Top things to see and do from Dubuque to La Crosse – Great River Road The Great River Road is described by RVTravel.com as “One of America’s Best Road Trips.” The Upper Midwest hosts the most scenic road trips along the Great River Road. During the Ice Age, the Mississippi River created steep limestone and … Read more
Jo enjoying a stein of Gandy Dancer Porter in the tap room.
Located in the southern end of the historic Potosi Brewery, the pub and restaurant is a blend of old and new with modern furnishings and an artisan-crafted bar walled by the old sandstone block foundation decorated with old Potosi Brewery signs. Up to 8 Potosi brews are on-tap, offering a variety of styles. We were pleased to see their Gandy Dancer Porter was among the featured on-tap brews.
The restaurant menu features sandwiches and wraps plus a few entres. Jo had the grilled chicken breast with walnut sauce and I had their Reuben sandwich. We both elected steamed broccoli as our side dish. The Reuben served on wonderful marbled rye bread with melted Wisconsin Swiss Cheese and sauerkraut on corned beef was served hot and delicious. Good thing the table setting included lots of extra napkins because the Reuben was finger-licken good! The broccoli side dish was perfect – crispy fresh florets served hot but not overcooked. Jo loved her chicken breast covered with walnut seasoning and served on a bed of rice, a combination she will want to try at home. Very large portion sizes, so Jo got to take home half her meal for a snack the next day. Her serving of broccoli was as perfect as mine. Price-wise the menu was reasonable as were the tap beers. Some brew-pub restaurants seem to charge a premium just for the experience of eating and drinking there. Potosi is the exception.
My tasty Reuben sandwich overflowing with mouth-watering goodness!
Had the day not been so hot (91 degrees) we would have enjoyed dining in the outdoor beer garden.
Service-wise, the bar and table service was above par. I think the staff enjoys the Potosi working environment and this shows in their service.
One tip for prospective diners. If you take the Brewery Museum tour prior to dining, you can get a chit for a free 12 ounce tap brew in the restaurant after your tour.
A mini-museum is part of the Great River Road Interpretive Center.
The Potosi Brewery located in the river town of Potosi began operations in 1852 and became one of Wisconsin’s largest breweries with a nationwide distribution. But due to the consolidation going on in the brewing industry had to close its doors in 1972. The building remained vacant for several years until revived in the 2008 following a $7.5 million restoration. The brewery is also home to the National Brewery Museum, the Great River Road Interpretive Center, a gift shop, and a brewpub, restaurant, and beer garden.
The brewery also offers guided brewery tours that include a guided tour through their state-of-the-art production facility, four 5-oz beer samples in the Brewery Tasting Room while watching an informational video, a Potosi pint glass from the gift shop and one pint of the Potosi tap beer of your choice from the Brewpub.
Located across the street in the old Potosi Bottling Plant is the the Whispering Bluffs Winery and tasting room, the Bottle House Gifts and Ice Cream Shop, and other artisan shops.
Potosi National Brewery Museum
The signs, bottles, and memorabilia abound, bringing back memories and an interesting history of American brewing.
The National Brewery Museum is located on the second and third floors of the brewery. There are several rooms of collections of brewery signs, photographs, cans and bottles and other memorabilia from breweries and former breweries across the country. Many of these collections are loaned to the museum by private collectors. There are also exhibits of antique brewing and bottling machines and several touch screen audio-visual stations with a variety of brewery and brewing programming.
A person could easily spend hours touring the various exhibits, reading the stories and looking at the photographs of various breweries that are now extinct. Some of these breweries that disappeared were quite large operations.
My wife Jo was surprised to learn that there was a brewery in her former hometown of Highland, Wisconsin. It ceased operations during World War II so it wasn’t around when she came into this world. But from photographs in the exhibit, the building itself was still around in 1960. So we are curious if it still exists today. (See pix).
At one point in the history of Wisconsin brewing it seemed like any town of a few thousand people had a brewery.
Being from Wisconsin, we were most interested in the history of Wisconsin breweries. It is amazing the huge number of them that existed in an earlier era. It seemed any village of even a modest size had a brewery. One reason for the large number of breweries is Wisconsin’s germanic ancestry; immigrants brought with them the taste and technology of their favorite adult beverage. Another reason was the lack of modern refrigeration. This meant a breweries service area was limited to about 15 miles from the brewery. This was especially true prior to advent of the automobile.
Like many industries, brewing went through a period of consolidation. Refrigeration and the automobile, plus improvements in bottling operations greatly expanded the potential geographic market for brews. Larger breweries bought out smaller operations or just put them out of business through the market-place competition. The prohibition era put economic stress on some operations; those that survived switched to brewing soft drinks or non-alcoholic beers. Shortages of materials during World War II and men engaged in war put more stress on marginal operations. Today, some historic brand names still exist, like Pabst and Schlitz, but they are no longer independently brewed. They are just labels on a can or bottle coming from a Miller Brewing facility.
Jo was surprised to learn her former home town of little Highland, Wisconsin had a brewery.
Going through the exhibits brought back memories of brands that were advertised when I was a kid and no longer around. Fox Deluxe is one I remember. Also memories of beers I drank as a young man that are no longer: Meister Brau, Gettleman’s, Old Style, Hamms (from the land of sky blue waters), to name a few. One I tried once and from the taste I recall it made sense this one disappeared: Chief Oshkosh. It came in unique value-priced eight pack cartons and was economy both in price and taste! My favorite beer from my youth was Leinenkugels as it was only available in Northern Wisconsin where we traveled for vacation each summer from Chicago. Leines still exists and is brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It is still run by the Leinenkugel family although Miller Brewing is now its parent company.
We would have stayed longer and especially I’d like to sit and watch more of the audio-visual productions. But we were two hours past our lunchtime and we were getting quite hungry.
While there is a small free museum on the first floor featuring the history of the Potosi Brewery, there is a fee for touring the National Brewery Museum. But it is a very good deal because it includes a chit for a brew from the pub after your tour. And they had a senior rate which made it an exceptional deal! See our Potosi Brewery Pub and Restaurant Review.
Golf Courses reviewed in this article: Idlewild (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Orchards at Egg Harbor (Egg Harbor, WI), and Peninsula State Park Golf Course (Ephraim, WI)
Fall Golfing in Door County Wisconsin
During our trip to enjoy fall colors in Wisconsin’s Door County, my brother-in-law Dan and I planned to sample some of the peninsula’s golf courses. Based on reviews and recommendations we selected three courses to play during our stay: Idlewild (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Orchards at Egg Harbor (Egg Harbor, WI), and Peninsula State Park Golf Course (Ephraim, WI). Had we more time, we would have also played the Alpine Golf Course in Egg Harbor, but since Dan had played the course before, we elected to play the courses he had not played in the past. Although the weather turned abnormally cool and was also cloudy several days with some rain, Dan and I managed to play all three courses. The three courses we played, plus the Alpine courses, are the major 18 hole golf courses in the Door County peninsula.
Overall Golf Course Impressions and Ratings
Most Scenic Door Country Golf Course
The Most Scenic Door County Golf Course is The Peninsula Golf Course. The Peninsula State Park course is built into the north side of the bluff overlooking Ephraim and Lake Superior. Because it is part of the state park forest, except for the fairways, the landscape is heavily wooded with mature trees, some showing vibrant fall colors. The setting of the course offers several scenic vistas and has some dramatic elevation changes on some of the holes.
A very close second in terms of scenery is the Idlewild Golf Course south of Sturgeon Bay. Idlewild mixes woods, groves of trees, water, and terrain variety into an attractive combination. Where Peninsula’s beauty is primarily due to its bluff location and Mother Nature’s work on the surrounding forest, Idlewild’s attraction owes more to man’s skillful landscape design and course layout.
Most enjoyable Door County Golf Course
While we enjoyed all three courses, the Orchards of Egg Harbor got our vote for the must fun and challenge. Again Idlewild was a very close second. Peninsula was a clear third. I’ll comment more on this later.
Best Golf Pro Shop, Club House, Customer Service in Door County
IdlewildGolf Course wins this category hands down. The well-outfitted pro shop was staffed by a hospitable pro who actually gets out on his course and plays. He took the time to talk some shop about clubs and tips on playing the course. The second floor lounge has a very nice 180 degree view overlooking the golf course. The bar was staffed by the kind of people you find running your favorite neighborhood bar – friendly, service-oriented, down-home folks.
Since the temps were below 50 degrees, the course was not overly busy so Dan and I had lunch at the turn. Our sandwiches and chili were outstanding, truly home-made, made fresh and served hot. The food and beverage service is good enough to warrant a trip there even if not golfing. In fact, it was apparent several guys at the bar were there for that reason. They weren’t golfing.
The Orchards at Egg Harbor has a nice facility but is a clear second. The gentleman in the pro shop was pleasant enough but the bar-restaurant food quality and service was below par.
Peninsula State Park Golf Course comes in third in this category because it is more spartan facility and unfortunately showed evidence of being a stereotypical government run facility: microwave food, no bar service, limited pro shop selection, and lukewarm customer service.
Door County Golf Course Profiles
Review Peninsula State Park Golf Course
Peninsula State Park Golf Course, Door County Wisconsin
Stats. 3 tee boxes. Red 5428 yards, Blue 6304 yards. Blue tees rating 69.8, slope 123
Review and Comments. Fairways and greens were in very good condition, but if you miss the fairway in some cases you are on bare dirt with roots and rocks. Some tee boxes were too dry. Peninsula offers some interesting holes with unique challenges. Terrain changes and some narrower fairways provide most of the challenge. There are some great vistas of Lake Michigan from some holes.
Value. Weekend and mid-summer rates were competitive with other Door County courses. However, of the three courses were played it offers the least value. There are no fall, senior, nor weekday rates, and a State park daily or annual sticker required for entrance to the course.
Peninsula Golf Course
Peninsula Golf Course
Review Orchards at Egg Harbor Golf Course
Orchards at Egg Harbor Golf Course, Egg Harbor, WI
Stats. 5 tee boxes. Red 5485 yards, Black 7206 yards. Blue tees rating 72.4, slope 126
Course Review & Comments. The greens, fairways, and tee boxes were in good condition. The scorecard offers nice graphics and tips on playing each hole. Orchards or woods line most fairways, balls missing the fairway are usually playable. There are several interesting holes that combine challenge, yet are not gimmicky. We found number 16 the most scenic and challenging hole.
A Good Value. The Orchards offers both mid-week and fall rates and was a decent value.
Orchards at Egg Harbor Golf Course, Egg Harbor, WI
Orchards at Egg Harbor Golf Course, Egg Harbor, WI
Stats. 5 tee boxes. Red 5354, Black 6876. Blue tee rating 70.7, slope 126
Course Review & Comments. Water is a factor on 10 of the 18 holes, adding to a pleasing variety of challenges from hole to hole. The fairways are moderately open, with groves of trees sprinkled throughout the course and woods lining some of the fairways. It is a Par 72 course, but the par 4 holes were not excessively long giving the average golfer a chance to reach the green in two. Favorite Holes: Number 9 is an island green, number 18 green is surrounded by water on 3 sides
Good Value. Offers both mid-week and fall rates. Best value in Door County.
Idlewild Golf Course, Sturgeon Bay, WI
Idlewild Golf Course, Sturgeon Bay, WI
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More Golf Course Reviews
There is one other 18 hole golf course in Door County worthy of consideration – the Alpine Golf Course in Egg Harbor. Alpine actually offers two 18 hole courses. Alpine Golf Course Website
