Return to Dairyland,
Land of Beer & Cheese

I'm a big fan of beer -- that should be obvious -- but one aspect of beer making that I really haven't mentioned too much of is the historical perspective. That's what we found a couple weeks ago at the Huber Brewing Company in Monroe, Wisc., a lot of history, among good beer. There's been a brewery in Monroe since 1845. That means the original brewery, that was known as Blumer's, was built before Abraham Lincoln was President. According to information provided by Huber, the Monroe brewery was bought by Joseph Huber in 1947, after having worked at the brewery for about 24 years. Roughly seven years earlier, Huber was credited with saving the brewery from bankrupcty by organizing an employee stock buyout, and he gained a reputation an an honest and dedicated man.

Huber headed the brewery until the late 1970s, when his son Fred took over, now the Weinstein family owns and manages the brewery. Fred Huber retired some years ago and passed away earlier this year. Through the years the Huber's kept the brewery independent and many people in the industry believe this spirit fostered the growth of other microbreweries in the region.

The newest generation of Huber beers is Berghoff beer. Orginally made in Fort Wayne, Ind., Berghoff lager beer has been made since the 1880s, the Berghoff restaurant in Chicago contrtacted the Huber Brewing Co. to brew the beer in 1960. Since then the Berghoff product line has expanded to include a dark version, a bock, an Octobefest and a weiss. The newest additions are a Pale Ale and a Pilsner.

The original lager beer was the first Huber beer I tried, the dark came later, along with the bock. I later discovered the original Huber line of beers. I belive I first ran across Huber Bock at the Empty Bottle, a bar on Western Avenue in Chicago, known for its diverse music. Dubbed the "brown bullet" the Huber Bock at the Empty Bottle can be had a $1.50 a bottle! What fun. I can also recall having some Rhinelander Bock (another Huber product) at a party in Champaign, Ill, about 10 years ago. That was when I learned of the thick returnable brown bottles and heavy cardboard cases that Huber uses to package its beer. Recycling these materials helps keep the beer cheap (about $12 a case), but it's a practice that's not seen too often these days. It's one of the things that makes the Huber beer unique -- it just hasn't changed that much in the last 100 or so years.

Another great place for beer history in Monroe can be found on the square just across from the front of the courthouse. Baumgartners Cheese Store & Tavern is the oldest operating cheese store in Wisconsin. In the front is a deli with some tables and in the back is a tavern with a bar and more tables. We had a couple sandwiches and some Huber beer (Huber Premium and Wisconsin Club) and both the sandwiches and the beers were fresh and tasty.

A quaint sign greets those who choose the backdoor for entering Baumgartner's Cheese Store & Tavern.

Domestic beers such as Huber can be had for $1.45 a pint and the combination sandwiches (meat AND cheese) are $3.75 which isn't a bad deal if you're from the city. There's a lot to look at in Baumgartner's including a huge detailed map of Switzerland on one wall and another mural of a battlefield scene (between bottles beer and wine) on the other. It has to be seen in person to really be appreciated.

A drive to Monroe from Chicago is about two hours and can easily be made as day trip. We even extended our trip to include the Swiss-style town of New Glarus, which is 14 miles to the north, and has a microbrewery noted for its Belgian-style cherry beer. New Glarus Brewing Co. also makes a wide range of English-style and German beers. We pulled into the parking lot and immediately noticed the small hop garden. Once inside the gift shop, we took the self-guided tour through the brewery, got glance at the keg filling operation (in progress) and some nice copper in the brew house. After the quick tour we sampled three of the brewery's beers for $3 that included a souvenir tasting glass.

New Glarus Brewing Co. has a picturesque brewhouse with copper kettles and a peaked roof.

The Spotted Cow, a farhouse ale, was our first sample. It was very light in color with a nice combination of malt flavors and yeasty esters. Light on the hops and just a bit dry, this was a tasty start to our sampling. The next beer was the Copper Kettle, which is a dark wheat beer, with real nice caramel malt flavor. The final sample was the Coffee Stout. Served at room temperature, this beer had a huge, dry roasted malt character, that really made it taste like coffee. Very tasty! We picked up some New Glarus beers (including the wondeful Belgian Red) and some stickers, and made our way home. Of course, we couldn't leave the state of Wisconsin without stopping for cheese, which we picked up on our way back through Monroe.

Links:
Huber Brewing Co.
New Glarus Brewing Co.
Monroe, Wisc. (Chamber of Commerce)

A sign welcoming vistors to the beautiful new Huber tasting room. I couldn't have said it any better.

A rather large mash tun (below) at the Huber brewery in Monroe. All the grains are mixed with hot water here to create a sort of soup that converts the starches in the malted barley into sugars that ferment and make beer.

Send comments and suggestions to: marc@marcobrau.com