Old Style beer from an Old Style town
After years of talking about it, I finally made a pilgrimage to the land of kräeusend waters…...yep LaCrosse Wisconsin!
I’ve had a couple chances before to check out the classic brew city but this year I finally decided to bite the bullet and make the two and a half drive down there. Most people will be surprised to find out that I’m a super huge poser and haven’t even been to Oktoberfest in LaCrosse which is pretty legendary as I hear. So this was a trip I had to make just to mark it off my list.
I first stopped off at a couple bars downtown and asked for an Old Style…which they didn’t have so I ended up getting a New Glarus Moon Man because I was in Wisconsin dontchaknow? I again tried finding Old Style on tap at a couple other bars in the area but strangely did not find one…I know weird huh. So in the end I just got a Pabst at a different place we ate at to fill my Wisconsin old man beer quota. In hindsight, I should’ve just went to the Old Style Inn over by the brewery to get my Old Style on tap instead of screwing around but I was on a time crunch so I didn’t make it there (even though it was a couple blocks away.) I figured there would be an issue so I actually brought my own tall boy with, but still beer on tap is way better of course.
So the World’s Largest Six Pack, yep it’s big. I mean sure there are other breweries that have larger silos but are they wrapped in Old Style graphics……er wait I mean are they wrapped in City Brewery Graphics? I didn’t think so. Hopefully with Pabst being the new majority ownership of the City Brewery, perhaps they can re-wrap the silos back into the new Old Style looking cans??
Part of my trip down was so I could check another old school brewery off the list and with that, it was cool to see the original Heileman Brewhouse still in operation after all these years, I mean afterall it’s where dreams are made right?
Not to miss the big guy on campus, Gambrinus was also on scene to pose for pictures with beer geek tourists like myself. I think this is my third Gambrinus I have posed with over the years.
Old Style signs were to be witnessed…EVERYWHERE! When I first started this website many moons ago, spotting old beer signs still hanging up on old bars/buildings etc was my main goal of blog and LaCrosse did not disappoint.
I also went to an antique store downtown which of course had loads of Old Syle breweriana along with some other Miller rarities like an original Lite bottle, which I almost bought but then realized I have way too many bottles and cans….I know call me a quitter. But there was six pack of Old Style Light sitting there….that I also did not buy haha.
So should you go to LaCrosse Wisconsin to check out the beer sights? Yes.
Should you go to LaCrosse Wisconsin to visit the new craft breweries that I never did because I didn’t plan properly or I would’ve had time to check them out? Yes.
Should you check out LaCrosse Wisconsin to check out their legend…dary Oktoberfest? Yes.
PS - On a side note I also failed to drive by the old John Gund Brewery which has now been turned into fancy apartments…so in closing I think I will have to make another trip to LaCrosse Wisconsin sometime in the future haha.
As a bonus, here’s a few more pictures I took that day…..
