home made
Cuyuna Brewing Company Crosby, Minn. By Maria Surma Manka Photography by John Linn
What do vaccine production and beer brewing have in common? It all comes down to science, according to Nick Huisinga. As a vaccine production manager and a beer lover, Nick realized the scientific processes for formulating vaccines and for fermenting beer were quite similar. So he decided to test out whether his scientific chops could translate into a tasty homebrew. After trying a few home-brewing kits, the answer was a resounding yes. Nick added more equipment to his stockpile, experimented with grains and invited enthusiastic neighbors to taste-test his creations. Soon, Nick and his wife, Laura Huisinga, dreamed of opening a brewery. When Nick visited a friend in Crosby, his dream started to come together. Nick’s friend convinced him the community could support a local brewery. After taking in the area’s stunning beauty and meeting with economic development officials, Nick was also convinced. The Crosby area was reinventing itself from a former mining town into a vibrant recreational community (see related story about the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area on page 44). The energy was palpable and Laura also saw the potential. “We just knew something cool was going to happen in the area,” she said. In 2016, the Huisingas purchased a building downtown and began renovations. Nick worked 40 hours Monday to Thursday in Willmar while Laura worked part-time from home and homeschooled their three children. Every Friday, the family drove two-and-a-half hours to work on the brewery. “It was a ton of work,” said Laura, co-owner of Cuyuna Brewing Company alongside Nick. “We slept in a camper in the building’s garage. We opened the brewery in January 2017, less than a year after we closed on the building.”
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We caught up with Laura to hear what’s happening now at Cuyuna Brewing Company. 1. To start, Cuyuna was only open on weekends because the Huisingas commuted from Willmar. But the stress of the commute and the brewery’s success forced big changes. Within a few months, Nick quit his job, the family sold their house and moved to Crosby. 2. N ow, five years in, all the Huisinga children are old enough to work at the brewery, alongside a handful of servers. Laura manages the taproom and is responsible for accounting and human resources. Nick is the sole brewer, though they expect to hire an assistant brewer soon. 3. C uyuna brews 10-12 beers on site. The hazy IPA is a consistent customer favorite. “Our taproom is a gathering place. We have a lot of families and outdoor enthusiasts, like mountain bikers,” said Laura. “It’s such a good vibe.”
