Food & Beer Culture

Friday means fish in Wisconsin — as certain as sunrise. The Friday Fish Fry brings battered perch or cod to the table, with potatoes, coleslaw and rye bread. The tradition is often traced back to the meatless Fridays of Catholic immigrants. The beer alongside is a pale lager that cleanly rinses away the fried batter.

The tavern of the region is the Supper Club. It usually opens only in the evening and on a few days a week, and people linger. First comes the Relish Tray: a board with celery sticks, carrots, radishes, green olives, and sometimes pickled herring. Alongside it is the Brandy Old Fashioned in its sweet Wisconsin version, with an orange slice, a cherry, bitters and a splash of lemon-lime soda.

Bratwurst is the German legacy on the plate. In the Sheboygan area it's often simmered in beer and onions, then grilled and served in a hard roll. The sausage is spicy and rich, and the lager's carbonation cuts right through the fat.

Cheese curds come either fresh and squeaky or deep-fried. Wisconsin is cheese country, and fried cheese is a classic beer companion. The salt in the batter calls for the next sip.

It's served in the 473-milliliter pint glass, or in a pitcher for the whole table. Here, beer is a companion rather than the main event: it sits alongside fish, sausage and conversation, not ahead of them.