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Isaac Showaki sees a niche in the Midwest brewing market.

That’s why Showaki, who helped co-found 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Chicago in 2011 but left the company in 2013, has announced plans for a $5 million brewery on Madison’s Southeast Side that will primarily make beer on contract for other beer companies.

Wisconsin is home to Stevens Point Brewery, City Brewing Co. in La Crosse and Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, all significant players in the contract brewing scene. Showaki, however, believes his Octopi Brewing Co. can make a better product and provide management and marketing consulting services to strengthen the business models of the beer companies with which he works.

“I know what it takes to build a brand from scratch and make it very successful,” said Showaki, who last month moved to Madison, where his wife is a doctor at UW-Hospital. “There’s very little capacity (for contract brewing), and the capacity that is out there is not very good.”