in Sales working for craft beer pioneers Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No and it still isn’t. Don’t get us wrong there are plenty of highs, but running a business is challenging because things are always changing. We’re still learning to embrace that. You can do something great, but you can’t rest on your laurels as you need to be thinking about what’s next.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are the biggest and best selling craft brewery in Tennessee. We are considered one of the best lager making breweries around after winning 5 medals combined at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival for our lager. Our pilsner Tiny Bomb is our best seller and has won a silver at the Great American Beer Festival in 2025 while taking home a bronze in 2014. Our 99 calorie light lager Sky Dog won a Gold Medal in 2024 and it’s sister brand Sky Dog Amber Lager won a Gold Medal in 2025. Our Oktoberfest Marzen lager won a bronze medal at the World Beer Cup in 2025. In addition to producing these and other beers for distribution, we have 2 taprooms in Memphis that serve batch cocktails, wine, and have Non-Alc options. Our downtown location has a pizza restaurant called Little Bettie and our Broad Ave location has a sandwich shop called Panuzzo King.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
We both had great mentors with Pete Crowley mentoring my brother in Chicago and Brian Dewey mentoring me in my time out west. They were critical in developing us in our respective roles. We also have great business partners in Frank Smith and the Kemmons Wilson Group. Our staff deserves so much credit for the success of WISEACRE as we are stacked with amazing people who contribute to this organization. We greatly enjoy working with the crew we have around us and are very thankful for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wiseacrebrew.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiseacrebrewingcompany/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WiseacreBrewingCompany/
- Twitter: https://x.com/wiseacrebrew
