On the road/A brewery in Potosi
After a 36-year hiatus, taps flow again.
© Beth Gauper
There's a new stop to add to the beer-lover's tour of southern Wisconsin (See True Brew).
The Potosi Brewing Co. has reopened in the far southwest corner of Wisconsin. Started in 1852, it became the fifth-largest brewery in Wisconsin, in later years producing Holiday, Garten Bräu and Alpine Lager. It closed in 1972.
Now run by a foundation, the restored brewery includes the American Breweriana Association's National Brewery Museum, the Potosi Brewing Co. Transportation Museum and the Great River Road Interpretive Center.
The interpretive center really is just a rack of brochures, and the National Brewery Museum, which charges $7 admission, mostly is a collection of brewing memorabilia. The Transportation Museum is just one room but interesting, considering it's only about Potosi.
The real news is they're making beer again. Its Good Old Potosi light ale is a farmhouse ale that tastes much like New Glarus Brewing's Spotted Cow, one of the few craft beers that has crossed over to the mainstream.
Brewmaster Steve Zuidema, a Davenport restaurateur, also is making Holiday bock, Snake Hollow India pale ale, Potosi Pure Malt Cave ale and a seasonal pilsener, porter and Scotch ale.
They're served in the handsome restaurant and bar and in the pretty beer garden out back, which has a small stage for live music.
If you're in the vicinity — heading for Dubuque or Galena or along the Great River Road — check it out.
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter
Get our weekly stories, tips and updates delivered a day early — directly to your Inbox. Wondering what you'll get? Take a look at our newsletter archive.
