While in Wisconsin it was only fitting to take a tour of a creamery! After the discovery of a local creamery tour, my coworkers and I signed up, and headed out! I was beyond surprised when the Uber driver pulled up in front of a building in a popular district in the middle of the city. The Clock Shadow Creamery is one of a few urban creameries in the United States. They make fresh cheese curds, soft cheeses, and a few brick cheeses right in-house.
One one of the most fascinating things about the creamery had to be the building. It’s eco-friendly, has a roof top garden and beehive, that supplies herbs and flavorings for their products. The garden also provides natural insulation, cutting down on electrical costs. Even the elevator was something to marvel at. The first ever to use innovative regenerative technology, it actually creates energy from use. (The second building to use this technology was the Empte State building). I found that incredibly interesting.
After the tour we spent time in the shop trying an array of cheeses. We all decided on getting a bag of cheese curds as they had just been made that morning. Other goodies such as homemade beer jam and delectable chocolates were gathered up for purchase. The shop had a little deli with a few cheese centric sandwhiches. I watched a huge group of guys come in and each order a Butterkase and Jelly sandwich. I had to know what that was, so I jumped in line behind them and did the same. Homemade blueberry balsamic jam was thickly smeared on a piece of bread, she layered huge chunks of butterkase on the other half. After a good slathering of butter it was on the grill. What came out was the best and most unique grilled cheese I’ve ever had. I would have never thought to put Jelly in my grilled cheese, but it really works.
All and all the tour and the shop are worth a stroll. The tour cost $3 but you get 10% off for anything you buy so it ends up working out depending on how much you spend. (*note I spent almost $40 but I got a ton of goodies to take home). The Butterkase and Jelly sandwich was $5.50. A fabulous deal if you ask me.