Friday
Sep102010
Brewing TV - Episode 18: New Glarus Brewing Company
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 8:01AM
Original postdate: September 9, 2010
Features:
- New Glarus Brewing Company
Brewing TV makes a long-awaited and anticipated (by us.... by you, too?) road trip to visit New Glarus Brewing Company. Well-known for their beers and packaging, we talk with Dan and Deb Carey about NGBC's mission and beer philosophy. Hop on a Spotted Cow and come with us.
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Reader Comments (19)
You guys should start a travel agency too. I wanna go there now :)
LOL @ the "beer ninja" segment. Great show guys, thanks!
that was awsome!i love the open fermenter and cold have watched the foam for hours.too bad we cant get there beer out here in spokane.hey you guys should check out ironhoarse brew pub?
What, no stop at the only limburger cheese factory in the US?
Also, if any of you decide to make the pilgrimage out there make sure to talk up the bartender in the tasting room for tips on where to eat in town. That scored us a few free New Glarus drink coupons at a local restaurant.
Nice editing job Chip. ;)
Dan said a couple things that seem fairly perplexing. First, he is not forcing his beer styles onto the people, but rather he listens to them and they tell him what they want? I know they are taking votes to decide on what gets brewed, so in that sense, I agree. But almost all other brewers say they make the beer that they like to drink, and have faith that others will like it.
Even more odd was his comment that swill drinkers (he calls them American light lager drinkers I think) might be more discerning, critical, and have higher expectations than craft beer drinkers?! WTF is he talking about? The light lager drinkers that I know make no bones about the fact that they don't care about taste; they care about a buzz. You can give them any different type of swill and it will be just fine to them [oddly, they seem to argue amongst themselves about which swill is best]. Craft beer drinkers/homebrewers are infinitely more critical and discerning about beer flavors than swill drinkers. I thought Dan Carey lived in WI, but it seems he exists on another planet. ;)
I do love me some New Glarus though. They just have some odd views.
Great show guys. You definitely hit this one out of the park. You wanted to be the "WHY" in brewing and you've done it. You capture the passion that keeps us Beer people enthralled with this magical liquid. New Glarus is on the top of breweries to go to. I'm so jealous of my pops who got to try some while traveling in Lake Geneva, WI. BTW I love their philosophy, makes total sense.
Hi guys, great show. Keep going!
Prost from Germany
Any chance on making a clone of one of the New Glarus receipes. I love their philosophy towards beer and being in california.....it might be a while till i make it out there. I would love to see you guys do a clone of one of their session style beers to put in your receipe segment. Northwood Pale has now become a regular in my fridge so i would love to add a new receipe to my brewing experiences.
Yet another great show Guys - Fridays dont get here soon enough! Just one comment about Dans' view of light lager drinkers being more critical of their beer - I think its because thats all they know, American Light Lagers, and until their palate matures, everything will always be compared to their light lager of choice...
Anyway, just a thought.
Another great episode guys!!
I "made the pilgrimage" two years ago when we went across the state, started at New Glarus, went to the grumpy troll brew pub in Mt Horeb, hit ale asylum and the great dane in Madison, and lastly Tyranena in Lake mills on the way back to milwaukee. What a fun (and drunken) road trip.
It seems I have to go back though, they were in the middle of building the hill top brewery when we were there and we only toured the old one.
Bill
Great Episode I cant express in words how lucky we are in WI to have NGBC. Beers are amazing i plan on ordering the spotted cow clone kit from Northern Brewer and keg it for my Bday and maybe make a trip down there to do some "celebrating" also. Keep up the great Episodes.
No disrespect to anyone, but the video doesn't do New Glarus justice. That place is fricken amazing! You could literally spend hours walking around that place. The smell that comes from the open fermenter is out of this world. Considering the size of the brewery it's hard to believe they only ship with the Wisco border...but then again, Wisconsinites really love their beer! As an avid homebrewer, I rarely buy beer, but when I do it's always NGBC.
Dan's comments about horse p*ss drinkers makes perfect sense. It's not that they have higher expectations, it just that they don't know what to expect when they're not drinking from the horse trough. It doesn't matter what those people drink, as long as it's something other than their mega brewery light beer, it's not going to be palletable for them.
NGBC session beers are some of the best you will ever drink, but I'd stay away from their Unplugged beers if you don't like big beers.
You guys need to do a clone of Stone Soup. It would be a great follow up episode to your open fermentation segments.
You guys rock, keep on putting out the great episodes! C'mon Friday!
I know keeping up the schedule on these episodes is tough, but you guys are rockin! I don't know if I'll ever even be in Wisconsin, but the fact you captured the passion of who they are and why they do what they do is the real story. Great Job!
Loved it the episode! I may be traveling to New Glarus very soon now...
Great video. I'm a native Californian but my wife's family is from Wisconsin. I don't let them visit without bringing a few bottles of the Belgian Red. It was just listed as one of the top three beers to seek out in All About Beer. Next time I'm back, I'll be heading there to check out the brewery. I can't wait.
This was an interesting episode. I was there a couple weeks before you guys visited and thoroughly enjoyed the visit and the brews that were available on site (some are only sold there). Anyway, thanks for highlighting a unique couple. Next time stop in at Capital Brewery in Middleton. That place had a very nice guided tour (NG was unguided and the day I visited, I couldn't get much out of the fellows there in terms of answers to questions - "I don't know, you'd have to ask Dan"....). Even so, great beers - that Belgian Red is really something. I just made a Hop Hearty clone, just to pay homage to a great brewer: Dan Carey.
Cheers!
I very much enjoyed this episode. I now want to visit New Glarus Brewery, sounds like a fun place!!
Loved the New Glarus feature! A great channel overall, and the hosts are a perfect match! Count me in as a Brewing TV fan.
I make a trip to New Glarus 3-4 times a year, it's a 3 hour drive from my house, and i agree they just don't brew a bad beer. i wish you would have shown the outside of the hilltop brewery, i think it is just beautiful. number 1 on my list.