Is a mighty, mighty fine beer.
Also, you people in Wisconsin are like Canadian lite. Pathologically polite. My friends from New York would break out in hives.
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Is a mighty, mighty fine beer.
Also, you people in Wisconsin are like Canadian lite. Pathologically polite. My friends from New York would break out in hives.
Comments are closed.
Fledermaus
Try the Leinie’s Honey Weiss!
JGabriel
And a terrible risk for venereal disease.
.
General Stuck
Birds of paradise
arguingwithsignposts
JC is shrill.
Triassic Sands
A gross overstatement based on a tiny sample.
My sister lives in Wisconsin and believe me she’s “impolite” enough to more than make up for everyone you’ll meet there on this and any other trip.
Suffern Ace
Jeepers. When I moved from Wisconsin to New York I was shocked at how all these people just wouldn’t keep their emotions in check and their anger inside like normal people. Even going to the grocery store was a cause for anxiety. And why did they have to be so mindlessly busy all the time?
What you need to do is find someone to teach you to play sheepshead. Then you’ve gone native and won’t come back. I read earlier that the state is offering $1,000 downpayment mortgages again.
Batocchio
Canadian lite? Them’s fighting words! Canadians are just American Midwesterners with funnier accents. And better hockey. And health care.
Yuppers
New Glarus doesn’t make a bad beer. And they only distribute in Wisconsin, so they are somewhat prized in trades and the like. Might want to bring yourself some back home for barter.
Xecky Gilchrist
I’ve never seen a Spotted Cow; I never hope to see one. But I can tell you, anyhow, I’d rather see than be one.
–Gelett Burgess
AF
A previous commenter was right, You MUST try the beers of Capital Brewery. Far far better than spotted cow, in my opinion. If you have time, head out to Middleton for a brewery tour and a beer tasting. Definitely worth it.
MAJeff
If you think cheeseheads are pathologically polite, don’t come to North Dakota. (But if you do, remember that the politeness often masks a deep hostility to anyone different.)
Erin
Not a big fan of Honey Weiss. New Glarus beers are good, but my favorite is Capital, especially Wisconsin Amber. They have fantastic seasonals too.
The great thing about drinking beer in Wisconsin is that you can try something different every day of the week and never have to go outside a Wisconsin brewery to find it.
I love living in Wisconsin. And try the Old Fashioned off of peak hours – it’s just as appropriate as a bar as it is a restaurant – you can hit it before or after dinner.
Three-nineteen
Capital Brewery has some mighty fine beers, I would also highly recommend anything from Tyranena – Scurvy if you can find it, or Bitter Woman if you like hops.
Jager
@Triassic Sands:
does she say “Vis-conn-sun” then?
Yuppers
The more I hear about Wisconsin this week, the more it sounds like the Pacific Northwest, just a little flatter. OK, a lot flatter (I know, I’m from northern Illinois and spent all my summers in WI).
Except the politeness out there is a bit of an act hiding an icy passive aggression. But the food scene, beer scene, politics, etc, all ring familiar bells of that corner of the country.
Mark S.
Shorter Stanley Fish:
Or something. Why does this idiot have a column? Everything he writes is stupider than the last thing he wrote.
Punchy
/looks at Blackhawks name on Cup, vehemently disagrees.
eemom
I want to know what’s happening back in West Virginny. Specifically, have Tunch and the doggies eated the house-sitter yet?
Samtonia
I live in Madison and, thank goodness, am able to patronize the places suggested in the Madison threads, as well as drink every variety of beer available.
I’d suggest the Lake Brewery Cream City Ale, to stick up for Milwaukee- the beer suggestions have tended away from the fair city on lake Michigan, we need some balance.
Brew City Brawler
Maybe Althouse can hip you to some of our finer boxed wines.
Ash Can
Capital’s Island Wheat is a dandy hot-summer-day beer. It’s especially good on tap.
Mousebumples
Mmmm, Spotted Cow. Definitely among my favorite beers.
If you have a chance to stop in the local grocery store (i.e. Pick’n’Save), they have bottles of New Glarus beer that I found by random chance that are (I thought) delicious. Raspberry Tart and Belgian Red are both pretty good, I think. I’m more of a fan of Raspberry Tart and say that it tastes more like Raspberry wine than a traditional beer.
Plus, it comes in a bigger than usual beer bottle (750ml), so one might be enough for a night in.
Also, not sure where you are in Wisconsin, but I definitely recommend a brewery tour if you can find the time. Also: you may be able to find a tour of a dairy farm where they make cheese. Fresh cheese curds are the best – but deep fried ones are also pretty good. Other good Wisconsin foods to try, if you haven’t already: Racine Kringle, string cheese, and a bratwurst. And, of course, our multitude of Friday Night Fish Fry’s.
(I thought you might have been in Wisconsin from the last few posts, but – obviously – this post confirms the fact. Enjoy our warmer than usual summer!)
Paul
Yeah, just don’t bad mouth the Packers in a border town, eh.
Three-nineteen
@Punchy:
/looks at Blackhawks roster with 50% Canadians on it, agrees with Battochio.
Louise
Madison is fantastic, but hardly characteristic of the entire state. It’s more of an enclave.
My family has a house in the Northwoods (Vilas County) and while yes, the folks there are generally friendly and polite, most are also Seriously Right Wing and unfamiliar with them there People of Color, Gays, & Jews.
I’ve been going there for over 45 years. I love the town and the serenity of the land and water, and many of the people have been good neighbors and friends. But I don’t talk politics or culture for fear of my safety and sanity.
Ash Can
Hey BTW, does Essen Haus still have that 64-ounce prime rib on its menu?
Bnut
I have always wondered what the cutoff is for holding the door for people. I will hold a door for 7000 woman in a row, despite my progressive self, but the first man who walks through gets the hard push and catch it if u can brother This crazy world.
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal
If you think cheeseheads are polite, try going a state or two west. Minnesotans are much, much more
antisocialpolite. And North Dakotans can be, so long as it’s not hockey season. Assuming you can actually find a North Dakotan.Calming Influence
Born and raised New Yorker, transplanted to Seattle. A colleague arrives from Iceland, and when I asked how he was enjoying his trip, he said it was fine, but “everybody in Seattle is really rude!”
No, I didn’t punch him in the neck, although it was definitely called for. It’s all a matter of perspective.
Yutsano
@Bnut: Holding the door for 7000 women = momma raised you right. Not holding the door for a man = typical male aggressive behavior. In other words, there is no real conflict here.
Oh and a beer thread. Great. The teetotaler will slink off into the night now.
trueblood
@Triassic Sands: too funny
farmette
Friendly folks for sure. It’s the dairy air, as they say. Make sure you sample some of Wisconsin’s exceptional cheeses. A great site to explore is wisconsincheesemart.com.
The Reverend Lowdown
You were in WI and didn’t stop by…but I’ve got Blatz on tap! JK, I wouldn’t have you drink that. I just keep that around to throw on the neighbors when they’re being rowdy. Capital Amber, mmm.
demimondian
@Yuppers: Which do you mean by “out there”? The big difference between Madison and Seattle, to my mind, was that the folks in Madison were good folk — and the people in Seattle are nice folk.
Yutsano
@demimondian: I’ve never been to Wisconsin so I can’t exactly testify to how driving is there, but it still shocks me that you can turn your blinker on even in the middle of heavy traffic in Seattle…and folks will let you in. I’ve driven in many American cities and only here have I ever seen that happen.
Ash Can
@farmette: When the Bears play the Packers at Lambeau Field, the Packers fans do in fact hold up signs inviting the Bears fans in attendance to “smell our dairy air.”
ABloomquist
Agreed on the New Glarus.
And if you’re liking that go for some of the stuff put out by Central Waters (from Amherst, WI near Steves Point). In particular try their Muddy Puppy Brown.
Omnes Omnibus
Hey, Cole, I looked for you on Union Terrace this evening. Now I find out you didn’t go. Of course, I would not have recognized you if I saw you, but that’s another story.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ash Can: That’s not all that is held up.
ellaesther
…aaaand you’ve reminded me of how stinkin’ funny/right on the money the Daily Show was the other night with Jason Jones talking about the anchor babies he and Sam Bee are dropping right, left and center.
“We’re WHITE!”
burnspbesq
@eemom:
Hey, what the heck is going on at your alma mater, girlfriend?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/nyregion/05hunter.html?src=me&ref=general
MattR
@Yutsano:
This happens for cabbies in NYC, but mostly because the other cars realize the cab is switching lanes regardless.
MikeJ
@Calming Influence: I thought Seattlites waste far, far, far too much time on “politeness” when all I really want is the goddamned cup of coffee I ordered.
burnspbesq
Must be Friday – Krugman is being shrill again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06krugman.html?_r=1&hp
Yutsano
@MikeJ: I admit it. I LOLed.
@Steeplejack: Stop feeding it. Otherwise it will just keep doing that.
Steeplejack
Testing, testing . . . WP is eating my comments. FYWP.
Bill Murray
@JGabriel:
I think that’s spotted dick, not spotted cow
Calming Influence
@MikeJ:
I feel your pain, but it’s going to be the Seattle 4-way stop “you go first – no you go, I insist!” that’s going to send me up into the bell tower with a high powered rifle…
Yuppers
@MikeJ: True dat. But I always assumed that was my problem, moving to Seattle from NYC (much like Calming Influence, I guess!)
theturtlemoves
@Fledermaus: I’ll second the Leinie’s. That’s really about the only thing I miss about the Midwest. The weather sucks and I hate prairie, but that particular brewery I miss. But out here I have every craft brewery in the Northwest, plus wineries everywhere, plus the weather doesn’t suck once you get used to rain. So, yeah, Leinie’s is good beer, pretty much all their varieties.
Yuppers
@Calming Influence: You apparently haven’t been at the intersection I live near, which is much more Park Slope, Brooklyn than Green Lake, Seattle.
Erik T
/oblig-Minnesota-is-better/nicer/whatever
Wiscy is okay too I guess.
Yutsano
@Bill Murray: Or just really really tasty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick
asiangrrlMN
You should try MN. It’s even got a name here, MN nice. But, MAJeff has it right–it masks a deep dislike for anyone different or other. It’s pretty much superficial, as evidenced by the horrible driving on our freeways.
@Yutsano: I wouldn’t mind tasting your spotted…hi, hon. How you be? I’m thinking I might take a nap.
Calming Influence
@Yuppers:
I’m not saying that there aren’t pockets of sanity, but I swear to god, there’s an intersection near my house where people have a GREEN LIGHT and they’re still waving other cars through.
Yutsano
@Calming Influence: I had a friend from college who moved to Atlanta. After she had survived
mortal combatdriving down there, she and I compared notes. In Seattle, there’s this strange groupthink where we all know we’re trying to get somewhere and if we all cooperate we’ll all arrive safely and on time. In Atlanta it’s every driver for himself. So go with whatever deity of your liking cause it’s all you’re gonna get.tara
If you want somewhere in Madison that’s more of a neighborhood bar with good food and good drinks, you could wander down to the 1100 (I think) block of Williamson (Willy) St to the Weary Traveler. Its about 6-7 blocks down from the Essen Haus. When I lived on Jenny St, that was one of my favorite places to hang out. Its very laid back and they have a variety board games available to sit and play with your friends if you are so inclined.
hamletta
@MattR: Atlanta drivers are like that, too.
They drive fast, and you have to be skilled, which is like my native DC, but they will yield. In DC, they just flip you off.
Here in Nashvegas, everybody guards their lane like it was land left to them by their granddaddy, which results in huge clusterfucks at any merger.
I’ve always taken it like they’re not impolite, just fucking stupid. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to merge left, and the driver alongside of me wants to merge right, but it turns into a game of chicken.
I think I’m the only driver in the whole state who flashes her brights to say, “Go! Go! I yield my claim to this strip of asphalt to your higher purpose! And your grandaddy!”
Raubkatze21
Surprised you haven’t broken out in hives yet, maybe that’s just because you aren’t from Minnesota. Whenever I cross the border, my skin blisters. Because there’s no jobs in Wisconsin, all those assholes cross the border over here after graduating college, drive slow in the left lane on our freeways, and cheer for the Badgers and Packers. Anyways, we’re not that different, Minnesotans and Wisconsinites (sp?), but we sure fucking hate each other, in a polite way.
Cheers,
Raubkatze21
hamletta
@Calming Influence: John Prine wrote a song about that.
MattR
@asiangrrlMN: I was just making the same point to my friend when he was commenting on how nice the people in Salt Lake City were. If they only knew his last name.
demimondian
@Calming Influence: I’ve yet to see that — but, then again, I live on the East Side. We’re a little more sane over here.
Except living in Seattle Metro *has* forced me to learn to perform a perfect zipper merge. That’s a skill which is utterly useless everywhere else in the United States.
MattR
@hamletta: Ugh. Just thinking about DC driving gets my blood pressure up. It is not so much the drivers (although if there is a drop of rain all traffic must stop) but the design of the roads that is infuriating.
I don’t deal with it every day, but I love the organized chaos of NYC. Atlanta sounds like my kind of driving town too. It is funny because I refuse to buy a car that has serious power because I know I’ll drive it way too hard and fast.
asiangrrlMN
@MattR: I think it’s like that in many places that are reputed to be ‘so nice’. It’s a habit and on the surface–nothing more.
hamletta
@MattR: It is fun!
I learned aggressive driving in DC, although my skilz ain’t so mad these days. (And we won’t even mention my parallel parking skills.)
Driving in Atlanta is a refreshing tonic, because these people know the rules of the road and know how to maneuver their vehicles.
Also, they’re not the fucking crossroads of half the truck routes in America, which helps.
asiangrrlMN
@hamletta: Parallel parking is the bane of my existence. I am fortunate in that I don’t have to do it often.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Parallel parking is even more pernicious in Seattle because we also allow on-street parking. It’s a flipping nightmare.
Oh and hi hon.
MattR
I don’t know why it took me this long to remember, but I actually got a ticket near Seattle for tailgating on the highway driving from Vancouver to the Seattle airport .
Mark Haag
If you have to go with bottles,
I would suggest Mudpuppy Porter from Central Waters and the Cascade Pale Ale from Point Brewery.
Otherwise, go to the Red Eye from Wausau and drink some fine beer from the tap
Or The Minocqua Brewing company.
If you are stuck in Madison, go to the Ale Asylum, or the Union House if you are into varieties of Belgians. Great Dane is pretty great, too.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Hi. We have on-street parking here as well. I happen to have a garage so I do not have to deal with parallel parking very often.
@MattR: OK, that’s just funny.
IndyLib
We’ve vacationed in the northern part of the state several times and I’ve found a distinct attitude difference between the north and south parts of the state. Northern Wisconsinites are polite, but not overly friendly to outsiders, their southern brethren are much more overtly friendly and “patholigically polite” is a pretty good description. I live in the Kenosha area so we have a lot of transplants and a pretty large community of retired and active duty military, more diversity, both culturally and ethnically.
The drivers here are so polite I thought I was going to go nuts for the first few months. After driving in southern California for 3 years it was a shocking change.
Yutsano
@MattR: Our staters are everywhere I swear. They are quite effective at nailing traffic violators. Although every time I’ve been pulled over by one they’ve been really nice. Of course being a stater here is like about as cushy a job you can get.
@asiangrrlMN: The new place has a gated underground parking garage. It makes me haz a happy.
stannate
At a Memorial Day party hosted in a Chicago suburb, a friend of mine who has now relocated to Sheboygan, WI brought back a four-pack of New Glarus Cherry Stout. This is one of their Unplugged selections, so it may not be brewed again after this current batch is produced. Think of the heavy body of a Guinness, but where you’d expect more of a chocolate malt taste, you instead have tart cherries. Full-bodied and bursting with cherry, but not as cloying as other fruit-flavored beers–I’m looking at you, Leinie’s Berry Weiss. In spite of the weather being hot enough to call for spritzers or wheat beers, the Cherry Stout was easily the most popular of all the beers at this party. If I could remember more about Unibroue’s Quelque Chose, I’d compare Cherry Stout to it, but my one experience with Quelque Chose was when it was served hot during a cold winter night.
One drawback to living in Saint Louis is that Wisconsin beers, apart from the big labels, are hard to come by. Point is pretty decent, and there have been days where nothing else satisfied my thirst quite like Huber Bock. The Empty Bottle in Chicago would often have either Point or Huber as one of their cheap beers, and I would almost always select them over the other cheap swill of PBR (which is only tolerable when it is ice-cold and not being served to hipsters).
Allan
No one has mentioned Clasen’s European Bakery yet?
It’s also in Middleton, so when you obey the demands of your readers that you visit Capital Brewery, you can stop by and eat pastry and buttercream until you explode. The Mozart Torte is a favorite of mine.
Anne Laurie
@Yuppers:
All the inhabitants with Scandinavian ancestors may have something to do with that weird ‘aggressive passivity’ behavior. Within a few years of moving from the Bronx to Michigan, I developed a theory that the Arctic climate had forced the Norwegians/Danes/Swedes to perfect a set of social behaviors that would allow them to express absolute hostility even while huddling together for warmth. A skill set aided, of course, by the several hundred years during which they sent all the assertively hostile members of the tribes off to ravage my ancestors in the Celtic regions.
eemom
@burnspbesq:
I know….! I mean I don’t know. That NYT article was the first me and my classmates — who just celebrated our 30th reunion in June — heard about any of that — and it was a real bummer especially coming on the same day as we were kvelling over our Elena. : (
MattR
@Yutsano: Well, I was tailgating. I was tired and late to the airport and the car in front of me was taking his sweet ass time. I have no idea what made me think it would be no problem to wake up at 6 am to drive from West Vancouver to Seattle after working a 90 hour week. I should’ve just flown out of Vancouver and dealt with having a connecting flight.
Yuppers
@Louise: Ah Vilas County. Used to go to summer camp outside Sayner. Lovely part of the world, but you nailed the locals: far right, but nice if you stay on certain topics. And skeptical of outsiders (though they feed the local economy).
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Nice! I tell you–a garage in MN is a very nice thing, indeed.
@MattR: I’m guessing that wasn’t what you said to the cop who pulled you over. Somehow, I don’t see, “I was batshit tired” as something a cop would appreciate hearing.
Calming Influence
@demimondian:
And I will agree that Seattle and like climes is where the zipper merge is even remotely possible. When everyone’s in synch, it’s a thing of traffic-moving beauty. Thanks for reminding me of that.
MattR
@asiangrrlMN: Nope. I knew enough not to say that and I also knew I was too tired to come up with a good story so I just tried to keep it short. I don’t even remember what I said. All I know is it wasn’t sweet enough to get me out of a ticket but it wasn’t so sour that I didn’t make my plane.
Calming Influence
And by-the-by, flying to Atlanta next Friday to visit Ms. Influence’s nephew and family – the city where it ain’t a street if it ain’t got “Peach” in there somewhere. Still one of my favorites. though!
gwangung
@Yutsano: All I can say is that I’ve had a personal driveway for years and years now.
@asiangrrlMN: I’ve made parallel parking a needed part of my skill set; trying to get around Capitol Hill and the I-District (eat, drink and shows), you NEED to parallel park.
Oh, and here’s the latest show I’m working on , opening Sept. 10. I’m the token staff member with boy parts.
Yutsano
@Calming Influence: The intersection of Peachtree Street and Peachtree Street is where I officially gave up on Atlanta. After that I wanted back on75/80 as quickly as I could get there. Which is a shame because the Olympic Park is still an amazing thing to see. And the Jimmy Carter Center is nothing short of fantastic.
@gwangung: Ooh. I may haz plans now.
Jim in Chicago
If you think Spotted Cow is good, wait until you try their Fat Squirrel, my favorite nut brown ale. You’re in for a treat!
asiangrrlMN
@gwangung: Yum. Yum. Yum. Wish I were there!
@MattR: Very sensible, indeed.
@Yutsano: If you go, let me know how it was. I haz region envy now.
Zuzu's Petals
@asiangrrlMN:
I can parallel park in one move without looking over my shoulder, thanks to a secret shared by a mathematician friend:
When you’ve pulled up beside the car in front of the parking spot and begin to back in, line up the car behind the parking spot in the exact center of your rear view mirror. Keep it in the center as you maneuver your car into the spot.
Easier to demonstrate than describe, but believe me, once you get it, it’s supremely easy and accurate. Never fails.
asiangrrlMN
@Zuzu’s Petals: Hmmmmm….It sounds crazy enough to be true. I shall have to try it the next time I parallel park!
Zuzu's Petals
@asiangrrlMN:
It is really the only great car skill I have.
Until now I’ve only shared it with women (though YOU qualify!) ’cause I feel like we need all the advantages we can get in the parking department.
Which reminds me…know why women have such a hard time judging distances?
‘Cause all their lives they’ve been told that this equals eight inches.
/Rimshot.
diakron
Try beers by Sprecher (especially the maibock if it’s available), Tyranena, and Furthermore. Those three would run with the best we have in PA. Never been to Madison, but I’ve had tons of fun in MKE.
Zuzu's Petals
@Zuzu’s Petals:
PS to all: Yes, I realize it is an unfair stereotype about women and parking and the spatially-challenged thing. Which is why I like the send-up.
asiangrrlMN
@Zuzu’s Petals: It may be unfair and stereotypical, but it’s completely true about me. I admit that I am spatially-challenged.
Ash Can
@stannate: Huber Bock is my favorite cooking beer for German food. Sausages, kassler rippschen, sauerkraut, potatoes and stews all benefit from simmering or baking in it. It has a very slight sweetness to it, and a tiny bit of smokiness, so it’s ideal. And on top of it, of course, it’s good to drink (needless to say, I wouldn’t cook with it if it weren’t). A half a bottle for the pork chops, a half a bottle for me, a splash or three for the potatoes, the rest of the bottle for me…
MAJeff
@asiangrrlMN:
WHY CAN’T MINNESOTANS MERGE?!?!?!?!?!?
chopper
as a new yorker by way of northern illinois, let me agree 100%. every time i go back to chicago i start becoming polite again because i no longer have to fight tooth-and-nail over every damn thing.
Remember November
We got some fine microbrews here on LI- try Blue Point, Southampton Ales and Long Ireland brews.
Remember November
@chopper:
Or looking up the street the wrong way because you know some bike messenger or delivery boy is gonna take you because they ride the wrong way up streets/avenues. Forget vehicle traffic the bikes are worse. They even make bike lanes for these nubs.
That said, if you are in NY – you can rent bikes for the day- a great place to go is Zen Bikes on 24th ( betw 6th & 7th)
swell
Grumpy Troll Brew Pub & Eatery, Mt Horeb, Wisconsin. In the midst of the most challenging cycling terrain in America. That is all.
dougie smooth
Spotted Cow is a gateway beer. One of the lesser New Glarus products. If you’re still in Madison, don’t miss checking out everything Ale Asylum and Lake Louie.
Bex
Re Spotted Cow…I have been to the brewery several times and have a souvenir glass to prove it. And the beer tastes great in any kind of glass. Actually the brewery isn’t that far from Madison if you have some time. The town of New Glarus is fun too, and definitely not flat.
Paul in KY
Glad you liked it. Wish I’d brought more than 2 six packs home when I returned to the South.
eyepaddle
As a Minnesotan, I get mistaken for a Canadian EVERYTIME I travel anywhere outside of the GD midwest. Personally I don’t think our accents are even close, it’d be like saying Boston and Long Island have the same accent or something. My friends and I were assumed to be Canadian in Hawaii, me in New Zealand, just recently when I was in NYC/Long Island–it’s one of life’s mysteries.
asiangrrlMN
@MAJeff: Because good Lutherans don’t do that! Real answer: Oh my god! Tell me about it! Drives me crazy every freaking time.
@eyepaddle: It’s for being so polite, doncha know. I never get mistaken for Canadian. I wonder why?
Marlon
Go fuck yourself. New Yorkers are very polite.
Ahem…
eyepaddle
@asiangrrlMN:
Wellllll, I don’t know you, but I think most folks assume there are no non-melanin challenged canucks. Oddly enough, I think the first three Canadians I met were of Chinese (Hong Kong) descent (Chemistry professor and a few students), and fairly soon after one was an Inuit from The Yukon.
But maybe you just say “Uff da!” so much you give yourself away!* ;)
*This is something I’ve started to do as I age and turn slowly into my parents–in this case my 50/50 Norewgian/Swedish mom.