Wauwatosa's Lion's Tail Brewing has temporarily closed. Here's why.

Last month, Lion's Tail Brewing Co. opened its Wauwatosa location to such overwhelming fanfare that the taproom was forced to close early because it ran out of beer.

Weeks later the new location, 8520 W. North Ave., is being forced to close again, but not for a lack of supply. This time the brewery closed its doors because it failed to acquire either a permit or license that is required to operate.

In an Instagram post, Lion’s Tail Brewing explained that the gaffe was a result of confusion relating to the distinction between permits and licenses.

“We made an error and did not have the right type of license in place with the state of WI … simply put we made a mistake when trying to read/understand the state codes,” the post read.

The post did not specify what permits or licenses were missing, but according to Wisconsin law, in order to operate the new Wauwatosa location would have to acquire a Class "B" liquor license, a restaurant license and a brewpub permit.

Since the Lion’s Tail original Neenah location already holds a brewpub permit, all other Lion’s Tail locations must also obtain a brewpub permit in order to operate. As of Oct. 3, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue does not have a record of a brewpub permit for the new Wauwatosa location.

Additionally, Lion’s Tail had to file a federal brewer’s notice in order to commercially brew beer at the Wauwatosa taproom.

Since the licenses would come from the city of Wauwatosa and the permits would come from the state, it is unclear which one the new establishment failed to acquire.

However, the post did mention the issue has nothing to do with the city of Wauwatosa, and the DOR database does not show results for permits to the location, so the issue is likely a state matter.

Related:Gathering Place Brewing is opening a new taproom in Wauwatosa

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The brewery declined to comment on the matter but in its original post explained that the closure had nothing to do with customer/employee safety or health code violations.

In a later post on Facebook, Lion's Tail announced it had worked with the state to obtain proper permits and that it will be re-opening on Wednesday.

"We know there’s some trust to be rebuilt with all of you with the ups and downs of our first few weeks and this truly was a fairly simple permit issue," the Facebook post said. "(We're) very grateful to the State of WI for working with us for a quick resolution to this problem. We can’t wait to be serving up beers and good times in Tosa again."

Beck Andrew Salgado can be reached at 512-568-4070 or Bsalgado@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Beck_Salgado.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lion's Tail Brewing in Wauwatosa closes due to permit or license issue