Leinie Lodge is Wisconsin’s Idyllic Slice of Beer, Tourist Paradise

My best friend and I have been planning a trip to Chippewa Falls, WI for years now. I'm a fan of brewery tours (see my coverage of Blaum Bros. in Galena and Potosi Brewery as proof), and I knew one day I was going to trek to Chippewa to get up-close-and-personal with the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewery.

Leinenkugel has been a part of my life for at least ten years. I've met the three brothers (Jake, Dick, and John) at different baseball games; I've hung out on many a Leinenkugel-sponsored deck; I have more hats, glassware, and shirts from Leinenkugel than I care to admit. So after a couple months of planning, my friend and I got to check a notable excursion off our bucket list.

A four-day vacation that spanned four states, our first stop was Leinie Lodge. A resort-like atmosphere, with a gift-shop/bar and enormous brewery separated by Chippewa's Duncan Creek, it's where Leinenkugel was built and continues to thrive. The brewery's founder, Jacob Leinenkugel, built his lake-house just north of the area, and his ancestors, predicated on preserving their rich history, have kept the operation running smoothly on these grounds.

For several hours, my friend and I took an hour-long tour and sipped many-a-cocktail on this beautiful slice of paradise. The weather, a breezy 70 degrees, couldn't have been more ideal. All these ingredients contribute to an idyllic environment where a vacation mindset was paramount.

I have to give a lot of praise to Tom, our tour-guide for the day, who took our group through the property and in several nooks and crannies of the accompanying brewery. We got a crash course on the brewing process, a look at the ingredients, and a palpable sense of a brewery that is more than 150 years old.

This is a story better told with pictures. Take a look at some of the sights and beverages in the gallery below!

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is located at 124 East Elm Street in Chippewa Falls, WI.