DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – Bottoms up! A new brewery held a ceremonial groundbreaking event on Friday in the City of De Pere.

Cocoon Brewing will be opening a 6,000-square-foot brewery that is expected to feature a large taproom and outdoor beer garden.

“I’ve been a home-brewer for about five years and a tap brew lover for a long time before that. The name came from my brother and I. We used to collect butterflies growing up,” said Matt Walters, owner of Cocoon Brewery.

Walters says they’ve been planning the project for around three years and he wanted to begin earlier, but the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on those plans.

“Going through the problems of [COVID-19] with banking and things like that really stalled us out but obviously we got momentum again and we’re ready to go,” added Walters.

The brewery is expected to take around six to seven months to complete before doors officially open.

“Our goal with this space is to be an anchor in the community and have a large outdoor spot where people can congregate when the weather is nice or when it’s cold out too. We’re planning to still make it a festive atmosphere even throughout the seasons,” explained Walters.

The new brewery will be at 2233 Kaftan Way and will feature a wide variety of different beers for the public to enjoy.

For more information about the Cocoon Brewery, click here.