New Glarus Brewing Co

Entrance to Paradise?

The next day we checked a few local activities and businesses. The Fire Department was holding its annual event and we stopped for a bit and had fun watching people use fire hoses to push a ball across a field of play. It was bit like soccer only with long distance streams of water.

After a late lunch, we headed to the New Glarus Brewing Co. The brewery is now situated on a hilltop to the southeast of the main part of town. Having been to the original, I reacted Wow! as Sandra and I pulled up to the building. Big! too as as we walked through the $20 million facility from the copper kettles for mashing to the line for bottling. Sandra, in particular, seems amazed by all the piping from place to place in brewery.

We then stepped into the tasting room. It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon nearing the close of 4 pm and the room was packed. Once we received a sample, we went back in line for the next and drank the current offering as we waited--it was that busy! We tried a couple of wheats, a coffee stout, a belgian abbey ale, and even their lambic-style cherry beer called Belgian Red. I wasn't crazy about the special abbey brew, but Sandra enjoyed it. The others was good. The Cracked Wheat impressed me and I'm not always appreciative of wheat beers.

After getting our last pour, we stepped outside to savor the Belgian Red on a nice summer day. The view of the valley from the hilltop is nice. The photo of New Glarus in the previous post came from the vantage point outside the brewery.

We headed down to the Depot, which is the new shop for the New Glarus beers, and picked a selection from an offering that is much more expansive than what was available at the old brewery shop. I planned to pick up more later, but I wanted to make sure to get some now, particularly ones that the local grocery might not be carrying. I had first tasted the beers a decade ago when I managed a liquor store in the western suburbs. However, after only being in the Illinois market for a few years, New Glarus Brewing pulled out due to rising demand in their home state of Wisconsin and the arcane restrictive distribution laws in Illinois. So I always stock up on at least a case because the beer is not available back home.

A case later, bought and stored in the car, I gathered the camera and took some photos outside.

Here's a view of the tasting room side of the facility from the outdoor area:



Side View

We both admired the moment.



Sandra Views the Valley

And a couple more views...



Before the Valley


Facing Westward

If you get a chance, check out their web site and try some New Glarus beer. Particularly, if you're in south-central part of Wisconsin, you can find Spotted Cow in many places; it's a tasty lighter offering which is great for summer. Also try it on tap--the bottled version pales in comparison.