Live from the Leinie Lodge

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – Of all the beers out on the market these days, I've taken a liking to the Leinenkugel brand made right here in Wisconsin.

On my way up to Clam Lake, Wis., I saw a sign which reminded me that the company's brewery is near Eau Claire – on the way. It's my "day off" today, so I decided to do something fun. I took a brewery tour.

Leinie's brewery is northeast of Eau Claire. It produces roughly 1500 barrels of beer every day. A barrel holds roughly 31 gallons, which is roughly 331 servings. That's a lot of hangovers! (I'm kidding, mom...)

It was a really fun experience and even got to sample a few varieties I hadn't felt comfortable spending money on.

Trivia... the first person to answer the question fully and correctlyy wins... well you don't win anything but you win the honor of being the winner:

Question: What is the origin of the Native American head on the Leinenkugel's logo on its current beer line-up?

And did you know?

-The brewery adds only a 5 gallon bucket of honey to it's batches of weiss beers? That amounts to a whole 1-2 drops of honey in every bottle. But hey, it's local honey at least!

-The brewery produced a handful of varieties of soda as well as a "non-intoxicating" brew during prohibition.

-Draft beer has more flavor than bottled beer because kegs are not sterilized with hot water.

-Farms in Chilton, Wis., southeast of Appleton, is one of two suppliers of barley for Leinenkugel's dark beers.

-Leinenkugel used to grow its own hops until a fungus outbreak in the soil made the region incapable of growing hops. They are now grown in the Yakima Valley region of Washington state.

-The batches of brewers' yeast can be reused up to 12 times.

-After being used for the brewing process, the grain particles are picked up by local farmers for use as feed.