Visting New Glarus

[rico567]

We were on our way from Mineral Point to Madison WI Sunday, so we stopped off in New Glarus and toured the brewery. Beautiful and very impressive operation. It was 1100 on a Sunday morning, so we just took the self-guided tour- the place is very well laid out for this, and there is a wandering Q&A person. We then picked up some beverages from the store and a few items from the gift shop and went on our way. I can recommend stopping to anyone who happens to be in the area, they're open 10 - 4:30.

 

[Soopa]

I'm headed to Madison next week and am definitely planning on taking a tour of New Glarus on the way. Do they have guided tours or just self-guided ones? Do they have complimentary tastings?

 

[rico567]

I'm headed to Madison next week and am definitely planning on taking a tour of New Glarus on the way. Do they have guided tours or just self-guided ones? Do they have complimentary tastings?

They have people who will guide you if you request it. On Sunday, they had a person roaming the brewery, answering the questions of those who had them.

The bottling line was stopped (of the half-dozen tours we've taken across the country, we have NEVER seen a bottling line run), but they had a big flat-screen TV, and you pushed a button and it ran a film of the bottling line filling kegs & bottles.

They have a tasting room as part of the gift shop, and a patio outside to sit & drink. Small "sample size" tastings are 3 for $3.50. Best deal is the pint; first pint $6.00, refills are $3.00, and you get to keep the glass.

Don't set yourself up for disappointment at their store: these are NOT discount prices, and they say so and say why right on the web site. They state that you're likely to be able to buy a given beer cheaper at a retailer, because they refuse to undercut their distributors or retailers. We shopped at the store because we wanted to be sure of a good selection.....and they had it. We were able to buy a bottle of the Belgian Red, and also their Golden Ale brewed with Brettanomyces.

 

[GoleyBrew]

It's a really great place. You can sign up for a guided "hard hat" tour on Fridays but you have to book well in advance. Wisconsin loves spotted cow but you really can't beat Fat Squirrel.

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

The bottling line was stopped (of the half-dozen tours we've taken across the country, we have NEVER seen a bottling line run)

There's a fairly good reason for that...brewery owners don't want to deal with tour-takers with broken glass pieces embedded in their faces

I've never been to New Glarus, although my boss has. Probably why we have an open-fermentation room in our new brewery.