The Joseph Huber Brewing Co., located in idyllic Monroe, Green County, is modernizing the way it rolls out the barrels. Huber is the last in a long line of Wisconsin brewers who will say goodbye to the signature moment of the brewing process: Sealing the product by pounding a hickory cork into the barrel with a mallet, creating a small geyser of beer that sprays the brewery worker and delights tourists walking through Monroe’s longest-running business.

In brewing terms the task is known as “bunging” – pounding the cork into the “bunghole” of the beer barrel.

And the people who work on the Huber production line, well, they are the last bungers.

But don’t shed any tears for the Huber bungers. No jobs will be lost according to plant manager Gary Olson, and the modernization of the racking process saves on beer loss while ensuring the flavor of the product.

“It’s a messy process,” Olson says of bunging. “Our employees take it as a good sign that we’re moving forward.”

Six-year Huber employee Jerry Blakely agrees. The generally good-natured Blakely changes disposition a little when asked about bunging.

You get the feeling that this might be a touchy subject.

“It’s not the first thing on my resume,” Blakely deadpanned, dressed in an apron, describing the frothy mess produced by bunging. He has pounded an estimated 132,000 barrels, give or take a few, and looks forward to not having beer sprayed in his eyes or clothes soaked with suds.

And then there are the tours – group after group of tourists listening to guides talk about bungs, bungholes and bungers, the visitors smirking as Blakely does his job.

It’s seldom discussed in the Blakely household.

“I say I work in the brewery, or that I’m a racker,” he said.

“I stay away from the bunghole thing.”

The bunging process, which includes de-bunging spent barrels returned to the brewery, will be replaced by a computerized stainless steel machine called the IDD Mini King Plus 2. “One valve for cleaning, filling and dispensing,” plant manager Olson said with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

Despite the technological advances, there’s plenty of tradition in the air at the Huber Brewery, built on its present site in 1845, three years before Wisconsin statehood and 16 years before the Civil War -- making it the second oldest brewery in the United States.

As always, the aroma of malt, hops and barley hangs heavy in this corner of Monroe.

A fire almost claimed the brewery in 1855 until firefighters used the product to quench the flames, as well as their thirst. Sodas and a popular near beer called Golden Glow helped the business, then known as Blumer Brewery, stay afloat during Prohibition.

It was 1940 when Bavarian-born brewery worker Joseph Huber saved the company from bankruptcy by organizing an employee buyout, and stockholders voted unanimously to change the name in his honor in 1947.

Huber remains a rare breed -- an independently owned brewery. Roughly 180,000 barrels are produced annually, most of which appear under a variety of Berghoff brand labels.

Huber products have compiled an impressive list of awards, including two gold medals in the 2004 World Beer Championship (for Berghoff Oktoberfest and Huber Bock) and two silver medals in 2005 (Berghoff Amber Ale and Berghoff Pale Ale).