New Glarus Brewing Company

krl2112

Illinois

4.66/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | $$$$

This brewery is out in the middle of nowhere but that is actually nice. You drive up a winding road to the brewery and the outside is beautiful. Very pretty landscaping and beautiful old world kind of looking buildings. Nice gift shop and you can walk through the brewery on your own self guided tour which is nice. Also, the tour is free. Then you can go to the tasting room and it is extreemly reasonably priced!!! THey also have a nice bulk beer room where you can buy whatever they are currently brewing. Overall a very nice experience. I would highly recommend if you are in WI.

06-02-2013 00:21:29 | More by krl2112

Fargrow

Michigan

4.23/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | $$

Definitely a very German brewery. The short drive off the main drag is nice with European-looking lamp posts. Currently they're doing some construction on the building (to expand) but it's still fully functional. The brewery allows self-guided tours where you get to see a few things. There's a 4-way pedestrian traffic jam between the tasting room, the gift shop, then entrance, and the door to the courtyard. There's some cool swag in the gift shop. Not a lot of selecting in the tasting room, but there's also a big room downstairs where you can buy a lot of off-season beers.

05-29-2013 01:09:49 | More by Fargrow

DubbelTrubbel

Iowa

4.69/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75 | $$

Went on the Hard Hat Tour on 5-24

Comfortable, sunny day in the small Swiss-styled town of New Glarus. We showed up at the river-side old brewery for the begininng of the tour. This is where the specialty, thumbprint and fruit beers are usually brewed, as well as some of the regular offerings. It is generally a matter of keeping certain yeasts away from others. We were greeted by two NG employees who would lead us on the tour- it was our official guide's first time giving the tour, so another was along to supervise. We were guided through the brewing room, cellar and bottling lines, as well as a look at some of their oak tanks, which they are currently expanding their stock of.

Then we drove up to the Hill top brewery, the newer and larger facility. Normally we would get to meet Dan and Deb here, but they were out of town for the weekend. Had a brief look at the quality control lab. Then we went by the normal public areas, all nicely glassed-off, brew kettles, fermentation tanks, bottling line, open-top fermenters. Finally it was time for the beer and cheese. We went upstairs to the employee lounge. Beers sampled were Edel Pils, Snowshoe Red Ale, Berliner Weiss, Dancing Man Wheat, Coffee Stout and Raspberry Tart. They claimed that Dancing Man is the most authentic German hefeweizen made in the USA. Beers were bottled, it appeared that they may have once had tap lines in the room, but if you really want it on tap all you have to do is go downstairs to the sampling room. Cheeses, all made in Wisconsin, were baby swiss, aged cheddar, Limburger, Dunbarton blue, raspberry bellavitano, and petite frere.

It is, overall, an awesome place. The beer is amazing, and the great amount of care put in to and high quality of the beer is obvious. The selection in the beer depot includes all currently offered beers as well as those from the past few months. The prices are reasonable- six packs $8, thumbprint beers $10 for four or $15 for six, fruit beers $9 a 750, and 20th anniversary ale $7 a 500. The tap room is a different story, however, with usually only five(sometimes four) beers on tap. The focus of the brewery is not so much on people drinking a lot at the brewery, but that's really part of the atmosphere of the place. Their hours are 10-4, and no food is served.

I gave a rating for food because the cheese included in the tour was excellent. All of the beer was excellent, all very true to style. The tour lasted about two hours, included beer and cheese(more beer than our tour group could finish) and was $20 a person, so I would say it was a good value.

05-28-2013 18:00:42 | More by DubbelTrubbel

Rand_ale_Thor

Wisconsin

4.71/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Hard hat tour - Awesome, highly recommend. We went as a family trip. Very personable employee gave the tour, beer and cheese at the end, including my favorite fruit beer - Belgian Red - we were told it was their last 5 bottles dedicated to the tour. You get to see everything and ask anything on the tour because they keep the groups small. We will be doing this again!

05-24-2013 16:27:54 | More by Rand_ale_Thor

Bowers-Brew

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25 | $$

I can't go more than a few months without a visit to the brewery/town.

New Glarus is my everyday beer of choice. I drink, dabble, and am always looking for a great new beer, but I keep New Glarus beers in stock at all times.

If you love beer New Glarus is somewhere that you must visit/drink/enjoy.

Only in Wisconsin!!!!

05-10-2013 22:09:53 | More by Bowers-Brew

guityler83

Wisconsin

4.73/5  rDev +6.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | $$

After signing the list for the Hard Hat tour a few months prior, I was reminded that my ticket date was coming up the Monday before.. best way I can think of to get you through a work week.

The tour started out at the old brew house on the bottom of the hill with a small group (20 if I recall). The guide was a brewer in this facility, which he explained the ins and outs of answered any and all questions ranging from "what are hops" to what mash efficiency are you pulling from these copper mash and lauter tuns.

After we were finished in the old facility (every nook and crany) we went to the behemoth brewery up the road, which is the cleanest place I've been in that makes beer. Deb Carry greeted us (the owner!) and fielded a few questions, then we toured the big plant.
The final stage was the beer tasting and cheese pairing the the upstairs dining room. Anything from spotted cow to moon man to three different sours where available along with exotic WI cheeses.

We did get rushed through the last part 'slighly' to go through the gift shop/cellar but overall it was a brewery tour I'd recommend to anyone... beer drinker or not. Awesome.

05-07-2013 17:58:41 | More by guityler83

1Nrwyscotch

Wisconsin

3.9/5  rDev -12.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $

I visited the New Glarus Brewery on 9/28/12 and the brewery is on a hillside outside of the small town of New Glarus WI. It was a sunny 80 degree day and the place was packed with visitors. This was likely because of the unseasonably good weather and the Octoberfest celebration going on in town.

The selection of beers on this day was somewhat limited, the Staghorn Octoberfest, Fat Squirel, Rasberry Tart, Spotted Cow and Two Women.

There is an indoor tasting room but it was mainly empty. A wood stove pizza maker, La Fortuna was on site and was cooking pies. We tried one and it was enjoyed by all.

They have a decent size gift shop and the Brewery was built with an enclosed hallway so you could tour the brewery by your self, though one employee was around to answer any questions you may have. They have a seperate area to buy beer to go but I did not vehture in that shop.

A great experience and we will defintely return.

11-08-2012 00:43:35 | More by 1Nrwyscotch

czfreeman

Michigan

4.69/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

What an idyllic setting to enjoy some brews!
Drivining up from Chicago got a bit boring at times, but beautiful scenery helped.
Arriving at the brewery, I was reminded instantly of Ommegang.Remote location, European style building.
They are currently adding on 15,500 square feet of additional space to include a larger tasting room, and perhaps a restaurant.
I tried a Fat squirrel, Moon Man, and the Spotted Cow. My companions enjoyed a Raspberry Tart and the Black Top bock.
All beer truly stood out. Every one had a great balance and flavor profile the were extremely enjoyable.
I really respect their philosophy of not sacrificing their excellent quality to ensure the beer is up to their high standards.
Afterward my father purchased an entire mixed case of beer because he was so impressed.
I am looking forward to returning

10-25-2012 22:39:44 | More by czfreeman

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev -7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Managed to take the self guided tour of this brewery a few weeks ago. This place is huge! I never expected it to be nearly as big as it was. The building is beautiful inside and out. The gift shop was really nice lots of very nice stuff to purchase ranging from Glassware to Clothing. The tour was self guided but there was at least one employee there who was mingling with people and answering questions for the guests. The brewery is spotless clean.. I feel like I could eat off the floor in this place. The visuals in this place were great too, pipes and and tanks and a furnace are just a few things that stick in my mind just from walking around. The bottle shop they have is loaded with many of the beers they make there. I left with 7 New Glarus beers I had never tried before in addition to a bottle of Moon Man and Raspberry Tart. Overall it was a great place to check out. Very good all around, I would go back here in a heart beat.

10-03-2012 13:23:26 | More by Knapp85

msubulldog25

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Visited August 31st (Hard Hat Tour), 1:00 - 4:00 pm-ish

I've tried a number of New Glarus beers over the last 5-6 years, thanks to traders and friends in the area - but never at the source. I learned about a business trip I'd be taking to Iowa around Labor Day weekend all the way back in June; wheels turning in my head, I decided to extend the trip to Wisconsin and Illinois to see family and friends. Even in mid-June, the August 31st tour was booked solid (the 'Hard Hat' tour is only offered once weekly -Friday afternoons- and limited to 15 people). Oh well, I'd still visit and go on the free self-guided tour... until, that is, a phone call on Wednesday 8/29, just as I was leaving Des Moines, informed me that *one* person had cancelled and that I could have their spot (I'd asked to be put on a waiting list in June, even though I was told 'nobody ever cancels'!). Hell, yeah!

I showed up at the Riverside ('old') brewery a few minutes before 1:00pm and was greeted by brewer Stephen and Alyssa... after a short snafu over my reservation and some impatient waiting for a late-arriving group of six we started the tour. I've been on a couple dozen brewery tours over the years; this was among the largest and most impressive. Even though I feel knowledgeable about beer and the brewing process, it was fascinating to learn about how New Glarus does it and about their growth/expansion (no plans to expand beyond the Wisconsin borders, even though it appears they could quite easily). We thoroughly toured both the Riverside and newer Hilltop facilities, including brewing tanks, packaging lines and R & D labs. The tour concluded with a 30-minute tasting of several beers (bottles) and six heaps of tasty local cheeses. We also learned a little of the Swiss heritage of the neighboring/namesake village and why the building had to designed in the 'chalet' style to keep with the aesthetic and of a scale to not be an eyesore nearby housing developments. For $20+tax, I was very satisfied with the tour; my only disappointment is that Deb & Dan Carey (who usually greet the tour) were away for the Labor Day weekend. I'd have liked to have met them and shaken hands.

Afterward, I had just a few minutes to stroll the grounds and shop at the bottle shop. Didn't have room for much, so I bought a 4-pack of the seasonal Thumbprint Saison and a 750ml of Raspberry Tart. Prices are about the same here as they'd retail for elsewhere. Of note, there's some ongoing expansion of the gift shop/bottle store and also of the 'Sensory labs', so expect some construction fencing and minimal disruption in the next year or so.

All in all, a very good experience - one I'd recommend.

For the record, what we tasted:
* Beer: Totally Naked, HomeTown Blonde, Laughing Fox, Thumbprint Saison, Staghorn Oktoberfest and Raspberry Tart.
* Cheese: Aged Cheddar (Voegeli Farms), Petite Frere (Crave Brothers), Limburger (Chalet Cheese Co-Op), Raspberry Bellavitano (Sartori Foods), Baby Swiss (Alp & Dell) and Dunbarton Bleu (Roelli Cheese)

09-12-2012 15:51:19 | More by msubulldog25