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Day 6: June 9, 2019 Heading Home Comment via blog |
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A month or so before beginning this trip, I ran across a reference to
FAST Corporation,
thought it sounded interesting, and realized that I would be somewhere in
the vicinity. A Roadside America article convinced me I should check
it out even though it would have me driving about an hour in the wrong
direction. Fred Zander also thought it sounded interesting so the two of
us headed that way on the morning after the conference. The storage area
behind the workshop is open and free although some
guidelines are posted.
Items in the first picture appear to be completely finished display samples or they could be waiting for shipment. That definitely seems a possibility for the group of guitars in the background. The bulk of the space -- and we're talking several acres -- is filled with molds waiting to be reused. Sizes are deceptive. You might think that's a regular old traffic cone until you see Fred standing beside it. The finished items in the last picture are by the main road and are clearly there to impress. They do. I was especially impressed with that pheasant. |
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Because of my plans for the afternoon, we had left early and without
breakfast. We now looked for someplace where I could grab something to go
and Fred could have a more leisurely meal. A place that looked promising
on a billboard turned out to be closed, but we parked on a nearby side
street to say our goodbyes. By pure coincidence, we parked right across
from a very cool and very old sign. We photographed the sign, wished each
other safe travels, and hit the road. Fred headed for Lambeau Field while
I headed for a brewery.
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My specific destination was the Minhas Brewery in Monroe. The brewery advertises
itself as the second oldest brewery in America. However, due to numerous
owner and name changes, that claim is not universally accepted. The
building housing the brewery and a fairly recently retired copper brewing
kettle inside it date from 1845. No photos are allowed inside the brewery
and I failed to take any of the exterior. In fact, most of my pictures
from the visit are of the memorabilia collection displayed there. It seems
the only photo I have with the brewery's name is from the post-tour
tasting session and even there it appears only on the glass. The tasting
session was rather unusual. It started with an 8 ounce glass of a beer of
our choice. That was followed by a twenty minute period during which we
were served 4 ounce pours of any available beer until time ran out.
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It had been rather apparent that the most popular beer in the Dells area
was Spotted Cow. I knew it was from
New Glarus
Brewing but I had no idea where that was. I found out when I passed it
about fifteen miles short of Monroe. I continued to Minhas for the
scheduled but returned to New Glarus when it was over. At New Glarus, $8
gets you a 6 ounce glass and three fills. Counting the fills is
accomplished with tear-offs on a wrist band.
There are currently eight breweries within a half-dozen miles of my home. The closest, at under two miles, is Sonder Brewing. At New Glarus, I spotted a couple of fellows wearing Sonder T-shirts. They're among the group in the background of the rinsing station picture. It turns out that Sonder's owners and founders were part of the group. They once worked at New Glarus and were there buying hops. Howdy neighbor. |
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And away we go!
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