The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [106]
Wisconsin
New Glarus
NEW GLARUS BREWING CO.
2400 State Hwy. 69 • New Glarus, WI 53574 • (608) 527-5850 newglarusbrewing.com • Established: 1993
SCENE & STORY
After the tiny New Glarus brewery was founded by Deb Carey and her brewer husband, Dan, something wonderful happened. Their little brewery in the countryside grew so quickly throughout the state and into several others that by 1998 the couple was rethinking a strategy of unchecked growth, and pulled distribution back to Wisconsin only, creating an uproar. The Careys were unfazed; they wanted their brewery to stay strong and local. And so the only way to drink some of the best beer in America is to go to Wisconsin, and ideally, New Glarus, to see where it’s made.
It’s a testament to ingenuity and the power of a brewery to pull together a community. Rather than stifling sales, limiting their sales market propelled sales higher, and by 2007, the Careys constructed one of the country’s most appealing breweries, a 75,000-square-foot Bavarian-style brewery on a hill about a mile from the original location, which cost the couple $21 million. It’s a fairy tale of steep pitched roofs, creamy exterior walls with exposed beams, stone stair approaches, and gleaming copper kettles inside. Free, self-guided tours are offered Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; “Hard Hat” tours depart every Friday at 1 p.m. from the original Riverside brewery location, where pilot batches are still developed and wood aged in some cases ($20 per person and reservations required).
PHILOSOPHY
Down to earth, experimental, fun, and delicious. As Dan puts it, “Some people paint, some sing, others write . . . I brew.”
KEY BEER
Spotted Cow, a pale, mellow, and wheaty lager is the flagship, but it’s the waxed-top, 750-milliliter bottles of Wisconsin Belgian Red that ends up in the trunk of the most choosey visitors. It’s a racy, scarlet ale of 4.0% ABV brewed with a pound of whole sour Montmorency cherries per bottle, local wheat, and Belgian malt, then aged in oak tanks and balanced by German Hallertau hops which have been aged for a year in the brew house. It’s as bright and jammy as a Wisconsin cherry pie.
La Crosse
THE BODEGA BREW PUB
122 S. 4th St. • La Crosse, WI 54601 • (608) 782-0677 bodegabrewpublax.com • Established: 1994
SCENE & STORY
Upon entering this magnificently cluttered bar, you may leave behind the plague of so many beer travelers—indecision. For among myriad other things before you is a 5 x 5-inch “beer wheel,” which costs a flat rate of $3.25 per spin and gets the winner—everybody is a winner, actually—a frothy glass of whichever brew it lands on. Which means you could score a freshly tapped Wisconsin craft brew, or a delicious Erdinger Weisse beer from Bavaria . . . or perhaps something a little less lucky in the wet air category. But so it goes.
The walls and shelves are lined with old beer bottles, tap handles, and beer signs. With fourteen taps, plenty of local Wisconsin selections, and some four hundred international bottles (lovingly cramped in a lazy Susan–style cupboard), your pint glass soon runneth over. Food helps delay any damage. Try the Cubano sandwich with its thick amalgam of roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles, and mustard, or at least grab a handful of free popcorn.
PHILOSOPHY
Fortune favors the bold! The Bodega is a craft-beer-lover’s paradise, and a great place to try eclectic brews. But the bottom line is you’re here because being here is a kick.
KEY BEER
Oh, come on . . . spin the wheel.
Madison
THE OLD FASHIONED
23 N. Pinckney • Madison, WI 53703 (608) 310-4110 • theoldfashioned.com • Established: 2005
SCENE & STORY
Befitting its name, the Old Fashioned channels the feel of an old-timey supper club rich with Wisconsin history. It’s located in the heart of Madison, with a view of the capitol building.