This is one of the nicest breweries I've been to, (the new hillside location.) My wife and I managed to be in New Glarus for the 2009 Octoberfest celebration. That was a lot of fun. The town was hopping with brats and live music. The beer tent was serving local wines and all New Glarus beer.

The brewery itself was shiny and new, located about a half mile from the old site. There was a large gift shop with two tasting bars. since there was a festival going on and the unveiling of the Staghorn Octoberfest, there were no samples, just pints of cheap beer. They had live music and food, as well as another beer trailer located outside the building.

The beers are always amazing. The Raspberry Tart and the Belgian Red are the best fruit beers to be found anywhere. The unplugged series is always interesting an worth the money. The brewery has a shop downstairs to buy beers in bulk or mix and match.

There are guided tours and self-guided tours of this state-of-the-art brewery. Hard-hat tours are less common and show off the old brewery as well--reserve months in advance.

reviewed on: 2010-06-02 15:50:45

I've been to the riverside and hilltop breweries, and the new one was exciting to see. We actually went twice over the weekend, saturday when we got to town, then again on sunday to pick up some beer and take a self guided tour. Saturday is when the tourists flock, so if you're not big on crowds, sunday is much more relaxed.

Case prices might be a little higher than Woodmans, but you can be sure you're getting fresh beer at the brewery. Downstairs is the beer depot, sort of a warehouse feel, with pallets stacked high. They had a good selection of 4 Unplugged series, available in singles, 4-packs, and cases.

The tasting room and gift shop upstairs is also nice, stone floors and a patio with a lovely view of New Glarus in the distance. They were pouring the R&D Golden, 9+ oz. for $3.50, and they were generous.

The tour was fun, and there was a "beer expert" on hand to field questions. I learned all their beers were pasteurized, and that Cranbic was indeed filtered after barrel aging :)

reviewed on: 2010-02-22 10:11:05

Nice place. My wife and I went, I believe the tour was a self guided tour. The tasting was cheap, had 4 beers and you get to keep the glass. They also gave us a ticket to take to several restaurants in town and get a free beer. Gift shop was nice. We loaded up on beer since we cant get this back in IL. My fav. is always the Jumping Cow, Nut brown ale is good to.

reviewed on: 2009-11-09 12:56:22

I stopped by the new Hilltop facility the last weekend of June on my way to MN. As Izzy posted it is a beautiful place and the self guided tour is nice. All tho I heard they will be doing a hard hat tour in the near future. The tasting is for a sample glass and some of there most popular beers.

Nice gift shop and again a very nice view!

I recommend this as a stop and the Beer depot on the ground level sells most of NG beers!

reviewed on: 2009-08-25 19:05:14

I've now been to both the Riverside and the new Hilltop brewery. Both are beautiful facilities, but the new one is outlandishly beautiful. Not just the brewhouse, but also the setting, the tasting hall, the gift shop and the outdoor area for imbibing.

The tours themselves are self-guided, which is great if you want to look at a brewery, but there's something about a human being showing you around and telling you stories that I wish were here.

You pay like $3 for the tour and 4 samples, but you get to keep the tasting glass and you're assured of great beers. Every beer these guys brew is incredible. That is all. On our most recent visit, we got to try the new R&D Golden Ale and the Iced Barley Wine. Great stuff.

I recommend.

reviewed on: 2009-08-25 08:49:08

I visited the old (original, riverside) New Glarus brewery about a year ago, and about a month ago I visited the new (hillside) brewery. The old brewery was interesting and it had nice shinny copper kettles, but it was a pretty quick visit, not a ton to see.

The new hillside brewery on the other hand is really amazing. It is really set up for tours, with windows on all aspects of the brewing process to show off all of their stainless steel. Their tasting room is nice and pretty affordable for a few tastes. Their beer store has all their standards as well as the current year's Unplugged series and their new R&D series. Go out of your way to visit this brewery.

reviewed on: 2009-08-23 14:36:53