By Beth Pickhard

[Show as slideshow]

By Beth Pickhard

Jeff and Vince Naimon name their beers after fairytale characters. Photo courtesy of Brothers Grim.

Vince Naimon, 29, and Jeff Naimon, 23, brothers and home brewers from Appleton, Wis., began brewing under the name Brothers Grim in January 2011. The brothers rely on friends and acquaintances to taste test their beers, each cleverly bearing the name of a different childhood fairytale.

Q: Why did you decide to name your brand “Brothers Grim”?

Vince: When trying to think of a name for this brewery, everything that we came up with was just twisted. I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, that’s wrong.’ One of the first beers we wanted to brew was a maple porter. We were trying to think of things we could name it, and somehow Rumpelstiltskin came up.

Q: When did you develop an interest in home brewing?

Vince: My friend Josh had a home brew set up in Baltimore, and I would assist him when needed. He wouldn’t let me close to much stuff. It was kind of his thing. It got me thinking, ‘Hey, this is something I could really have fun with.’

Q: What persuaded you to begin your own operation?

Jeff: I had been working full time and going to school for business, and I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to work for anybody else. It was that and Vince coming back to Wisconsin. It just made sense. When Vince sets his mind to do something, and I set my mind to do something, typically we can do it pretty well.

Q: How do you come up with the names for your beers?

Vince: Behind each beer is a slogan. My favorite is Cinderella vanilla cream stout: “If you had a job like Cinderella’s, you’d drink too.”

Jeff: One of the best examples is Red Riding Hood. When you read “Little Red Riding Hood,” you have a young girl skipping through the forest to visit her grandmother. That’s not what we made our Riding Hood. Riding Hood the beer is aggressive.

Q: What are your future plans for brewing?

Jeff: For the next two or three years we’re planning on running the brewery out of our home. We’re both going to have to keep full-time jobs during this time. Hopefully three years from now we’ll be able to get a full-scale facility.

THE BROTHERS GRIM ON TAP:

Beers by Brothers Grim take on titles and taglines based on fairytale characters.

• Big Bad Wolf dark ale: After a hard day of huffing and puffing, even the Big Bad Wolf needs to kick back and relax.

• Cinderella vanilla cream stout: If you had a job like Cinderella’s, you would drink too.

• Little Red Hen strawberry wheat: Who will help you drink this beer? I will!

• Rumpelstiltskin maple porter: Please enjoy and return the bottle as it cannot be spun into gold.

• Rapunzel blonde ale: It’s time to let your hair down and enjoy.

• Red Riding Hood American amber ale: Next time you go to grandmother’s house bring this beer. Forget the baked goods.