New Glarus Brewing Company

Lore & Background

The New Glarus Brewing Company was founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey as a gift for her husband, Daniel, an experienced diploma master brewer. The brewery began in an abandoned warehouse with used brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey acquired copper kettles from a German brewery slated for demolition; the retiring brewmaster sold the equipment, valued at $1 million, for its scrap value of just over $24,000. The first beer was brewed in October 1997 and sales began that December. The brewery chose to pull out of Illinois sales in 2003 due to insufficient capacity to fill both Wisconsin and Illinois markets, leading to the 'Only In Wisconsin' distribution model. In May 2006, construction began on a new $21 million hilltop facility designed to resemble a Bavarian village, which opened in 2008. The original facility drew about 25,000 visitors annually; the new facility was expected to draw up to 150,000. In 2014, the brewery released its first beers from a wild fruit cave at the original Riverside Brewery, incorporating wild yeasts and other microorganisms.

Reader's Guide

New Glarus Brewing Company is notable for its deliberate choice to limit distribution exclusively to Wisconsin, a decision driven by capacity constraints and a desire to avoid the 'pay to play' practices common in major markets. This strategy has made its beers, particularly Spotted Cow, iconic within the state. Spotted Cow, a cask-conditioned farmhouse ale first brewed in 1997, accounts for about 40% of the brewery's annual production and has been the best-selling draft beer in Wisconsin for years. The brewery's Wisconsin Belgian Red, a lambic-style ale made with Door County cherries, has achieved the highest possible average rating on RateBeer.com. New Glarus has been one of the most award-winning brewers of its size, winning two bronze medals at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. The brewery's expansion to a Bavarian-style hilltop facility and its wild fruit cave demonstrate a commitment to both increased production and experimental brewing. The company's limited distribution has also led to incidents of illegal resale, including a 2009 raid on a New York City bar and a 2015 case in Minnesota.

Did You Know?

• Spotted Cow was named after sheep the Careys saw on a trip to England.
• The brewery's copper kettles were purchased from a retiring German brewmaster for scrap value of just over $24,000.
• New Glarus beers are sold only in Wisconsin, a policy in place since 2003.
• The brewery's wild fruit cave at the Riverside Brewery uses wild yeasts and other microorganisms.