I like Wisconsin

A couple of days into my trip and I've noticed this: Wisconsin has charm.

Rolling hills dotted with farmsteads. A seductively lilting accent and a bunch of friendly people. It's a side of America I've never seen before. My fault. I'm a city boy. I'd never paid rural USA any attention.

On the drive from Monroe to Madison this afternoon, the countryside looked eerily like Leicestershire. Apart from the silos. Though the conical fermenters of the New Glarus Brewery fitted seamlessly into the landscape.

Spotted Cow I'm beginning to like, too. Every pin tonight ub I've been in had it on draught. Which would certainly start to bore me of it, if I lived here. But It's an indicator of how far craft beer has come. The Irish pub we ate tonight had a surprisingly decent selection. I went for Capital Maibock. Dare I say it - pretty much true to style.

Monroe, Wisconsin

It's been an interesting day. Starting in New Jersey and ending in Wisconsin. Monroe,Wisconsin, to be precise.

The highlight was a sprint to catch my connecting flight in Chicago. Thrombie time, I feared. Luckily, my heart and belly both made it unscathed to the gate.

The drive from Madison to Monroe made a change. A change from the urban sprawl of New Jersey. Open farmland, punctuated here and there by farmhouses, lofty barns and towering silos. And empty roads. About as unlike eastern New Jersey as you could imagine. The occasional towns are mostly just a handful of houses. "Unincorporated" underlines the town name on the signboards. Effing tiny, it could equally well say.

One town had a different subscript. New Glarus. That said: population 2,111. Surprisingly, my colleague knew the town's claim to fame: New Glarus Brewing. The place itself is bizarrely distinctive, many buildings being in the form of Swiss chalets. No sign of any mountains, though.

Stan Hieronymous had told me Monroe was a good spot for beer. New Glarus all over the place. He wasn't wrong. Ludlow, the bar restaurant next to my hotel, has Spotted Cow on draught. I had three with dinner. Drinkable enough, but not outrageous. Where are all the extreme beers? I never seem to be able to find them. Am I looking in the wrong places? I'll continue my search tomorrow in Madison.