Old World Wisconsin Gets a Brewhouse

Rob Novak smiles as he taps a keg and fills a bottle of historic beer brewed inside the new Brewhouse on June 3, 2022, at Old World Wisconsin. Novak is Old World Wisconsin's brewing experience coordinator. (Dean Witter/Wisconsin Historical Foundation

This is news that doesn’t feel new: “Breaking story: Wisconsin museum brews beer and gives out samples.” Afterwards, you can see a tavern that dates back over a century. It’s like announcing Wisconsin makes cheese. But trust me: this is awesome.

While I’ve sipped beer in a museum before, it wasn’t beer being brewed in a live exhibit right in front of me. This is not your ordinary museum, and the new brewhouse exhibit represents not just an important element of history, but changes in how visitors experience it.

History Outdoors

Old World Wisconsin sprawls across 600-plus acres of rolling hills covered in forest and fields, the largest outdoor museum of rural life in the United States. More than 60 historic structures, primarily from the 19th century, have been brought from throughout the state to be reassembled here. Docents dress up in period clothing and remain in character as they describe life in the various immigrant and pioneer communities in Wisconsin in the 19th century.