Oktober is here! And so is Beer Week

In honor of Oktoberfest and the Madison area's local breweries, I am kicking off Beer Week.

I realize it is historically incorrect for me to link Oktoberfest with only beer. Even more incorrect is the fact that I went to New Glarus, a Swiss town (rather than German), to kick off Beer Week.

The New Glarus Brewing Company has one of those feel good sucess stories behind it. Husband and wife own the business together. It's been named one of the World's Ten Best Breweries at the World Brewing Championships among other awards for the individual beers. NGBC was also just ranked number 1735 on Inc. 5000 that ranks the fastest growing private companies in America.

The drive to the New Glarus Brewing Company took roughly....say..hmmm a half an hour. On our way there, we stopped in Paoli to get cheese curds. We heard word from a local that the bridge was out on our originally planned route. The detour was minor. We heard word from the same source that if we are going to New Glarus, we had better stop to eat some Ruesti at one of the local ethnic eateries.

The brewery was easy to find. We signed up for a brewery tour in the gift shop. It is self guided tour that uses large communication devices that resemble cell-phone models from the early 90's (think zack morris from saved by the bell.) I think my favorite part of the tour were the big copper vats that brew the beer. The second favorite part was the microbiology room. One of the food scientists was playing with test tubes, probably working on some new flavor of brew.

I will admit, I skipped a few...or five...stations to get to the tasting room. For $3.50 we sampled four 3 oz. glasses of beer, and we were able to keep the souviner glass, AND we got a certificate for a free tap beer at some restraunts in town.

The graphics and packaging are genius too.

Refreshing. We first sampled Totally Naked. Then we sampled Yokel (horay!). Then Hometown Blonde. And finished with the Wisconsin Belgian Red, which was a highly carbonated, intensely flavored cherry fruit beer. All were my favorites.

We ended the day at the Glarner Stube, an authentic Swedish restraunt. I had a cheese burger and cottage cheese while the rest of my group savored the flavors of the Swedes. We all shared and order of Ruesti, a giant, crispy hashbrown pattie with aged swiss cheese melted throughout. Delicious. I used my free beer coupon from the brewery on a Spotted Cow.

It was sad to say good-bye to New Glarus at the end of the day.

If you are planning a visit, be sure to look for the new brewery being built just up the road. It is expected to be done this fall (2007). For more information check out the website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/

And if you want to stay and play in New Glarus, plan your day with www.swisstown.com