The little town of Monroe has a big reputation for cheese. It holds a huge cheese festival every two years, it’s in the heart of Wisconsin’s cheese country, and it has some world-renowned cheese factories. One can’t live on cheese alone though, and fortunately, this little town has another claim to fame. Monroe is home to Minhas Craft Brewery, the second-oldest brewery in the United States. The brewery has survived some incredible challenges and changes, and if you pay it a visit, it will have something wonderful on tap. Feeling thirsty? Here’s what’s waiting for you at Minhas.

The Minhas Craft Brewery began way back in 1845 as the Monroe Brewing Company. The brewery went through a lot of changes over the years – it survived Prohibition and the Great Depression, and it changed ownership 10 times.

The current owners are brother and sister Ravinder and Manjit Minhas. They purchased the brewery in 2006. At the time, it was known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company.

The brewery today is an enterprise that produces an incredible variety of products, including 233 different beers, spirits, liqueurs, and wines.

The brewery makes some iconic longtime Wisconsin beers, like Huber Premium, as well as a fun selection of current brews, like Lazy Mutt So Cal IPA and Lazy Mutt Seasonal Chocolate Cherry. The company’s products are shipped and sold throughout Canada, the U.S., and 16 other countries.

But while the company has established a global footprint, you can’t beat sampling the products right at the mothership.

The brewery offers guided tours that detail the brewery’s rich history as well as the beer-making process. Downstairs, you can visit the Herb and Helen Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia Museum, the largest museum of its kind. It has hundreds of vintage beer advertisements and all kinds of throwback bits of brewery memorabilia.

There’s also a gift shop stocked with all the Minhas gear you can imagine, as well as an incredible selection of gifts and souvenirs. And of course, there’s a tap room where you can sample some of the brewery’s many successful beers.

Learn more, including public hours and tour information, on Minhas Craft Brewery's website. While you’re in Monroe, there’s a cheese shop you’ll want to visit. It's the state’s oldest cheese store.