Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
erswere making wasactually top-fermented malt liquor (which tosome aficionados isakin
to cutting a porter with antifreeze). Surprisingly, Germans did not initiate Milwaukee's le-
gendary beermaking industry; it was instead a couple of upstarts from the British Isles. But
massive German settlement did set the state's beer standard, which no other state could
hopetomatch.By1850,Milwaukeealonehadalmost200breweries,elevatingbeermaking
tothecity'snumberoneindustry.Throughoutthestate,everytown,onceithadbeenplatted
and while waiting for incorporation, would build three things—a church, a town hall, and a
brewery, not necessarily in that order.
The exact number of breweries in the state in the 19th century isn't known, but it is eas-
ily in the thousands; up to 50 years ago, local brew was still common. At that time, beer-
makingwentthroughadecline;industrygiantseffectivelykilledofftheregionalbreweries.
But by the 1970s, a backlash against the swill water the big brewers passed off as beer sent
profits plummeting. In stepped microbreweries and brewpubs. The nation is going through
a renaissance of beer crafting, and Wisconsin is no different; Madison and Milwaukee have
numerous brewpubs and a few microbreweries. In other parts of the state, anachronistic old
breweries are coming back to the fore, usually with the addition of a restaurant and lots of
young professional patrons. Time will tell if this trend marks a permanent national shift to-
ward traditional brews (made according to four-century-old purity laws), or if it's simply a
fad.
Some local standards still exist.
Leinenkugel's
(or Leinie's) is the preferred choice of
North Woods denizens, closely rivaled by Point, which is brewed in Stevens Point. In
the southern part of the state, Monroe's Minhas Brewing Company puts out the college-
student-standard (cheap but tasty)
Huber
—the Bock is worth the wait. In Middleton, west
of Madison, the
Capital Brewery
has been restored to its early-century standards.
BRANDY
What traditionally has made a Badger a Badger, drinkwise? Brandy, of any kind. (The au-
thor'sfatherstillgetsstaresfrom
auslander
waitstaffwiththeveryWisconsindrinkrequest
of “brandy old-fashioned with mushrooms, not fruit”—they're surprised by the brandy, not
themushrooms,andtheyusuallygetitwrong.)WhentheWisconsinBadgersplayafootball
game on the road, the 30,000-plus Cheeseheads who follow generally get newspaper art-
icles written about their bratwurst, postgame polka dancing, and prodigious brandy drink-
ing. Once, when the rowdy Badger faithful descended on the Rose Bowl in a friendly in-
vasion, Los Angeles hotels essentially ran dry of brandy; by the time the Badgers returned,
local hoteliers had figured it out!
