The company responsible for creating the classic cheesehead is back at it again to highlight the Brewers' run in the playoffs.
Foamation Inc. released the Beer Cheesehead Wednesday. It's the classic cheesehead hat with white foam resembling beer foam on top.
"Cheesehead and beer," Maggie Carter with Foamation Inc. said. "Works perfectly with the Brewers. It looks really realistic as well."
The Beer Cheesehead is a two-part process. The original Cheesehead takes about four minutes to make from a polyurethane blend, placed in a mold. Once it sets, they take another polyurethane mixture is poured on top to create the foam. They are each made individually so they will be different.
"None of the foam drips are going to look the same on any of the pieces," Carter said.
The Beer Cheesehead is one of some 50 different foam items they make at Foamation. In addition to the hats, they make coasters, koozies, earrings and much more. Each year, they make roughly 50,000 hats right here in Milwaukee.
And they only do it with roughly 15 people.
"Many people don't think we're based in Wisconsin or these were ever made in Wisconsin," Carter said. "You may look at all these different hats and might think they're made abroad but it's really a small team pouring each of these by hand."
It's a similar pride felt across the state about something homegrown. It's the same way the company started under Ralph Bruno. He made the original cheesehead from his mother's couch cushions in 1987. He wanted to embarrass his friends and embrace the once insulting phrase about Wisconsinites, cheese head.
The company has expanded to much more than just a dairy delicatessen dome piece. They recently moved into a new facility at the location where the former Horny Goat brewery in Walker's Point. They have an entertainment space they can rent out and also, host a number of tours where guests can make their own cheesehead. They're proud of Wisconsin and Wisconsin backs it up, especially during successful sporting events.
"Our online sales really reflect on what games happening," Carter said. "Say there's a Brewers game one night. Sometimes, our sales are tripled because of their success."
And if the Brewers win two more against the Dodgers and four more after that, you may see more Beer Cheeseheads on the Brewers players when they hit a Championship Parade route.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
For more information on Foamation, including products and tours, you can visit their website here.
