MISQUAH — At 3:17 Saturday afternoon, Mud Lake Brewing Co. had two empty stools at the bar.

They remained empty for seven minutes.

This is news only because seventeen days ago more than three hundred people were standing in Second Avenue waiting for Walt Sorensen to cut a canvas loose with a pocketknife, and because through the first two weekends the taproom’s official occupancy of sixty-two behaved less like a limit than a civic math problem.

The third weekend looked more like a business.

There was still a line Friday at six, when the Martinez truck was in the alley. There was still a wait Saturday after seven. But there were also stretches in which a person could walk through the door, sit down and order without being observed by half the town.

Annika Holt considers that an improvement.

“We were hoping to operate a taproom eventually,” she said.

The Mud Lake Amber remains the best seller. Second Creamery Pale is still on. Year Fourteen Stout continues to send one dollar per pint to the First Lutheran basement roof fund, an arrangement that has now generated enough money to become useful and nowhere near enough to end a fourteen-year campaign.

Jonas Holt said the production schedule has settled enough that the brewery can now plan by week rather than by emergency. Two fermenters are in regular rotation. Keg inventory for the taproom and the Lions’ fair order is back to normal. The kitchen remains intentionally small because the Friday-and-Saturday food arrangement with Mateo and Sofia Martinez has worked better than either business expected.

Mateo Martinez said the truck now parks in the alley by routine rather than invitation.

“We know where the extension cord reaches,” he said. “That is when something becomes official.”

The Holts’ most encouraging development, Jonas said, is that several customers have complained about the music volume, one about the temperature near the front window and another about the absence of a coat hook.

“Those are regular-business complaints,” he said. “I was delighted.”

Deb Pavek at the Northern Tap said the new brewery has changed Saturday traffic but not eliminated tavern business. The two establishments are drawing overlapping crowds at different hours, she said, which is roughly what she predicted when she supported the license in July.

“People still want a burger and a stool where nobody explains hops to them,” Pavek said. “There is room for both.”

Mud Lake Brewing will keep its current Wednesday-through-Sunday hours through September and review the schedule after Labor Day traffic settles. The Martinez truck remains in the alley Fridays and Saturdays for now.

Earl Magnuson has continued to refer to the building as the creamery.

Nobody has corrected him.