Abbott and Costello. Yin and Yang. Badger red and white. While all fine partners, none cross the palate as pleasantly as two Wisconsin culinary staples — beer and cheese. Last September, a group of fifty-three UW connoisseurs took a behind-the-scenes tour to find out how those Badger staples are made.
The tour was part of WAA’s Made in Wisconsin series, a lifelong learning program that gives participants an inside look at Wisconsin businesses through field trips to various companies around the state. The group’s first stop was the Roth Käse company in Monroe, where participants got to see the cheese-making process. After a Swiss-style lunch and demonstration on how to make fondue at the New Glarus Hotel, participants were entertained by an authentic Swiss yodeler, then headed to the New Glarus Brewery, where they were able to see beer made before taste-testing four different varieties.
“This was definitely one of our most successful Made in Wisconsin tours,” says WAA’s lifelong learning specialist Ellen Clarke ’06. “We really had an enthusiastic group, and this is a tour we hope to run again in the near future.”
Past Made in Wisconsin tours have included Harley-Davidson, Trek, and Ancora Coffee. For more information on upcoming tours and other lifelong learning programs, visit
uwalumni.com/learning.
— Ben Wischnewski ’05