WISCONSIN TRAVEL

Tour de beer: A biking brewery tour in the Stevens Point area

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two flat bike tires in one day is bad luck. Three flats has to be some kind of record.

My plan for the day was ambitious: bike about 40 miles along mostly bike trail to visit three breweries in the Stevens Point area.

Four breweries in the area — Stevens Point Brewery, Central Waters in Amherst, O'So in Plover and Kozy Yak in Rosholt — are part of the Central Wisconsin Craft Collective, which also includes Great Northern Distilling in Plover and Sunset Point Winery in Stevens Point.

Central Waters Brewing Co. in Amherst has made a name for itself outside of its small hometown in central Wisconsin.

That doesn't even include an additional brew pub in Rosholt, McZ's, that has plans to start brewing its own beer soon; three breweries about 35 miles north in Wausau — the Great Dane, Red Eye Brewing Co. and Bull Falls Brewery — and Blue Heron Brewpub about 35 miles west in Marshfield.

All of those are easy enough to visit in a weekend with a designated driver, but since the Stevens Point area is home to a great trail network, plus relatively quiet county roads and highways, I decided to tackle three on two wheels.

I did a whirlwind day tour, but this trip is probably best split into two, which would allow for a more leisurely trip and a chance to visit Kozy Yak.

On the trail

The sun was shining, my water bottles were full and my beer belly was empty as I got ready to set off along the Tomorrow River State Trail from near my campsite in Lake Emily County Park in Amherst Junction. Then I noticed the first flat.

No big deal. Visions of ice-cold Point Amber filled my mind as I changed the tire and set off along the crushed-stone trail.

Farm fields whizzed past while I cruised west along the mostly flat, straight trail through a sandy outwash plain toward Plover. Less than two miles in, like a toddler who has to go to the bathroom not five minutes into a road trip, the tire was flat again.

I replaced the tube, grease building up on my hands. This was it, we were going to make it now. Just 15 miles to ambers and stouts in Stevens Point.

Trail-side tire repair on the Tomorrow River State Trail west of Amherst Junction.

In Plover, I crossed Hoover Ave. and turned north onto the paved, 4.5-mile Hoover Road Trail.

Just past Little Plover River Park, it hit: a third flat. Out of tubes and without a patch kit, I alternated between biking and pumping the tire for the last few miles north to the Heartland Trail, part of the area's 27-mile Green Circle Trail system. Beer or bust has never been more real.

Beer won. Two hours after I started, I arrived in the promised land: Stevens Point Brewery on Water St.

160 years of beer

In 1857, German immigrants Frank Wahle and George Ruder began brewing beer for the thirsty lumberjacks in Stevens Point. The brewery changed names and hands over the ensuing decades, staying afloat through prohibition by producing "near beer" and soda. Today it’s the third-oldest continuously operating, privately owned brewery in the country, and was the nation's 23rd largest craft brewer in 2016.

The old stalwart Stevens Point opens the earliest in the day of the breweries I was visiting, with daily tours starting at 11 a.m. in the summer (noon on Sunday).

Inside the historical building on Water St., remnants of the brewery's past — low doorways, a spiral staircase, garage doors not big enough for fermentation tanks to get through — mix with the shiny, whirring machines of a successful modern brewery.

Today that brewery churns out 50 types of beer, cider and soda, plus contract brews for other breweries.

The sodas make the tour more kid-friendly than most breweries, and the wide range of brews and ciders means that everyone can find something to his or her liking.

The flagship Point Special Lager, a pilsner, has nabbed awards at a variety of competitions, including a gold at the Great American Beer Festival in 2003.

This year the brewery combined that beer with one of its other staples, Classic Amber Lager, to create Anniversary Ale in honor of its 160th birthday. The ale — only available on tap in Wisconsin — is brewed using a German recipe dating to the 19th century.

In addition to a look at the brewing and bottling areas of the brewery, tours include three samples (possibly more if you answer some questions along the way) and a pint glass to take home.

Tours of Stevens Point Brewery include three samples at the bar in the brewery.

Tour guide Jake Oblak recommended the Whole Hog Espresso Stout on nitro. Coffee, chocolate and beer? Yes, please. Even on a hot summer day, the smooth beer, made with coffee beans from Milwaukee's Valentine Coffee Roasters, was a delicious delight that I could drink all day.

But all day I did not have, so it was back to the bike.

Luckily, Point Area Bicycle Service was only about a mile away. I pumped and pedaled and picked up a patch kit and another tube.

Owner John Pawlak invited me to the shop's group bike ride the following night — a superheroes theme, he said — but my Stevens Point tour de beer was a one-day-only extravaganza. The shop regularly hosts events and rides, including a Bicycle Adventure Extravaganza on Aug. 27. Check the shop's website (pointareabicycleservice.com) or Facebook page for more.

The only villain that day was a small office staple I found wedged into my tire while I changed it for the third time. After prosecuting the offender and grabbing a quick lunch at the charming Wooden Chair on Main St., it was time for stop two on the tour: O'So Brewing Co. in Plover.

O'So good

What O'So lacks in charm — it's sandwiched in a strip mall off a busy road — it makes up for in beer.

The brewery is a little younger than granddaddy Point — it's celebrating its 10th anniversary this year — but has a strong lineup of beers from solid IPAs and sours to lighter wheats and smooth porters.

Tours are only offered at 2, 3 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, so on my Friday afternoon visit I bellied up to the tap house bar for a taste of the brewery.

The tap house has 40 taps with nearly two dozen of its own beers plus guest Wisconsin offerings from Central Waters, Badger State, Mobcraft and others.

O'So Brewing Co. has 40 beers on tap, including guest beers from other Wisconsin breweries.

I opted for the UnBridled Tart, a limited-release collaboration with Madison's vintage brewing that has a refreshing tartness that's lighter than most sours.

I chatted with bartenders Johnny Yang and Adam Shepard, who, when I remarked about the not-ideal location in a strip mall, hinted that O'So is looking to move into its own bigger space in 2018.

From O'So it was back to the Tomorrow River State Trail and the 11-mile ride back to Amherst Junction. There I gave a long hard thought to using my car for the last leg of the trip as I passed it in the trailhead parking lot, but I pedaled on, ditching the trail and hopping on Highway KK to head southeast to Central Waters in Amherst.

It was a change pedaling next to 55-mile-per-hour traffic after a day on trails, but it was light and generous with passing space as I turned east onto Wilson St. in Amherst, then south on Allen St. to Central Waters.

The small town has a population of just over 1,000, and on a warm Friday summer evening, many of them were at the craft brewery that has made a name for itself beyond central Wisconsin.

I grabbed one of my favorites — a bourbon barrel-aged scotch ale — and shared a table on the patio with a group engaged in a spirited debate about where they should eat dinner as I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich from Chef C's Munchie Mobile, a food truck parked outside.

The morning's flat tires seemed like a lifetime ago as I slowly sipped the beer and took in the lively crowd at one of my favorite Wisconsin breweries on a nearly perfect summer evening. If a few tires were the price for entry, it was more than worth it.

IF YOU GO

Plan your trip for a Friday and Saturday, when all of these breweries are open and offering tours and you can split visits over two days.

Find parking and a trailhead for the Tomorrow River State Trail on 2nd St. in Amherst Junction. Cyclists age 16 and older need a state trail pass ($25/year or $5/day), which you can purchase at the trailhead.

Stevens Point Brewery, 2617 Water St., offers tours on the hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon, 1 and 2 p.m. Sunday, June through Labor Day. Tour times are more limited September through May. Tours cost $5 and include three samples and a pint glass to take home. Tours are not accessible, and you need closed-toed shoes. Reservations are recommended. More info: (800) 369-4911, pointbeer.com.

O'So Brewing Co., 3028 Village Park Drive, Plover, gives tours at 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds from the tour (a $2 or more donation is encouraged) go to local charities. The Tap House is open 3-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 3-10 p.m. Thursday and noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. More info: (715) 254-2163, osobrewing.com.

Free tours of Central Waters Brewing Co., 351 Allen St., Amherst, are at 5 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. The tap room is open 3-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday. More info: (715) 824-2739, centralwaters.com.

Kozy Yak Brewery & Winery, 197 N. Main St., is open 3-7 p.m. Saturday. The brewery also serves pizza. More info: (715) 677-3082, kozyyak.com.

Lake Emily County Park, 3968 Park Drive, Amherst Junction, is a good home base. Nab a campsite in the newer south campground, which is farther from the traffic noise of Highway 10. Half the sites are reservable. More info: co.portage.wi.us.

A number of area hotels offer discounted rates for people visiting the Central Wisconsin Craft Collective. See stevenspointarea.com for details and more information on the area.