The Glorious New Glarus

Expectations couldn’t have been higher for the first leg of the trip, but with Butz navigating there was some trepidation. We didn’t know what would happen, where we were going, and with Ben riding shotgun, phone apps at his finger tips, and Beets, hung over and rocking the back sweat, it was sure to be a case of blind leading the blind. Much to our amazement the car making great time tracking out past Miller Park, the Petit Center and suburbs on I-94 West. Ben delivered a great mix of tunes, contemporary and old school classics, that kept the conversation flowing.

As we looped around Madison on the beltline, our possible destinations were somewhat limitless, but with a departure from Mad-town south on the Seminole Highway, a few Sconies in the car had an inkling of our first destination.
Passing through the small town of Paoli and traveling south, Ben said to take a right at a T intersection, marked with a small sign labeled “New Glarus,” the car erupted in cheers.

At the far end of town and atop a hill of biblical proportions sat the New Glarus Brewery, a beacon for a beer-swilling culture and these travelers eager to fall off the wagon. Inside the very new, very clean facility we sipped sweet cranberry beer and gawked at how damn clean the brewery was kept - a complete contrast to Lakefront Brewery we’ve been accustomed to.
Along the tour we saw some flocculation drums, traversed halfway up a “Stairway to Heaven,” and continuously compared their industrial facility with Chris and Adam’s home brewing set up.

Beer samples in the gift shop and a couple souvenirs in hand we enjoyed a beautiful view on their outdoor patio, we felt we possibly set the bar too high with our first successful leg of the trip.

Congratulations were dolled out to our Navigator, our glasses were emptied, and as a couple rain drops fell, we set back out on the road, Lish with directions in hand.