27/05/2026
Our 2nd stop last Wednesday was AL. Ringling Brewing Co. at 623 Broadway St in Baraboo. Next door to the old Ringling mansion, this place oozes history. It was under a floorboard in that old mansion that a recipe for The Ringling Family Original beer was found, and a brewery was born. I told the beer slinger behind the bar, who also happens to assist in brewing some of the beers here, that I intended to have a flight or two of beers. That's when he brought out what appeared to be a flatbed rail car with 16 circle spots, one for each of the 16 beers and seltzers they have on tap. "I suggest you try them all", he said. I was an easy sell. How could I pass that up? So, he poured sixteen 5 oz samples, which we intended to pair with an appetizer from the food menu (which features handmade empanadas, sandwiches, and shareables such as cheese curds, loaded nachos, and Bavarian pretzels). Unfortunately, the kitchen was closed on Wednesday. The Ringling Family Original was surprisingly good, and my favorite was Heat Merchant, a hot pepper American pale ale. Tami helped me with the two seltzers and a grape sour. Just when we thought we were done, the barkeep decided to get creative. He mixed Heat Merchant with other offerings to make other beers on the hotter side, and he also artificially flavored his plain seltzer for Tami to try it another way. If we had more time, I would have liked to have taken the hour-long tour which starts and ends at the brewery and features the history of the Ringling family, the mansion, and the circus.
