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Eyes scan the page of TBEX Conference tours. Two tours stand out. No surprise, they are both food related. One tour involves cheese and breweries, the other is a cheese curd crawl. I opt for the cheese and breweries, Menomonie Wisconsin Tour. Learning is fun, and the tour description mentions a glimpse into the cheese making process.
The bus bounces along, carrying our TBEX tour group from The Pablo Center of Confluence, to Menomonie Wisconsin. Okay, get it out of your system now. Go ahead, sing a few lines of the Menomena song. We all did.
Tour Stop #1-Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery
Menomonie Wisconsin, is home of Ellsworth’s, small batch/artisan cheese production facility. The tour participates are hyped for cheese.
As an added surprise, each attendee is presented with a $10 gift card to spend during the visit.
There are samples galore. It’s bliss. The fried cheese curds cause melty joy.
There is mac and cheese, and a full snack board that the group quickly decimates. I make purposeful choices.
I want to eat all of the cheese, but this isn’t my first TBEX tour. I am positive there will be more food in our future.
Our Cheese Guide, Eli, explains Ellsworth’s cheese making process. Due to health restrictions, we can’t be on the processing floor, but we get a good look through the viewing windows.
The best tours are a symbiotic relationship where the teachers are just as enthusiastic to teach as the learners are to learn. All of the workers at the cheese facility, seem genuinely happy we are there to learn.
Eli is passionate about the origins of orange cheese.
Back in the 17th Century, well-kept cows, had diets high in beta-carotene. This gave their milk, an orange tint. Thus the orange tint became associated with high quality cheese. When other cheese makers started losing business due to their boring white cheese, they began dying their cheese orange. To this day, cheese continues its orange dye traditions, because…psychology? We’re basically programmed to believe in the goodness of orange cheese (think Cheetos, Cheese-its, Kraft Mac and Cheese). Eli is an anti-orange programming crusader. Cheese doesn’t have to be orange to be excellent.
We load on the bus, ready for our second stop. Some of the travel creatives on the tour, conspire and purchase flavors of the cheese curds not for sample.
The bags are passed around for sharing. Travel people are my favorite people.
My chosen flavor is the dill pickle cheese curds. Ranch comes in a close second.
Tour Stop #2-Brewery Nonic
As an admirer of buildings and architecture, our second Menomonie Wisconsin Tour stop, enchants me. Ryan Verson saved a historic 1906 train station and transformed it into a successful brewery.
Ryan speaks to our group. He describes his wish to create a place where people could meet together, chill, and have a good time.
I’d say he nailed it.
Ryan also wants to do as much good for the community as possible. Brewery Nonic recently hosted a dog calendar contest to raise money for a local Humane Society. Though voting concluded before our visit, I hope Bowser makes the calendar.
This Menomonie Wisconsin spot, brews up some dam fine beer.
I’m ecstatic when I discover Ruby Escalona is on the tour. I met Ruby at TBEX Lafayette. Shannon and I consider her a travel kindred spirit.
You can discover more about Ruby at
Website: A Journey We Love
Instagram: A Journey We Love
We sample several beers at Brewery Nonic.
My, Shannon, and Ruby’s favorite is the Belge Du Nord, a Belgium Quad. It’s smooth, with not-too-sweet, caramel notes.
I’m glad we have a taster size, because at 12% and outstanding drinkability, I think the Quad could get one into mischief.
Tour Stop #3- Lucette Brewing Co.
Lucette Brewing Co. is the final stop on our Menomonie Wisconsin Tour. Named after Paul Bunyan’s sweetheart, Lucette Brewing Co. has a large, open space, modern farmhouse vibe.
Because I can be swayed by a clever beer name, I sample the “I Love It When You Call Me Big Hoppa,” Hazy IPA.
We consider soda a treat. That is why we appreciate breweries that offer soda on-draft. Shannon gets the Lucy Pop! Draft Root Beer.
This honey sweetened beverage is named after dog Lucy. Check out Lucette’s Instagram for adorable Lucy pics. I give the root beer a taste. It receives a thumbs up from both of us.
Light streams through the windows, as staff set up a pizza buffet.
The pizzas are cooked in Lucette’s wood fire ovens.
They provide an impressive variety of choices, including a gluten-free pizza. To this point, I have shunned pizza with pickle toppings, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I snag a slice of the Pickle Me Softly. The combination of Whipped Feta, Bacon, Mozzarella, House-Made Pickles, Red Pepper Flakes, and Dill, cause me to utter a sincere apology.
I’m sorry pickles. Under the right circumstance, you do belong on pizza.
I also devour a slice of The Jerry. The spinach and tomatoes add balance after a day of beer and cheese.
The pizzas are marvelous. I wish I had unlimited stomach space so I could try them all. The long tables provide an opportunity for our group to bond.
A special thanks to the Mayor of Menomonie, who speaks with us at Brewery Nonic.
On top of highlighting Menomonie’s nature activities, he tells us about the town’s brilliantly named Pawn Shop, Me-No-Monie. My love for writing runs deep, but I am a terrible speller. The Pawn Shop name reminds me how to spell Menomonie as I write this post.
Our Menomonie Wisconsin tour ends with happy bellies and hearts full of Wisconsin gladness.
Places to Stay in the Eau Claire/Menomonie Area
