I have read that: “Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish… and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.” And while I don’t necessarily agree with that philosophy, I certainly do enjoy a cold brew as much as the next guy. So, when I found out that a brewery was fairly close by in Green County, it was a natural thing to want to visit. Besides, I had received a mailing that offered brewery tours, wine tasting, cheese factory tours and discounted rates along with a “Fun Pass” that got me into the Huber tour for free!
Please note: The brewery is still there… It’s just not Huber anymore. Although Huber beer is still made there, it is now the Minhas Craft Brewery, and is owned by brother and sister, Ravinder & Manjit Minhas. rk
Getting to Green County
Located in Southwestern Wisconsin’s Green County, the Joseph Huber Brewing Co. has been making beer since 1895. In fact, I learned that this particular brewing company is the second oldest in the country. Located in Monroe, Wisconsin, the Huber Brewing Company is only about 2½ hours – at the most – from the suburbs of Chicago. We took the scenic route from the ‘burbs. Follow route 20 to Route 26 north, out of Freeport, which later turns into Route 69 in Wisconsin. It was a joy to not have to deal deal with the racecar mentality of Interstate 90-94!
We left at about 7:15 A.M. and were in the rolling hills of Monroe by 9:30. Our tour didn’t start until 11:00, so we had some time to wander around town. Monroe is a small town of about 11,000 with a town square built around a really picturesque old courthouse, built in 1891. There are lots of cool shops to check out, along with a number of bar-type places to eat. My favorite is a place called Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern. It’s been located on the square (1031 16th Ave) since 1931.
Huber Brewery
We walked over to the brewery at about 10:45. There were only two others inside who were waiting to take the tour (it was May I figured that May must be a great time to go on excursions). After a 15-minute video, we were guided through the smallish brewery by one of the friendliest guys I have met.
He has been working for Huber for about 30-plus years and seems to have loved every minute of it. I won’t bore you here with the tour’s details, but you should take the tour yourself. Even without the Fun Pass, it’s only $2! (although the tour is a bit pricier now in 2023) The best part is that at the end of the tour, you get to taste some of the products – including Rhinelander Beer, Berghoff Beer and Blumer’s Root Beer. The root beer is incredibly tasty.
We then stopped at Baumgartner’s for a beer and a sandwich – cheese sandwich that is. Or you could get a Braunschweiger and cheese, salami and cheese, or any of a dozen other varieties of cheese sandwiches. (Well, it IS Wisconsin, ya know!) By the way, since we were not very hungry, we split a cheddar sandwich – it was only $2.00! Great cheese, friendly folks and ice-cold beer. What more could you ask?
New Glarus
Since it was still early in the day, after the tour, we headed north to another small town: New Glarus, but not before making note of the local Alp and Dell cheese factory at the edge of town. (We would sample their wares on the way back home.) New Glarus is another quaint, small town in Southwestern Wisconsin. It was an easy drive, only about 20 minutes north of Monroe.
Both towns have a distinctly Swiss look, feel and population. There is also a small brewery in New Glarus that makes Spotted Cow Ale, but it was not open for tours on Saturday – at least not in May. We did stop in several shops, including a wonderful bakery, Ruef’s Meat Market, Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate, and the New Glarus Primrose Winery.
Most offered samples and we gladly accepted the fudge, landjaegers and Swiss pastry. Had I been headed in the other direction, I would have filled my car with goods and goodies for the ride home.
But we were headed for Madison and a night’s rest. In my next article, I’ll share with you the second half of our weekend excursion and our visit to Cave of the Mounds, Little Norway and lunch in Mt. Horeb, before heading back through Monroe and a stop at Alp & Dell to load up on that delicious Wisconsin cheese!
R. Karl
