I Can Taste Home

From the website of a Madison TV station:

MADISON, Wis. -- Next to Nevada and New Hampshire, Wisconsin consumes more beer per person than the rest of the country. Last year, state producers rolled out more than 8.5 million barrels of beer -- an increase of 7.6 percent or 500,000 barrels.

Surprisingly, nationwide beer production dropped 1.4 percent, but beer connoisseurs say Wisconsin's success is no surprise. They believe many people would choose a local brew over a national chain.

"It's just the creativity and the originality that goes into it, the thought process versus something that's just a chain," said Billie Ruden of Muscatine, Iowa. Billie and her husband, Andrew, are spending their honeymoon visiting local breweries in Wisconsin.

"Wisconsin makes the best beer around," said Jim Campbell, a bartender at Baumgartner Cheese Store and Tavern. "They have great tasting beer, not just at the Huber Brewery, but New Glarus, City Brewery, they make great beer."

Gary Olson, a plant manager at the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, agrees and says the state's reputation helped boost its own brew.

"Because of contracts, we have increased our production significantly last year and expect bigger gains this year," said Olson.

Three days a week, the Huber plant cranks out more than 1,000 barrels or about 347,000 glasses of beer. Olson says production increased from about 48,000 barrels in 2002 to nearly 80,000 barrels last year.

"Even a year ago, we brewed one day a week so three times a week is quite an increase," said Olson.

Based on current trends, Olson figures Huber brewing will produce about 140,000 barrels this year. He says specialty brews, such as Huber's Summer Solstice Wit, will help keep local breweries busy and fuel production.