Moreover, it is known for its Swiss-German influenced brewing expertise. The New Glarus Brewery recently built a new brewery which is fondly called the Hilltop Brewery as it is found... well... on a hill! I visited the old New Glarus Brewery several years ago. The new brewery is considerably larger. This makes sense, since this brewery's popularity has taken off and continues to grow to meet the needs of its customers!
New Glarus Brewery's claim to fame is Spotted Cow. Although Spotted Cow is, by far, one of my least favorite New Glarus brews, I hold it a special place in my heart. After all, this was the first NG beer I ever tasted. Furthermore, this beer probably is why I like beer and have become the beer snob that I am! I consider it to be a gateway beer for people who drink cheap, crappy beer (or who do not drink beer at all.) This is unfiltered and yeasty, so it is full of flavor, but is light and has a wheat-like fruity quality. If you haven't tasted it, you must! I am serious. It is really easy to drink!
My current favorites from the NGBCo include:
Hop Hearty Ale - a slightly bitter Wisconsin IPA
Stone Soup Ale - an all around fantastic Abbey style ale
Staghorn Octoberfest - an amber slow lager only available in the autumn
My brewery tour was with two Japanese families who were in the area for a wedding. It was exciting for me to share some of Wisconsin's beer culture with them. This is a self-guided tour. It is nice because you can take things at your own pace. However, I wish there had been more staff/us interaction. I like feeling like I am hearing something "personalized." When I went on the tour at the old brewery, it was literally a circle. There were handheld devices which led you through the brewing process, but for the ever-restless youth (like me) it is not fun to just listen. The brewery itself is beautiful! Brand new... shiny... great! The best part of any tour is, of course, the tasting. The weather was lovely on this day, so we grabbed some picnic tables and sampled all of the brews they had available while gazing at the farm spotted hills. Three 3oz samples sell for $3.50, and you get to keep the little glass.
If you want to tour the brewery, you can Monday-Sunday, 10am-4pm. For that extra-special treat, they offer hard hat tours every Friday at 1pm. You have to sign up for this one in advance, and it costs you $18.50 plus tax. I haven't made it on the hard hat tour just yet... but it is in the making. I will hopefully report back soon!
Cheers!
