Road Trip 2009  

Old Man River, McGregor, Iowa
One of Iowa's newest brew pubs, brewer Jake Simons decocts some delicious lagers in this historic building in a quaint old river town on the Mississippi. The dunkel was my favorite with the Marzen a close second. Jake took us through the brew house to describe the authentic Bavarian double decoction mash procedure. Though lengthy, the extreme mashing extracts an intense maltiness difficult to obtain in conventional temperature-step mashing.

Potosi Brewing Company, Potosi, Wis.
Potosi Brewing Company is organized as a 501c3 non profit and home to the National Brewery Museum. Brew master Steve Buszka, who was brew master at Kalamazoo Brewing Company (now Bells) was in the midst of brewing his Amber Ale and took the time to show us the gleaming copper brew kettles. Potosi is about 30 miles from Dubuque and definitely worth a visit. 

From Potosi we headed to the historic lead mining town of Galena, Ill., hometown of President U.S. Grant. Surprisingly no brewing yet, but we stayed at the Irish Boutique hotel, operated by an Irish family. We enjoyed a few drinks in the authentic Irish pub while planning our next day's adventure.

 New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wis.

New Glarus brewing company sits atop a hill overlooking a Swiss village smaller than Northwood. It is currently the 21st largest domestic craft brewer and is likely to rise as they settle into their $21 million new facility. Don't look for their beers at your nearest liquor store, as they're expanding to only meet new demand in their home state. Seek out the Uff da Bock and Belgian Red cherry ale when you're in the area. 

The Grumpy Troll, Mt. Horeb, Wis.
Naturally the Mustard Museum was our first stop in Mt. Horeb, but we dropped in for lunch at The Grumpy Troll, another in a plethora of small-town brew pubs in this wonderful state. The troll features a full list of ales and lagers. We tried them all, but were disappointed to miss the Norwegian wit--now that's a brew for Northwood.

Capital Brewing Company, Middleton, Wis.

Voted best atmosphere by the Worth Brewing Company traveling contingent for their family-oriented beer garden. No food, no tours, just four or five taps on the side of the brewery serving a fenced patio with picnic tables and a performance stage. We brought in pizza and those around us were celebrating a birthday and wedding shower. Set in a suburb of Madison, they open the garden at 3 p.m. and close about 9 p.m. Lots of families about, sun shining, wonderful. Capital produced about 22,000 barrels last year and, if I lived nearby, would have polished off several of their blond dopplebocks with no help from Margaret. 

Great Dane, Madison, Wis.
The Great Dane is a large brew pub with multiple locations in Madison. We enjoyed the balcony seating at the downtown site. We didn't try all the beers--we needed to get to Capital--but will have to try more next time. 

Moosejaw Pizza and Brew Pub, The Dells, Wis.
Brewmaster Jamie Martin concocted some of the best beers on the trip, full, rich and malty. I was a bit surprised at the quality of this brewpub since the beer gets second billing and it's set in the middle of a tourist area. Jamie presented one of the better lectures at the Craft Beer conference in Boston and her expertise shows in her product. She also took time out of her cleaning duties (brewing is mostly cleaning) to fill us in on her equipment.

Bodega Brew Pub, La Cross, Wis.
Not really a brew pub but a pub with lots of different brews--300 of them from around the world including some interesting ones on tap. Had my first Summitt Horizon Red Ale and a maltilicious German dopplebock here. Downtown in an old retail building containing original front glass cabinets with 1930's era lightbulb fixtures. Cold and rainy outside, a delight to the senses in.