Unless you’re a beer nerd, don’t ever ask Dennis Wehrmann to explain how beer is made. He’s from Bavaria. His family has been brewing beer for generations. He has an advanced degree in beer science. And did we mention Wehrmann is German? The guy is, shall we say, very detail oriented. Ask him about brewing beer and you’ll likely get a 20-minute lecture on the life cycle of yeast.
Let us tell you what you need to know: he moved to North Texas in 2003 to work as a brew master for a Two Rows restaurant. When the owners asked him to find a place to contract-brew their beer, Wehrmann saw an opportunity to start his own brewery.
Thus was born Franconia Brewery, in McKinney. With brewer Gavin Secchi (of the Ferrari’s restaurant family), Wehrmann now makes the various beers for local Two Rows restaurants. But this spring he started making a lager and a wheat beer under his own Franconia label.
We can attest to the tastiness of the wheat. We’ve been drinking it since the Old Monk started serving it. You’ll also find it at Frankie’s, Uptown Bar & Grill, and Bullwinkle’s, in Plano-among a few other places. Wehrmann refuses to use a distributor.
“I want this to be a neighborhood brewery, just like we have in Bavaria,” he says. “If someone needs a keg, I’ll put it in my truck and drive it right over.”
So that’s what you should ask him: can you bring me a keg? And remember to say danke schoen.
