Beer! Glorious Beer! | Brats & Beer

Next to the Packers and Cheeseheads, the thing Wisconsin is most famous for is beer. It’s the beer capital of America, ranking at the top in both per capita consumption and production. (Don’t quote me on this, though. Consumption I’m sure of, but I might be off on production.)

One of my favorite labels is Berghoff, which is made in Monroe, Wisconsin, by Minhas Craft Brewery. Berghoff was originally made in Chicago but has been brewed in Wisconsin for a long time, so we’ll claim it as our own. And it is really good. Minhas used to be called the Joseph Huber Brewring Co. until it was bought out in 2006. The brewery still makes Huber, though, which is also damn fine (and damn cheap inexpensive).

Another good Wisconsin beer is Leinenkugel’s. The Leinenkugel family has been making beer in Chippewa Falls since 1867. It’s owned by MillerCoors now, but the beer’s just as good as it’s ever been. And then of course there is Miller, which sadly merged with Coors to become MillerCoors. I’m not real keen on their beer (except every now and then I pick up some High Life just for kicks), but they seem to sell a lot of it. MillerCoors also makes some old-school beers like Hamm’s, Mickey’s, and Milwaukee’s Best (or as we used to call it, Milwaukee’s Beast).

There are also tons of other small breweries in Wisconsin, like City Brewery in La Crosse. It used to be the G. Heileman brewery and still has the world’s largest six pack outside. Sprecher not only makes old-world German beers but also some great root beer! If you’re ever in Green Bay, you might want to check out Titletown Brewing Company, if for no other reason than the name. And of course no tour of Wisconsin beers would be complete without mentioning Point Beer, some of the cheapest brew around. It’s not great, but did I mention it’s cheap?

A lot of beers associated with Wisconsin, labels like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, Blatz, Old Milwaukee, and Old Style, are all now made in Milwaukee at the old Miller plant. Pabst was purchased by Paul Kalmanovitz back in the 1980s and, after closing the brewery in 1996, moved itself to San Antonio, Texas. This almost totally new Pabst Brewing Company bought up a lot of the old beer labels from around the country and contracted with Miller to do all the brewing. Pabst is still owned by the Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust, but it has moved its headquarters to Illinois.