New Glarus Brewing, Capital Brewing, and the Great Dane Brewpub...oh and the "Drinking and Writing" event...all in one freakin weekend!

Ambitious..yes. Alot of beer and beer info to consume in two days..yes. Tired as hell after leaving Chicago for Wisconsin at 8am and returning at 11pm at night with around 7 hours on the road...yes. Oh and sleeping for 5 hours only to wake up and go to the "Drinking and Writing" gathering at the Hop Leaf the next day..yeah..that was pretty extreme.

So out of of the great beer geek mind that is housed in my skull I thought it would be a superb idea to to knock out the new New Glarus Brewery ( New Glarus, WI ) AND Capital Brewery (Madison, WI) in one day...the Great Dane Brewpub (Madison, WI) part didn't even come to me until we were on the road. So to answer the original question..ambitious? Yes!

In fact our poor friend Henry was pulled along for the entire experience while visiting us in Chicago via Coeur d'Alene, ID.

I really just want to primarily write about the New Glarus Brewery. Honestly..I've not seen a more beautiful brew house. Granted it is brand spanking new, and the grand opening was the following day (hows that for timing right?), but I honestly have not been in a more impressive brewery. Neither words nor pictures really do it justice. It is a testament to a love of brewing and what can be accomplished by offering a local product, to a local audience (they only distribute in WI), by a truly passionate entrepreneurial spirit with the support of a community. NGB is one of those stories that are just begging to be written and distributed to the beer geek audience out there...but so much would be lost in the text it's one of those places you simply need to visit.

If you can picture a large artisanal house planted atop a hill complete with scenic green vistas, bubbling creeks, and a fresh gentle breeze smelling of earth and freshly worked crops..well then you can picture the New Glarus Brewery. I only wish I had better pictures to support this description..but..as above..so much would is lost in the translation.

Once inside you are in a whole new world than what you just left at the door. Not that you've left the scenic vistas and atmosphere at the door but rather you've just stepped into a professional brewing establishment laid out in such a way that I'm sure the German designers who worked this project use it as their primary example when courting new clients (sorry..a little of my sales career bleeding through there..). Somehow New Glarus manages to feel small..while being large in production on the local level . After visiting their prior (expanded 1x) brewery I can say that the original brew house was no slouch..but this new establishment has not only grown in production capacity but also in functionality..and more importantly..in it's ability to engage the individuals out there who are thirsty for not only Uff-Da Bock but also for knowledge and a appreciation of how artisanal product can grow and engage those who love it as well as a new audience.

To summarize..you NEED to visit the New Glarus Brewery.

Onto Capital in Madison, WI - well..I admit I don't have much to say. You see the problem in hitting New Glarus first is like watching the MLB world series, and then driving 2 hours to go watch the college world series. I don't mean to put this in a light that makes Capital look poorly, that would be hard to do considering the number of awards they have won for their beers, but I am saying from the perspective of a beer fan..well..it would be difficult to be impressive after walking through New Glarus. We didn't even manage to hit the brewery tour here because we spent so much time in New Glarus. I did manage to get out with a new growler ( I like collecting brewery growlers ) full of their most recent offering of American Pale Ale and we did "kick it" (thats what the kids say) in their bier garten for a little bit but the crowd was much more of a college level attendance, which is a good thing for craft beer, but after being on the road for so long we didn't want to "hang" (again - the kids say that nowadays) for very long..so we headed for downtown Madison, WI.

I somehow managed to find the Great Dane Brewpub after my iphone, and more importantly, my iphone GPS died on me ( it should be noted that I thought taking the "scenic route" through rural WI to New Glarus would be a fine idea..which it was..just not in terms of mobile phone battery strength ). I was pretty excited, and impressed by this brewpub. According to the website they usually have 11 taps of their own brews flowing, and 3 casks at all times. Problem was that when we got there (around 5pm on a Friday) they had nothing on cask so I settled for their watermelon wheat brew..which was delicious and a perfect compliment to the previous brews we had consumed during the day..but I did make it a point to find them to sample some cask conditioned ales..so it was a partial wash..but not a total one. I will say that their watermelon wheat was amazing. I know some of you are reading and thinking "fruit beers are weak, unless they are lambics"..let me tell you that this was a great tasting brew and that "good" fruit beers are hard to not only turn out, but also to make consistant. Enough said.

I'll wrap this up quickly with the "Drinking and Writing" event held at the Hopleaf (Chicago, IL - Andersonville neighborhood) on the following day. This was our second D&W event within the past few months and I must say I enjoy them immensely. I've not experienced any other beer associated event that was educational not only inn craft beer terms, but also in the categories that the events are based around. We spent a few hours talking back and forth with not only fellow craft beer people but also with folks who enjoyed writing primarily. If you couple those two variables with random beer culture people (like my new friend who I purchased a 1930's Pabst can from (that had instructions on how to open the can on it mind you..) for $10 you simply cant miss. I cant wait for the next D&W event!

Well if your still reading this, and I hope you are, then you have certainly put in some time on my little beer blog..and I appreciate it. Cheers to you!

Salute!!
Brian