DockHaus takes DockHounds' season into extra innings with onsite brewery in Oconomowoc

OCONOMOWOC - The DockHounds' baseball season is over, but the DockHaus season has just begun with a different flavor of entertainment.

Inside WBC Park in Oconomowoc, a new taproom has taken the field, just one way the owners have actively marketed the facility as an entertainment complex, not just a ballpark. That's on top of other events, notably the every-other-Friday Italian fish fry, featuring Joe Albanese, which kicks off Oct. 20.

Such off-season events were part of the broader plan from the start, when WBC Park, 1011 Blue Ribbon Circle North, was opened in 2022 to primarily serve as the home of the Lake Country DockHounds, the local pro team affiliated with the American Association of Professional Baseball.

"It's unique," said Tom Kelenic, owner and managing partner of Lake Country Live, which operates the DockHounds and the complex. "Obviously, there's not a footprint to go by, so we're just blazing our own trail here to see what the public is looking for."

It is, after all, a Wisconsin Brewing Company venue

The taproom is the byproduct of a decision that started as the result of a much more modest deal: the stadium's naming rights, for Verona-based Wisconsin Brewing Company, which wanted to expand its presence in both Waukesha and Milwaukee counties. Obviously, it didn't end there.

The DockHounds wanted WBC to create a custom label brew for the team and ballpark. The brewer complied, creating Walk-Off Lager, a brew that quickly gained the attention of beer lovers.

Again, it didn't end there. According to Lisa Kelenic, Tom's wife and the DockHounds' chief operating officer, the discussion turned toward WBC producing the product onsite.

"Further dialogue led to the idea of WBC creating a pilot brewery within the ballpark that would not only brew Walk-Off, but other small-batch craft brews to coincide with special events and seasons year round," she said, noting the addition of Walk-Off Dinger in the 2023 home opener.

In the end, after going through the myriad approvals needed, WBC used about 1,500 square feet of space in the ballpark's ProHealth Care Pavilion to build the five-barrel pilot brewery. Lisa Kelenic said WBC owns all the brewing equipment, and the DockHounds and Lake Country Live own and operate the DockHaus Taproom. Both companies collaborate on new ideas and promotions.

"Plans and events continue to evolve on a daily basis," Lisa Kelenic said. "We will be releasing a brewing schedule on our website."

Taproom adds to the ballpark's appeal

Tying into the products of an active brewery makes sense, Tom Kelenic said.

Given the ballpark's namesake, the taproom seems a natural fit. Because the taproom, open from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from October to May, is housed within the enclosed sections of WBC Park, it's a comfortable off-season setting that isn't dependent on the weather.

It features food specials, Lake Louie Brewing beer flight specials and Thursday Night Football games (shown on numerous TV screens) on the club level. Thursday's attractions also include a $5 beer special for the DockHounds signature beer, Walk-Off Lager, brewed by Lake Louie Brewing.

"It's obviously a working brewery that we wanted people in this community to see what kind of beer WBC makes, and to be able to sample it and taste it," Tom Kelenic said. "At the end of the day, there are a lot people out there who aren't big fans of baseball, but they are always looking for somewhere else to go and experience."

The food specials vary. The mid-October specials included DockHaus' Golden Hour Burger (hamburger with house cheese sauce, Spicy Mama Lil Pepper relish, garlic aioli, crispy onions and BBQ sauce), The Flat Za (flatbread, house marinara, blue cheese, crispy bacon, chicken and chives) and Oktoberfest-themed sausage plates and pretzels.

Part of the plan is to have the DockHaus remain open during the baseball season, as well, though that schedule has yet to be determined, Lisa Kelenic said.

Fish fry also proving to be a big draw

The Kelenics said the taproom has been warmly received. But the other feature, Albanese's fish fry, has been sizzling with interest in advance of the inaugural Oct. 20 event, with interest carrying forward into the schedule for the rest of the year.

"Just in the first Friday here when we discussed it in our meetings (Oct. 16), we had north of 200 reservations," Tom Kelenic said. "It's every other Friday, and there's already been a lot of bookings, but we were a little bit skeptical about Dec. 29, because that's between the holidays, and even that's filling up."

Other winter programs will keep the park busy until the team returns in May.

"The DockHaus will feature special events, sports leagues and more all winter long," said Bryan Giese, marketing manager for WBC Park and the DockHounds. "Just because the baseball season is over for the DockHounds doesn’t mean that fans can’t come out to the stadium and enjoy the taste of summer."

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or  james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at  @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New taproom serves custom brews and more at WBC Park in Oconomowoc