new glarus brewery, wisconsin

If you ever end up in Madison, Wisconsin with a couple hours to kill, go here. New Glarus Brewery is in (duh) New Glarus, which is about 20 miles southof Madison. If you are from California, it is almost just like Solvang, except instead of being a Danish tourist trap, its Swiss. Therefore, almost every building/hotel/restaurant is really tacky and named "Pumple's Olde Tavern" or something like that. They are also obsessed with painting plastic cows.

There is a gem though, and that is New Glarus Brewery. It is situated in rolling green hills about 7 minutes down the road from the main part of the town. When you go there, you can pay a few bucks and do 4 tastings. My favorite is definitely the Raspberry Tarte , the Belgian Red ale is also amazing, which is made with local Door county cherries. Their other famous ones are the Spotted Cow and Fat Squirrel, which are both solid beers. You can go on a self-guided tour of the brewery, which is shiny and very clean. The best part is watching the guy fill kegs, because it looks really funny. New Glarus is one of my favorite breweries that I have been to because it is really beautiful to sit on their patio and overlook the driftless zone of Wisconsin. Also, it was the first craft brewery to be opened by women! woo hoo!