The Importance of Being In Season

Last night after work I wanted a little beer (I wanted some, but wasn't interested in drinking "a" beer, so I had a half bottle). I opened the fridge in our basement, and although we currently have a nice selection of winter-appropriate beer I decided to drink the last Sam Adams Summer Ale that was hanging on from the end of summer.

I enjoy this beer. When I opened it and took my first sip, it had good flavor. But it was wrong. The beer was fine, but it didn't taste right. It was too light. Too subtle. It wasn't a winter beer.

I've read things about differences in seasonal beer, and I am more inclined to drink lighter beer during the summer than during the winter. But I didn't realize how unsatisfying it can be to drink a seasonal beer out of season.

Now I know.

Bucket List - Wisconsin Breweries

I have been attempting to gather information about breweries in Wisconsin (micro, macro and brew pub). I also need to put together information for Northeast Illinois and the Minneapolis/St. Paul areas, but I have not yet begun to look into that.

Much of the information came from Wisconsin Online -
http://www.wisconline.com/attractions/breweries.html

I have eliminated the ones I could identify as closed, and have added some of my own that I knew of which were not on the list. If you know of any additions or deletions, please let me know.

Next I’ll need to make a plan –
If these are brew pubs or breweries with tours, can I get to them?
If they are in Southeastern, Central or Northwestern Wisconsin, there is a good possibility. Northeastern and Southwestern Wisconsin destinations are unlikely, but not impossible.

The exception may be Shipwrecked Brewery in Door County. An inn and a Brew Pub? How cool is that!

If they aren’t a destination, is their beer distributed in my area or an area I will visit?
If so, can I find the stores that sell or the bars that serve their beer?

Also, if a company I found did not have their own website, I struck them from the list. I am not interested. If it is a destination (brew pub) I will not try to visit them. I do not want to find myself driving 25+ minutes to someplace just to find out they closed 2 years ago, and then have to drive home again. If it is a brewery, I will not look for their product. Good beer should NEVER be a “best kept secret”.


Southeast Wisconsin


Big Bay Brewing
http://www.bigbaybrewing.com/
Available at some retail locations and on draught at North Star Bistro 4518 N Oakland Ave, Shorewood.

Stone Cellar Brew Pub
http://www.stonecellarbrewpub.com/
920-731-3322 (restaurant) or 920-735-0507 (brewery)
1004 S Olde Oneida St, Appleton

Buffalo Water Brewing Co.
http://www.buffalowaterbeer.com/
414-273-4680
309 N Water Street, Suite 315, Milwaukee WI, 53202-7908

Horny Hideaway
http://www.hornygoatbrewing.com
414-482-4628
2011 S. 1st St, Milwaukee,

Stonefly Brewing Company
http://www.stoneflybrewery.com/main_page.html
414-264-3630
735 E. Center St, Milwaukee

Silver Creek Brew Pub
http://silvercreekbrewing.com/
262-375-4444
N57 W6172 Portland Rd
Cedarburg

III Dachshunds Beer Co.
http://www.3dachshundsbeer.com/
414-769-0928
5922 S Howell Ave, Milwaukee
The beer in now exclusively sold at City Lounge in Cudahy, Wisconsin.
3455 East Layton Ave.

St. Francis Brewery
www.stfrancisbrewery.com
414-744-4448
3825 S. Kinnickinnic Ave, St. Francis

Chameleon Brewing
http://www.chameleonbrewing.com/
The only phone numbers are for sales reps
They do not have a location, but their websites has locations where their beers are sold.

Passport Brew Haus
passportbrewhaus.com - brew pub is “coming soon”
262-780-9600
4900 S. Moorland Rd, New Berlin

Delafield Brewhaus
http://www.delafield-brewhaus.com/default.asp
262-646-7821
3832 Hillside Dr, Delafield

Gray Brewing Company
http://www.graybrewing.com/
608-754-5150 or 608-752-0821
2424 W Court St, Janesville

Lakefront Brewery
http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/main.html
414-372-8800 or 414-372-4400
1872 N Commerce St, Milwaukee

Miller Brewing Company
http://www.millercoors.com/milwaukee-brewery-tour.aspx
414-931-2467
4251 W State St, Milwaukee

Milwaukee Ale House
http://ale-house.com/
414-226-2337
223 N Water St, Milwaukee

Rock Bottom Brewery
http://www.rockbottom.com/milwaukee
414-276-3030
740 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee

Sprecher Brewing Company
http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/index.php
414-964-2739
701 W Glendale Ave, Glendale

Water Street Brewery
http://www.waterstreetbrewery.com/
414-272-1195
1101 N Water St, Milwaukee


Central Wisconsin


Ale Asylum –
http://aleasylum.com/
608-663-3926
3698 Kinsman Boulevard, Madison

Grumpy Troll Brewery, Restaurant and Pizzeria
www.thegrumpytroll.com
105 S Second St, Mount Horeb
608-437-2739

Blue Heron BrewPub
http://www.blueheronbrewpub.com/
108 W 9th St, Marshfield
715-389-1868

Capital Brewery Company & Beer Garden
http://www.capital-brewery.com/
7734 Terrace Ave, Middleton, 53562
608-836-7100

Central Water Brewing Company
http://www.centralwaters.com/
701 Main St, Junction City
715-457-3322

Cross Plains Brewery
http://www.essersbest.com/home.html
2109 Hickory St, Cross Plains
608-798-3911.

Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company (Madison)
http://www.greatdanepub.com/
123 E Doty St, Madison
608-284-0000

Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company (Wausau)
http://www.greatdanepub.com/
2305 Sherman Street, Wausau
715-845-3000

Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co
http://www.dellsmoosejaw.com/
110 Wisconsin Dells Parkway S, Wisconsin Dells
608-254-1122

O'so Brewing
http://www.osobrewing.com/
1812 Post Road, Plover
715-254-2163

Stevens Point Brewery
http://www.pointbeer.com/
2617 Water St, Stevens Point
715-344-9310 or 800-369-4911


Northwest Wisconsin


Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
http://leinie.com/av.html
715-723-5557 or 888-534-6437
124 E Elm St, Chippewa Falls

Northwoods Brewing Company
http://www.northwoodsbrewpub.com/
715-552-0510 or 715-552-0512
3560 Oakwood Mall Dr, Eau Claire

Sand Creek Brewing Company
http://www.sandcreekbrewing.com/
715-284-7553
320 PIERCE ST, BLACK RIVER FALLS

South Shore Brewing Company
http://www.southshorebrewery.com/
715-682-9199
400 3rd Ave W, Ashland, Ashland County.

Viking Brewing Company
http://www.vikingbrewing.com/
715-837-1823
234 Dallas St West, Dallas


Northeast Wisconsin


Fox River Brewing Company & Fratello's Italian Café
http://www.supplerestaurantgroup.com/fratellos-oshkosh/default.html
920-232-2337
1501 Arboretum Dr, Oshkosh

Fox River Brewing Company & Restaurant
http://www.supplerestaurantgroup.com/fratellos-appleton/default.html
920-991-0000
4301 W Wisconsin Ave, Appleton

Hinterland Brewery and Restaurant
http://www.hinterlandbeer.com/
920-438-8050
313 Dousman St, Green Bay

Rowland's Calumet Brewing Company
http://www.rowlandsbrewery.com/
920-849-2534
25 N Madison St, Chilton

Shipwrecked Brewery
http://www.shipwreckedmicrobrew.com/
920-868-2767 or 888-868-2767
7791 Egg Harbor Rd, Egg Harbor

Titletown Brewing Company
http://www.titletownbrewing.com/
920-437-2337
200 Dousman St, Green Bay


Southwest Wisconsin


Brewery Creek
http://www.brewerycreek.com/
608-987-3298
23 Commerce St, Mineral Point

City Brewery
http://www.citybrewery.com/
608-785-4222
925 S Third St, La Crosse

Minhas Craft Brewery
http://www.minhasbrewery.com/
608-325-3191
1208 14th Ave, Monroe

New Glarus Brewing Company
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
608-527-5850
County Rd W & Hwy 69

Pearl Street Brewery
http://www.pearlstreetbrewery.com/
608-784-4832
1401 Saint Andrew Street

Potosi Brewery
http://www.potosibrewery.com/
608-763-4002
209 S Main St, Potosi

Tyranena Brewing Company
http://www.tyranena.com/
920-648-8699
1025 Owen St, Lake Mills

Bucketlist - Milwaukee Brew Pubs

OnMilwaukee.com lists the top Milwaukee brew pub each year. I think it may be a good list for me to use to try new places. I am ashamed to say that I have only tried 2 of them, and not even any of the top 3.

Milwaukee's best brew pubs - 2010

1. Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden
2. Milwaukee Ale House (rated #1 in 2009)
3. Hinterland
4. Rock Bottom Brewery (DONE)
5. Water Street Brewery (DONE)
6. Stonefly Brewing Co.
7. Bay View Brew Haus
8. St. Francis Brewery
9. Delafield Brewhaus
10. Grafton Ale House
11. Port Washington Brewing Co.
12. Riverside Brewery

Nut Brown Ale

Steven Jones is a great guy. He is my wife's cousin's husband and he bought Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale for Christmas Eve. I only had one this evening. I would have liked a second, but it just didn't make sense - unless I had wanted to chug the second, which I didn't.

I've had Samuel Smith's porter, which I really liked, but this was the first time I've tried their nut brown ale. I really liked it!

This is the third beer of this style I've had and now I hold the style in much higher regard. Previously, all I'd had was Newcastle. To me, it's good, but not great. Certainly not worth going out of my way for. Then I bought the Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown for the cheese dip I tried. I drank it and really liked it. I will certainly consider buying it again. And now I've had Samuel Smith's.

With two very good versions and a third that is decent, this beer has earned a place in my seasonal selections.

Steven Jones is a great guy. He is my wife's cousin's husband and he bought Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale. I only had one this evening. I would have liked a second, but it just didn't make sense - unless I had wanted to chug the second, which I didn't. I've had Samuel Smith's porter, which I really liked, but this was the first time I've tried their nut brown ale. I really liked it! This is the third beer of this style I've had and now I hold the style in much higher regard. Previously, all I'd had was Newcastle. To me, it's good, but not great. Certainly not worth going ou

Sprecher in Beer Connoisseur

So I finally opened my Winter issue of The Beer Connoisseur magazine (the first anniversary issue) and there on the contents page, was a picture that looked strangely familiar. The caption said "Brewery Tours" and sure enough, it was Sprecher. Well done, Beer Connoisseur, to include this pleasant brewery in your magazine.

That reminds me, I want to do Sprecher's "reserve tasting" sometime. $15 to sample 10 Sprecher beers paired with artisan cheeses? Sign me up! After the holidays are done I'll have to see if I can find a good time to go. And people to go with.

Night Out

Last night I went out to see the new Tron movie and I went with my good friend Rob Richards. He picked the cinema - Fox Bay Cinema. It's similar to the Majestic in that they serve food in the theatre. So I had a Guinness with my movie. I really enjoy being able to do that. I also really enjoyed the Guinness; it's been a while since I've had one.

Afterward we went to Champions Pub and I led off with a Smithwicks - another old favorite of mine. And then I realized something. I may prefer hoppy beers, but I've had enough of them that I feel like a bit of a change. Right now I'm a bit more interested in drinking malty beers.

Despite that, I really wanted to try the Lakefront Brewery Fixed Gear they had on tap. I like most Lakefront Brewery beers, but I don't recall having had Fixed Gear.

I liked it. But I think you need to like sweet beers to appreciate it because the first flavor I noticed was a citrusy sweetness. It was a finished flavor, not a syrupy sweetness and not like an incomplete ferment. The pleasant sweet-citrus was followed by a nice hoppiness - the bitter was strong, but not overpowering. The finish was smooth and full.

If you're looking for a good hoppy beer, add this to your list. If you want a nice citrus flavor without going for a shandy thenthis is a good choice too. I don't care for the shandies I've had, but I think citrus notes add something nice to many beer styles.

One of the great things about last night was the simple pleasure of going out to a pub, and having good conversation over a pint or two. I haven't done that in some time and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. One of the most important things about beer is it's social nature and the way it can bring people together.

Brewmasters Saturday

I'm catching up on my DVRed episodes of Brewmasters.

1) I never realized that the strain of brewers yeast had an effect on flavor. I had thought it just made the alcohol, and I wondered why there were different kinds. Now I know - and they say TV rots your brain.

2) I also noticed that it seems like in every episode they talk about the danger of having to dump a batch. Is the fermentation process really that touchy, or are they just being overdramatic in order to make for more exciting television?

The Cheese-Dip Experiment

We had a holiday potluck at work on Friday, so I decided to try a new recipe. Normally I bring one dish to potlucks and such - The cheese dip made with ranch seasoning and beer. It always goes over well. Although I decided to do something new, I didn't stray far.

In the "Peg's Kitchen" section of Leinenkugel's "The Lodge" there was a recipe for "Leinie's Fireside Cheese Spread". It sounded like something right up my alley.

1 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
4-5 ounces Bleu or Gorgonzola Cheese, crumbled (I used Gorgonzola)
2 Tbsp soft butter
1 tsp grated onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown or Creamy Dark

I skipped the paprika and parsley garnish and didn't make it into a cheese ball coated in chopped sugared pecans which were a couple of suggestions. I just wanted something I could put in a plastic bowl and take to work for people to spread on crackers.

Mix the grated cheddar cheese and crubled Bleu cheese with the butter, onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and salt. When soft (let sit 30 min to get soft) beat the mixture and gradually add the Leinie's.

I wanted more volume, so I used 1 lb/6 oz of cheddar. I increased the seasoning and butter to match, but I only used 5 oz of Gorgonzola and 3/4 cup of Fireside Nut Brown (I didn't want it too "strong" or "beery" for a first try at this recipe.)

I wasn't thrilled. The beer taste was still a little too strong, it was a little too salty, and something else was a bit too strong - I'm not sure what it was, but I'm thinking it was Gorgonzola, onion or Worcestershire. I want to say I must have messed something up, but even with increasing most of the recipe I measured everything. It didn't go over too well either, so I brought a bunch home.

But I didn't want to give up on what still sounds like a good combination to me. Today, I split some English muffins, topped them with the mixture and baked them. Aside from having put a little too much on the muffins, it turned out great. Baking the mixture mellowed and blended the flavors better than beating it and letting it sit to meld. I definately want to use this mixture as a baked toasty bread topping again!

I also want to try it as a dip again, but I think I'll cut back or cut out the salt, add another tablespoon of butter and maybe cut back the beer to a half cup instead of 3/4 of a cup. I'll also add in the Gorgonzola, and Worcestershire in stages and taste test. I doubt it was the onion, but I'll probably add that in stages too. Then when I find a mixture I like I'll have to write it down.

Not today, though. I still have the old batch left, and with a tasty way to use it I'm not looking to make any more right away.

Reading the "beer talk" segment of The Lodge (Leinenkugel's newsletter) and it mentions that Leinie's used to make a bock only for the Lenten season. Then in the "Leinie's Quality Corner" they said that bock beers were made historically by German monks as liquid bread for their Lenten fast. I didn't know that, but I find it really interesting. I wonder how many other "church" beers there are?

To increase my flexibility for posting, I am setting up my phone so that I can add info while out enjoying a cold one!

Cooking Hints

I was going through my wife's cookbook collection and foud a mini cooking booklet called "Cooking with Beer" from Favorite Brand Name Recipes. What I really love is that there is a list of beers and what dishes they work well in when cooking:

IPA: replace wine or vinegar
American Amber: replace broth or stock
Brown Ale: in marinades
Porter: in sauces
Stout: in gravies and barbeque sauces
Pilsner: "Used widely in cooking and baking" - Biscuits, fritters and seafood batter
Bock: with beef or pork
Dark Lager: with roast meats
Malt Liquor: with sauces and glazes. "great with onion rings"
Peach Lambic: with chicken or poultry
Cherry Lambic: with sauces or deserts
Raspberry Lambic: in glazes for seafood
Strong Ale: with cheeses and dips
Witbier: "A delicate base for poached seafood or fritters"
Dubbel or Tripel: in carbonnade, soups and stews

I love it because it gives a nice foundation for experimenting with beer cooking. There are also a bunch of recipes I want to try:
- Wisconsin Cheddar, Swiss and Beer Soup
- Farmer's Market Grilled Chowder
- Milwaukee Pork Stew
- Ale Cheese-Stuffed Pattypans
- Guadalahara Beef and Salsa
- Grilled Chicken with Chili Beer Baste
- Porter Portobello Mushrooms
- Malty Maple Cornbread

There are a bunch of other recipes, but these jumped out at me and I want to try them out.

The other thing this did for me was to clarify the difference between ales and lagers - which I never understood before.

Ales are top-fermented at warmer temperatures for a shorter time than most lagers
Lagers are made at colder temperatures using a bottom-fermenting yeast and age longer.
So easy! Why didn't I know that!
Now I need to find out what the heck a malt liquor is. I don't think I've ever tried one and I don't know anything about them. Except that I see them amongst the beer when I'm out shopping.

Hoptoberfest

Milwaukee Brewing Company makes a fine beer called "Hoptoberfest". I can't say what color it has or what scent it has - I didn't buy it to enjoy the finer points of beer tasting. I wanted a fine cold beer straight from the bottle with dinner. I have not been disappointed. It has what I consider to be a pleasant bitterness which I expected from a a beer with "hop" in the name - but the flavor that really stands out to me is a sweet citrusy flavor that I just love. This is a beer that has my approval - I suppose that if I wanted to really think about and compare hoppy beers that I'd include this one - but I'm quite satisfied just to keep it a casual drinking experience. If you like hoppy beer, I highly recommend this one.

Thanksgiving Recap

For Thanksgiving this year, Amanda bought a bottle of Lindemans Pêche, a Belgian peach lambic. It was really good and went well with the turkey and ham sandwiches and with the vegetable and humus. (Supper was our big meal, so it was some nice sandwiches for lunch)

Amanda said that the "beer flavor" was more noticeable than in their framboise. She was right, but I still thought it was a delicious alternative to the sparkling juices and sweet German wines that we typically drink during the holidays. I wouldn't make it my first pick for a sweet fruit beer - and it isn't an every day sort of drink - but I really enjoyed it and plan to drink it again.

Then we had supper at Karl Ratzsch's downtown. Since Thanksgiving is one of their busiest days of the year, we killed some time in their bar, and I tried the Spaten Dunkel they had on tap. It was fantastic - but I wasn't really surpised. I already know that I'm a dunkel fan, and they did it well.

Refill

This has been a good weekend. I had taken a short break from beer, with a couple of exceptions the last couple of months. That break is done and it was time to refill the fridge. I think the funny thing is that will all this new beer in the house that I like, I'm drinking a Sam Adams Octoberfest as I write this and I'm really enjoying it. Even though it may be my least favorite Octoberfest so far, it's still a good beer. So what did I learn from this? Something I already knew - there are no bad beers, only better beers. And every beer has its place. Right now, the Sam Adams Octoberfest's place is in my hand.

We did some Christmas shopping yesterday and some grocery shopping today, so I used it as an opportunity to restock. We stopped at World Market yesterday and I picked up their winter sampler. I'm really looking forward to it. It has both beers I've had and ones I haven't. Then we went to Ray's Liquor in Wauwautosa to pick up some wine for a party we went to last night and we picked up a 4-pack of Sprecher IPA² for myself and a case of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss for Amanda (she's been out for some time now and she was eyeing me up while I was drinking a beer last week, so it was time to get her some more).

In between we took a break at Applebees and I asked if they had any beers that were not on the menu. Fortunately for me, they did - and it was one I hadn't had before. It was AleSmith Brewing Company's Old Numbskull. It was a real nice combination of malty and hoppy with a pleasant pale color. Fantastic with the asian chicken salad I had.

Today we did some grocery shopping and we picked up the New Belgium "Folly Pack". It has Fat Tire, 1554, 2° Below, and Trippel Belgian Style Ale. 2 of which I've tried and love, two of which are new to me.

Add to that the Milwaukee Brewing Company Hoptoberfest (delicious!) that I picked up recently and we have a fridge prepared for me to do some sampling, some dinner time sipping and some curl-up-with-a-book-on-a-cold-snowy-day drinking. Maybe winter isn't so bad after all!

Brew Masters

I don't know about you, but I have been looking forward to the Brew Masters premier. It finally premiers this coming Sunday, 11/21/10 at 9:00 PM Central Time (10 PM eastern) on the Discovery Channel. It stars Sam Calagione - Founder and President of Dogfish Head Brewery - and it will run every Sunday at that time.

For some of previews of what to expect from the show go to http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/?#mkcpgn=semdsc6. There are 6 clips

If you've never heard of it, here is a brief intro from the Discovery channel website: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/episodes.html"Each week on Brew Masters, Sam Calagione, maverick, family man and entrepreneur owner of Dogfish Head Brewery travels across America and around the globe as he explores new ingredients and techniques and collaborates with other craft brewers to come up with the next great brews. Every Sunday at 10 pm E/P, starting Nov. 21."

For a better description of what the show is about, go to http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/about-show.html

I'm thinking of picking up the star beer of the premier, Bitches Brew, for the occassion - if I can pull it off. It was released in 750ml bottles on 8/31/2010, so now I just need to track it down.

You can also Like Brew Masters on Facebook. I did.

A Tale of Four Oktoberfests

I intended to do a flavor comparison of several Oktoberfests about a month and a half / two months ago, but I never got around to it. I decided now was the time. I had four on hand, so I set myself up with them and everything I needed to taste compare them - in addition to the camera, I laid out my Oktoberfest coasters (to set the mood, of course) made sure my church key was on hand, set up a small bowl of pretzels and a bottle of water to cleanse my palate between beers, and four separate glasses. It means more washing, but I could view them side by side this way.



The Oktoberfests I had were sampled in the following order:
1) Leinenkugel's
2) Hoffbräu
3) Samuel Adams
4) Sprecher

Leinenkugel's

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a screw cap. It has a golden brown hue with a slight reddish tint. It pours with a minimal head that fades away quickly. It has a light sweet malty scent, soft and subtle. The flavor is robust, but not overpowering or overly strong. It is a full bodied malty flavor with just a hint of bitterness (which I like). The maltiness has a rich grainy character to the flavor. The aftertaste is carries a wonderful bread like taste that is probably my favorite part aside from drinking it. I very much like it. It is a very good, very solid Oktoberfest; and I will definately drink it again. I rather expected it to end up being my favorite.

Hoffbräu

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a pry-off cap. It has a beautiful light golden color that is very pale, but has more depth than a Miller or Budweiser. Despite the fact that the Hoffbräu is very light, it does not taste like a light beer. It has a more complex flavor without being as heavy on the malty flavor. It has a small, light head that fades away quickly. It has a slightly sour smell with a subtle, sweet maltiness. It has a very lively, floral malty taste - not sweet, but a light summery taste with a solid malty backing. There is a hint of bitter in the background, but it is very, very mild. Despite the sour scent, it does not have a sour flavor. There is a hint of bitter in the background, but it is very, very mild. There isn't much of an aftertaste, but what is there is a mild remnant of the bitterness. I like this Oktoberfest a lot.

Samuel Adams

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a pry off cap. This was a little more carbonated than the Leinenkugels or the Hoffbrau. It also had a minimal head that faded quickly. It had a beautiful reddish hue. It was very very beautiful, darker than the Leinenkugel's. It had a very subtle scent - sweet, almost like wine - like smelling a German white whine, but less strong. The flavor is a very solid malty flavor. No bitterness, and no sourness, but not much depth either. It has a surface flavor that sticks to the front of your toungue, but it doesn't envelope your whole mouth. The flavor reminds me of fresh baked bread or an English muffin (but less yeasty). The flavor doesn't stick with you, and there isn't much of an aftertaste to speak of. Although I like malty beers, this one doesn't have much to it. Compared to what I look for in an oktoberfest, this one is too light. There isn't a lot of body or depth, and it doesn't stick with you. It's not a bad beer, and I would pick it over mny others, but as far as Oktoberfests go, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites.


Sprecher

This comes in a 16 ounce bottle with a twist off cap. It is more carbonated, much like the Samuel Adams. It has a light head that fades quickly. It has a darker color - a reddish brown that is a beautiful fireside sort of color. It has a very, very mild scent. It's not a very distinctive smell that has a light maltiness to it. The flavor is robust - rich, and malty. There isn't much bitterness, and what is there is only noticeable by comparison with something that is completely lacking any bitterness. More than the Samuel Adams, but that's easy to do. It has a little bit of citrusy sourness in the background, but the primary flavor is a standard maltiness. It is a GOOD Oktoberfest. The hint of bitter and hint of sour lend some real character to the depth of flavor provided by the maltiness. It carries the whole flavor into the aftertaste, which is lovely.

The following is the order in which I liked these:

1) Sprecher
2) Hoffbräu
3) Leinenkugel's
4) Samuel Adams

I liked the Sprecher the best, followed closely by the Hoffbräu. It was so close that I had to try the two back to back several times to decide. My third favorite was the the Leinenkugel's. I liked the Leinenkugel's aftertaste quite a bit. I figured that it would come out on top.

All in all, it was a wonderful taste-test.

Riverwest Stein Beer

Today I tried a new beer by Lakefront Brewery - the Riverwest Stein Beer which is an all malt amber later. Typically amber lagers are the kind of beer I have to be in the mood for. I'm not sure I was in the mood. It has a good flavor, nice and malty and very mild. But it's nothing spectacular. I would drink it again and enjoy it, but it's not a beer I would go out of my way to buy. Do I recommend it? Yes. Is it one of my top picks for ambers? No.

Inspiration at the Rock Bottom

At the beginning of this summer - just a few days after I had decided to take Amanda's advice to start blogging about beer, and a few days before I actually started doing it - We went to the Rock Bottom Brewery for a casual lunch and I ordered their beer sampler (of course). I had taken the time to take some notes, and I just recently found them.

Beers I Sampled

The order in which I like these with my favorites at the top. The descriptions are mostly from the menu, not from me. But they are pretty good descriptions.

Favorite

- Naughty Scot Scotch Ale - The menu described it as having flavors of sweet malt and toasted grain with a spicy finish. They recommend it with ribs or steak.
- American Dream IPA - It is one of the Brewmaster's Choice beers with Simcoe hops. It has an ABV of 6.0% and an IBU of 48.
- Jazzberry - Also one of the Brewmaster's Choice beers. It is Raspberry puree added to a wheat ale. It has an ABV of 4.6% and an IBU of 16.
- Badger Stripe Ale - The menu described it as a red ale with deep caramel malt flavors and subtle citrus hop character. They advertise it as a great first step into darker ales and suggest that it is good with burgers.
- White Tail Pale Ale - It was described as having citrus hops and a caramel malt sweetness which is good with fish and chips.
- Heartland Wheat - Described as a German-style wheat or hefeweizen. It is an unfiltered beer with hints of banana and clove which is good with chicken or seafood.
- Line Drive Lager - One of the Brewemaster's Choice beers in a golden malty Munich Helles style. It has an ABV of 5.2% and an IBU of 20.
- Liquid Sun - It is described as a light beer - a lager, slightly sweet with a clean body and crisp finish. They suggest that it pairs well with pastas or salads.

Least Favorite

My Opinions

- The Naughty Scot had a wonderful rich flavor.
- Jazzberry had a more natural berry flavor than Berry Weiss.
- Heartland Wheat tasted like a beer, not "banana and clove" - but if I thought of bananas while drinking it, I could identify what they were referring to. You can do the same thing if you eat a Tootsie Roll and think of oranges. The clove was a little more straightforward, but it was not strong or distracting.
- Liquid Sun was a light beer. Typically I don't care for light beers.

Remembering Georgia

During the last holiday season, Amanda and I drove down to Tybee Island, Georgia and spent a few days enjoying Tybee Island and Savannah. This was before I began trying to better appreciate my beer. But since the first time I got a beer sampler at the Rock Bottom in Milwaukee, I have always looked forward to getting a sampler at a new brewpub. One day while we were strolling about historic downtown Savannah, we stopped at Moon River Brewing Company on Bay Street for lunch. I had a wonderful lunch (a crab melt or something) and their beer sampler. I don't know why, but at that time Amanda snapped a photo of me and I jotted down the beers that I had. They were:

- Wild Wacky Wit
- Savannah Fest Bier
- Slo-vannah Pale Ale
- Swamp Fox India Pale Ale
- Nick's Balls of Gold (a holiday seasonal which was quite nice)
- Skunk-Ape Stout

Then recently I was reading through a copy of The Beer Connoisseur magazine that I picked up at Milwauke Brewfest this summer (Issue 2 - Spring 2009 to be specific) and there was an article called "Savannah, Ga. Midnight in the City of Ales & Lagers" by Owen Ogletree. At the start of the article there was a section about Moon River Brewing Company. It is Savannah's only brewpub. I didn't know that while we were there - But how lucky am I to have stopped there?! Fantastic!

Moon River Brewing Company is located at 21 West Bay Street. Good food and good beer. If you ever find yourself in Savannah, I definately recommend stopping in for a pint.

Brewing News

There are some very nice regional periodicals on beer and brewing techniques. Although they are all from the same publisher and in a similar format, their articles are completely different and focussed on region specific events, breweries and related information. They are distribited to breweries, pubs, beer bars, home brewing supply stores, etc. A six issue yearly subscription can also be ordered for $20.00. When I had stopped at the Northern Brewer store, Amanda picked up the ones they had in the news racks in the entry way:

- Southwest Brewing News
- Southern Brew News
- Rocky Mountain Brewing News
- Mid-Atlantic Brewing News
- Yankee Brew News

I went through them, and they have some great information and articles.

Maps
Better than the articles are the craft beer maps. They give he name, address and phone number of breweries, restaraunts, beer bars, beer stores and homebrew shops. They show the locations on a state map - It's great info to have if you are going on vacation. Especially if you're like me and like finding the local brew pubs to get their beer samplers. They also have a calendar of events and info on local festivals and beer events, which is potentially very handy on a vacation.

Food

I was also excited to find recipes. Here are some great examples:

In the Yankee Brew News there was a food recipe for American Craft Butternut Squash Risotto By John E. Mahoney, Executive Chef at American Craft (1700 Beacon Street, Brookline, Mass.; 617-487-4289) The recipe is for roasted butternut squash and rice made with Allagash White.

From the Rocky Mountain Brewing News, in the article "Cooking On Tap" by Jamaine Batson there is a recipe for Asian Style Sesame Stout Glaze. It is an all-purpose sweet and savory glaze with sesame oil, stout, soy sauce, brown sugar and a selection of other seasonings.

From the Southern Brew News there was the article "From the Beer Wench's Kitchen: The Bulldog's Crawfish Banditos" by Kerri Allen. It is a recipe for crawfish tails to be eaten with tortillas. She recommends pairing them with beers brewed by Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs. She suggests Jockamo IPA, Turbodog or Andygator.

Beer

In the Yankee Brew News there was a Kölsch Recipe by Paul Zocco.
In the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News there was an article by George Hummel with beer recipes for a wit and a tripel that homebrewer Bruce Fabijonas served at his wedding as well as a mead recipe from George Hummel himself.
In the Southern Brew News there was a recipe for 8 Hands Brewing's award winning "Better Not Pout Stout" which won "Best of Show" at the Great Arizona Homebrew Competition 2010. In Scott Birdwell's "Best of Show" article he also includes variations for brewing it as an extract/grain mix.

Beer and Games Day

This last Saturday a couple of good friends of mine had a "Beer and Games Day" at their house. It was a brilliant idea. And simple. A bunch of friends get together to drink beer, play games and talk. I had to leave early, but while I was there it was more conversation and beer than anything else. The beer "mandate" was to bring good beer that people might want to try, and our hosts had stocked up on some nice beers in 750 ml bottles which neither of them had not tried before so that we could do some beer tasting.

I had brought a mix of Oktoberfests that I had been collecting to do a personal taste testing (which I have yet to do). I haven't been drinking much recently, so I figured they would be a tasty addition to the community pool of beers. I grabbed a New Glarus Moon Man, which I'd never had before. It was good. It was also the beer that Scott had used to make his beer dip. I had also made a beer dip, but they were two different styles.

Beer Dip
Scott's came from a recipe in Cooking with Beer by Sheryn R. Jones that is made with a can of "mexicorn. It was firm like mine typically is. I doubled the beer in mine and used "fancy" finely shredded sharp cheddar to make mine nice and creamy. As I understand it the two recipes are extremely similar, otherwise. The following is my recipe:

2 packages of cream cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) of shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup of beer (I used 2/3 to make the texture creamier)
1 ounce (one package) of ranch seasoning.

More specifically, I use MGD for the beer - it's my standard cooking beer. 2/3 cup doesn't change the flavor much from the normal 1/3.

Comparing the two side-by-side, I liked the creamy texture of mine better, but I liked the flavor of Scott's better.

Then while assembling game pieces and conversing with Scott and Jen I had a bottle of Scott's home-brew porter. It was really good, and it was a reminder that I would really like to pick up home brewing sometime soon.



Then, after several more people had arrived, I cracked into one of the beers Jo had brought - Samuel Smith's Old Brewery (an English brewery) I had their "Tadcaster: The Famous Taddy Porter". Also a very good beer.

Books

While we were talking and drinking, Scott brought out some of his beer books and I looked them over. One was the book he had gotten the beer dip recipe from. He also made a real nice chili from a recipe in the book as well. Being a book about cooking with beer, the chili obviously had beer in it. I believe he said he had used some of his home brewed porter. After eating what he had to offer, I'm beginning to think that I may want to branch out from using just MGD or whatever is handy when cooking. I'm beginning to think (and I should probably already know just from the basics of cooking) that different beers will impart different flavors on the same foods. I want to experiment with it.

The other books that Scott brought out were:
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher - I have this book myself and had started reading it some time ago. I had set it down and haven't had a chance to come back to it.
How To Brew by John J. Palmer - The gentleman at the Northern Brewer store had recommended this book. They sell it. I think he also mentioned that an early edition of the book is available for free online. He had suggested reading through the online version before starting to brew and then buying the book to have on hand while actually doing it. There are differences between the editions, but I'm not sure which since I haven't seen the online version and I had only paged through the copy Scott had.
The Naked Pint by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune - This looked like a very interesting book so I may either pick it up sometime or see if I can borrow it. I suppose it depends on if I want to keep it or not.

The Mystery of Stemware Revealed


I believe I had mentioned previously that I didn't understand stemware for beer. I get pint glasses, mugs, pilsner glasses and the like. But I just didn't understand stemware. Well Scott explained it to me short and simple. It makes sense now, but I don't know if I can do it justice. The shape holds in the aroma, so you can smell it. The Stem allows you to have less contact between your warm hand and the glass that is holding your nice cold beer. Viola - little things that improve the experience a bit. The same reason stemware is used for wine. He didn't have beer-specific stem ware so we used wine glasses. They worked perfectly.


Tasting

Scott poured us samples of each of the beers he had bought.

New Glarus Belgian Red (it was a cherry kriek-style beer) - It was light and flavorful - very sweet. It tasted like cherry pie filling. It was almost like a spritzer.
Ommegang Abbey Ale - It had a rich fruity-floral maltiness with a bit of caramel malt flavor and a nice strong finish
Chimay Ale - Not my kind of beer. It was good, but I'd rather it be a good beer in someone else' hand. It reminded me of a Carlsburg but lighter. It had that "old man beer" flavor that makes me think of my childhood. Chris described that sour-nearly turned flavor the best when he described it as "horse blanket". It's the best description I've heard for that flavor so far, so I'm going to use it until/unless I find something better.
Hennepin Saisson - It was too light. I can see drinking it after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day, but not really at any other time. I'd choose it over a macro brew, but there are a good many beers out there I would drink first. Scott said he thought it would be good with a salad, but it's not something to drink by itself. Chris and Jo didn't care for it at all.
New Glarus Abt (one of their "unplugged" beers) It had a wonderful maltiness - not too dense but still thick and wonderful.
Stone Ruination IPA - bitter and sweet like eating an orange rind. Strong fruity/floral flavors.

What I Learned

- I learned the place of stem ware in enjoying beer.
- I confirmed that I tend to prefer dark hoppy beers.
- Jo likes dark beers - nice and dense.
- Chris likes malty beers.
- Most of my friends have a good appreciation for the Fat Tire.
- Kyle can get his hands on some beers that you just can't find easily, but he is a solid (but lighthearted) defender of malt beverages such as Old English. (I'd run across this once before while making fun of the non-discriminating price-driven tastes of teenage college students. I had used Old English as an example.)
- Home Brewing still sounds like a lot of fun.
- I want to do more things like this - eat, talk and try new beers with friends.

Time to Shift My Focus

I ran myself short on funds, and I've been pretty busy even though I have now started my new job. That means I won't be going to many places/events or drinking as much beer for a while. Now would be a good time to do some other kind of "research". Maybe get to know more about history, recipes or technical aspects of brewing. Or make a plan of places I want to visit and beers I want to try.

Last Dunkel Lunch

The last couple of weeks I have been crazy-busy and stressed out with work. But all for a good thing. Today is my last day. Monday I start a new job. So what does that mean for my beer journey? It means I have been broke and not involved. The only new thing has been that I tried the Samuel Adams Oktoberfest for the first time. But I'll come back to that at some other time.

My current job is walking distance from downtown Milwaukee, and there are a lot of good places that I can walk to for lunch. I have developed my favorites. Unfortunately, my new job will be no where near downtown, so I decided I needed to have one last Dunkel Lunch. I walked over to the Old German Beer Hall and for $6.50 got myself a half liter of Hoffbrau Dunkel and a knockwurst. Man, I'm going to miss being able to do that. I love Hoffbrau beer.

Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival

Today we went to the Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival. It's a lovely event that we try to do every year.

We led off at the Lions Club area where I got a hamburger and a Sprecher Oktoberfest. This is the first time I've had their Oktoberfest and it was a nice rich, dark color with a great full flavor. And it went well with the burger.

While we were walking around I saw a beer booth for a local microbrewery that I hadn't heard of - Silver Creek Brewing Co. They are from right there in Cedarburg. They had an Oktoberfest, a session ESB, a root beer and something else on tap.

I decided to try their ESB. Unfortunately I was so disappointed in it that I only drank half of it. The best thing it had going for it was it's beautiful reddish brown hue. It didn't have much head, it smelled like grape juice and apple cider vinegar - just a touch sweet with alot of sour. It tasted weak and watery, and the most distinct thing I could pick up from the flavor was an unpleasant sourness. I understand a session beer shouldn't be too strong, but I have had light beers that tasted better.

Now, I may have little good to say about it, but I doubt they could be successful and serve their own beer in their brew pub if they didn't bring something to the table. I didn't have time to try their Oktoberfest, so I can't judge the quality of their beers as a whole. I very much want to get my hands on some of the other beers that they brew, and maybe even visit their brew pub. They absolutely deserve a second chance.

I may even give their ESB a second chance. I have a friend who once said to try everything twice. It's good advice, especially since things go wrong sometimes and your first try isn't the typical quality. For example - a couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to try Heineken, so I bought a 4 pack of cans. I hated it. I told some friends of mine and one of them was surprised because he likes it. I mentioned that I had it in cans and he said that draught is best, bottles are good, and although cans aren't bad they are the bottom of the three. This last week Thursday I went out for some drinks after work and had a couple Heinekens in bottles. I enjoyed them. It was nothing like my first experience. Now it may be the three Jack and Coke's I had first, but I don't think they would have made that much of a difference.

Long story short - I am very interested in trying more Silver Creek beer. Hopefully soon. And I want to try the ESB, but I want another beer on hand in case I have the same experience the second time around.

Sprecher Brewery Tour

Yesterday, Amanda and I did the Sprecher Brewery tour with her aunt and cousin.

The tour was fairly short and very fun. Extremely affordable at $4.00 per person ($2.00 for minors, $3.00 for seniors and FREE with a Military ID - gotta love a company that respects those that serve). It was 3 stops and then their indoor beer garden. Sprecher makes 8 types of gourmet soda as well as beer, and in the beer garden, minors can drink as much soda as they want (Well, anyone can). And visitors 21 and older get an 8 ounce glass - which you get to keep - to sample up to 4 of the beers they have on tap - unless you look "receptive" to the other guests. At the start of the tour everyone over 21 is handed 4 beer tickets. While we were drinking after the tour a nice couple next to us gave us all 8 of their beer tickets because they were only drinking the soda. Then another gentleman who told us we looked "receptive" gave us four more. And then another wonderful older gentlemen gave us 2 more! It just kept getting better.

The only unfortunate thing was that we stayed past last call and didn't get a chance to use all of the tickets - which I suppose my brain and liver are thankful for. We could have used them all, but I was enjoying looking and smelling and sipping my beers and didn't want to start chugging them just to keep the tickets from going to waste.



Although not all of their beers were on tap, they had more than we tried. What I found to be fantastic was the selection of beers they had on tap. I've had the Black Bavarian a couple of times and I believe the Special Amber once, they were far surpassed by some of Sprecher's other beers that I've never had. I'm not saying the Black Bavarian and Special Amber are bad - not at all - but I had beers that I'd never seen before and they were amazing. It makes me wonder how little I've really looked at Sprecher beers before. Now, I suppose that part of the reason may be that Sprecher is better known for their root beer than their beer (in fact, they produce and sell more root beer than all of their beer combined). Nonetheless, I'll be keeping an eye out Sprecher when I'm out on a beer run.



So the following are the beers that I had and what I thought of them:

IPA²
I loved this beer. LOVED it. It was my favorite of all the ones I tried. For an IPA it was very sweet but not too sweet. It had a mild floral/fruity scent mixed with a nice tangy-hoppy smell. It had a nice medium amber color and a light mild head. I don't mind sweet beers at all, but I think I lean to bitter beers a bit more. But this was a great combination of the two.

Abbey Triple
It was good, but not my style. It had a light pale color with a mild flavor. It had a slightly sweet maltiness and a finish that I can only compare to a slight biscuity flavor. It also had an element to it that I find in Carlsberg that reminds me of childhood and makes me think of my father.

Germanfest
This beer is brewed specifically for Germanfest here in Milwaukee. It was light like a common macrowbrew but with more flavor and a nice hoppiness. It was too light for my taste, but I liked it better than MGD or Bud Light.

Pipers Scotch-Style Ale
It had a creamy, light tan head and an orange-red-brown color. It was very mild, with an almost imperceptible floral scent. It was sweet and smokey - not bitter at all. Despite my preference for bitter, I really liked this beer - with some reservations. I would not drink more than one at any given time, and if I were to drink it again, I want to be eating meat and/or cheese. It would go well with a nice gouda, a pulled pork sandwich and a kielbasa. I think it's because the smokiness was stronger than I would normally want in a beer, but not enough to keep me from coming back to drink it again. I think this would also probably make a fantastic marinade base for beef, pork or chicken. I'd also like to try using it for stew and in homemade BBQ sauce.

Belgian Dubble
This had the unfortunate role as my final beer before we had to clear out, so I didn't give it nearly same the attention as my other beers. It was good. Not much head. Sweet and savory with a hint of bitter and a clean bready finish. I want to try it again to get a better idea of what I think of it.

One that I didn't get to try for myself was their Russian Imperial Stout. Marsha (my wife's aunt) had one before the keg ran out, but I didn't. I had a sip of hers, but that's all I got because after it ran dry, they replaced it with their Hefe Weiss. From the sip I had I think I may really like it, but I'd like to give it a real try.

Afterward, Amanda suggested we all go to the Old German Beer Hall for giant soft pretzels and a couple more beers. She really has the best ideas.

Needless to say, I absolutely want to go back to the Sprecher Brewery, but I think that next time I'll go for one of their Reserve Tastings. They are done in smaller groups than the regular tour, and feature premier and limited edition items. You get ten samples paired with cheese, and it only costs $15.00 per person. I'd willingly pay that price. It still includes the glass you can keep and the tour.

Hoffbräu at the Grocery Store

I stopped at our local Pick'n'Save (grocery store) to pick up a few things and I stopped in the liquor department to grab a six pack of Oktoberfest - since it's that time of year. And to my surprise they had Hoffbräu Oktoberfest in bottles. I don't know that I've ever seen Hoffbräu at the grocery store, so I grabbed it. It didn't ring up right, so I may have been overcharged a little, but I'm happy to have it at home.

I wonder if I can get it from the Old German Beer Hall to take home for a better price? I'll have to check next time I'm there.

Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply

I've been toying around with the idea of homebrewing. Amanda told me there was a homebrew store near our house, and yesterday some friends suggested I to the Northern Brewer store. As it turns out, these were the one and the same!

We dropped the dogs off to get groomed, grabbed some breakfast, window shopped furniture, and then went to the Northern Brewer store. It was great! And extremely close to our house! Hooray for proximity!

We were the first ones in the store and a gentleman working there greeted us. I told him that I was thinking of getting into brewing so he showed me their starter kits, gave me their class schedule and catalogue, suggested some reading material to get started and told me to look around. He was helpful, friendly, open, funny and not pushy at all. If anyone is thinking of picking up homebrewing and is in the Milwaukee, WI area, I strongly suggest they stop by the retail store at 1306 S 108th St.

They have a lot of equipment, kits, individual ingredients (including both malt extracts and grain malts) and bottles. They also have equipment for making homemade soda and wine. They also have classes there for prices that I think are reasonable. I walked into their grain malts room and it smelled fantastic! I'm not saying I'm going to buy a starter kit for equipment from them, but when I get up and running, I'm definately going to them for recipe kits. And when I decide to break away from kits, I'll go to them for individual ingredients. I love buying stuff in store and going home with it, so this is perfect for me!

Granted all of this assumes that I actually follow through and try homebrewing. I think I've already made up my mind. Now I just need to set aside money to get started. I'm saving non-screw top bottles now so I can save some money on bottles at least.

Beer Day Off

Well, not a day off of beer. But I have a day off work today, and although I got up real early today, I'm just now thinking of "starting my day" and I popped open a Sierra Nevada Summerfest lager to celebrate the day.

It's the first time I've had this beer and with my first sip the words, "Oh. That's good." came out of my mouth. It would have been less wierd if there was someone else home besides the dogs.

It has a real pleasant sweetness that reminds me of something floral followed by an even earthy flavor that is gentle on the palate, but sticks around in a nice way. I really like it. Wish I had more than one in the house...

Local Acre Lager

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 1 pt. 6 fl. oz bottle of Lakefront Brewery's Local Acre Lager. Tonight I decided to drink it.

From the back of the bottle: "...Lakefront set out to try something new, or old as it were - using all locally grown ingredients to create a distinctly Wisconsin beer." It's an unfiltered beer with a sweetness - a malty sweet, not a fruity sweet - a solid body and a rich, but not overpowering finish. I really like it!

First Impressions of 4 Beers

This last weekend was a very busy weekend for us. We went out to Amanda's home town - Boyceville. Saturday was her 15 year high school reunion and Sunday was her family reunion. Since both started in the afternoon or evening, I figured we'd have some down-time, but I was wrong.

We stayed with her mom, so Saturday morning we drove into Menomonie to go to the farmers market and take her shopping. While we were out, we stopped to pick up some things for the family reunion on Sunday. While I was window shopping beer, I saw that both the super Walmart and the Marketplace foods carried Budweiser Chelada. Brad, at work, doesn't really drink beer, but he loves Cheladas. I've never actually seen them sold, though. They are a mixture of Budweiser (or Bud light) and Clamato. I mentioned it and Tess, my mother in law, bought some. I was going to ask her if I could have one, but in the rush of the weekend, I never got around to it. Oh well, I know it's sold in my area, so I'll get my hands on some eventually.

The reason I had been window shopping beer was because I was looking for craft beers local to that area which I haven't seen at home. I settled on the Badger Porter from Sand Creek Brewing Company in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. It has a nice dense feel to it with a pleasant roasted coffee flavor and a smooth finish. I like it, but I don't know that I like it enough to go out of my way to get it. I'll enjoy the rest of the six pack, but when I find Sand Creek Beers again I'll try something else before going back to the Badger Porter.

That evening we had Amanda's highschool reunion at the Glen Hills Golf Club in Glenwood City. My experience in that area is that more common to find big name beers (Miller, Budweiser, Coors, etc.) than craft beers or imports. Which isn't a bad thing, but since I tend to prefer craft beers I tend to have a harder time deciding what to drink. Well, I made things easy and started with bourbon. When I finally decided to start in on beer, I went for a Leinenkugel's Original. Surprisingly enough it was the first time I had their original. There was nothing really special about it, but it tasted like a good old fashioned American beer. Not my favorite, but I had no complaints.

Sunday, while we were setting up for the Family reunion, I opened a Breckenridge Brewery Summerbright Ale. I loved it. It had a full flavor that wasn't heavy. It had a little sweet tartness without really being sweet, and finished with a hint of bitterness. It was great for a hot day outside.

Toward the end of the day I was thirsty, but didn't want anything too heavy. Amanda's aunt and uncle typically dring Milwaukee's Best (or the Beast as I like to call it), and I've never been interested in trying it. Amanda's cousin had brought a cooler of Milwaukee's Best Light, so I grabbed one. Not being a light beer drinker, I don't have much to go on, but it wasn't bad. It reminded me of those lightly fruit flavored bottles of water you can find. Except instead of a hint of fruit flavor, this had a hint of beer flavor. Not the kind of thing I'd like to drink with dinner or while watching TV, but it would go well with mowing the lawn or doing other yard work during the summer.

Leinenkugel's Brewery Tour!

Amanda and I had a very busy weekend, and we capped it off by taking today off of work and stopping by Leinenkugel's Brewery for their brewery tour this morning before we came home.

It was fantastic! First off, it's free, second off, we got vouchers for 3 beer samples each. Not 3 full glasses, but 3 small sample glasses - the size you usually get for a beer chaser with a bloody mary. But still - free is my favorite price!

We had the dogs with us, so we dropped them off at a dog daycare in Eau Claire, we drove 15 minutes to the brewery in Chippewa Falls.

We started in the gift shop - which was HUGE and filled with Leinenkugel's swag. We grabbed the 10 AM tour so there was just the two of us and a family of four. It wasn't a long tour (45-60 minutes-ish) and there were parts of the brewery that we couldn't go into because it was a tour of the operational brewery. I'm fairly new to brewery tours, and this is the first where we were in the areas where they were actually doing the production. It was really cool!

Then we headed back to the gift shop and spent a bunch of money. It helps that I like several of their beers, you can find them all over the place, and that the only beer Amanda drinks is their Berry Weiss. I "joined the leinie lodge" which I believe means I get a newsletter. Amanda picked up a Berry Weiss pint glass and we got some clothes.

Highlights from the tour - found out they use corn in more than just a couple of their beers, which I didn't know. Their beer takes about 28 days from the beginning of production until it gets shipped out. Their kegs have a shorter shelf life than cans or bottles. They have distribution to 48 states (which has been helped since they became associated with Miller Brewing Company). They're still run by the Leinenkugel family. Leinenkugel's no longer makes their Apple Spice. Berry Weiss is no longer a seasonal beer.

I wish I'd asked it on the tour, but I didn't think of it until afterward, but I want to know why the cans and bottles have a longer shelf life than the kegs. Is that true of all beer?

When we got back to the gift shop, I started out with their Red, which I like, and Amanda had Berry Weiss (no surprise). I followed with their Oktoberfest (which I also like), and Amanda had a "pink lemonade" which was a mix of Summer Shandy and Berry Weiss. I had a sip and it was good - but not very beer-like. It tasted more like a wine cooler. I finished with a "black bear" - which was their Creamy Dark and Berry Weiss. I liked it - better than either of those two beers alone. Amanda finished with another Berry Weiss.

On the way home Amanda said we need a kegerator. I love her.

Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry

On Wednesday after work, Amanda and I had a bunch of friends over and then we headed over to Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry.

I got home from work about the same time everyone was getting here, so I changed real quick and headed into the back yard. Well our friends had brought some beer - which was great, I really wanted one. They'd brought Guinness and Bud Light Lime. Well I know I like Guinness, but I really wanted something lighter, so I asked for a Bud Light Lime. Amanda was surprised because she knows that I don't really care for light beers, and I'd never had Bud Light Lime before.

Well I may not typically be a light beer drinker, but there have been several occassions where at the end of a long, hot day outside I've gone out with friends and gotten a pitcher of Bud Light, so I figured it would be safe to say that in the mood I was in I would enjoy the Bud Light Lime. I did. It's light and citrusy. Not a lot of body, and the lime adds more flavor than I've usually tasted in a light beer. I won't drink it often, but I think I could incorporate this beer into my summer beers. And being from a major brewery, it's easy to find.

Then we headed over. Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry is in it's second year and it ran for 2 days - Wednesday and Thursday - at State Fair Park. The proceeds went to benefit Hunger Task Force. It didn't seem very well organized, but I had a great time. While we were there I had a Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss. I haven't had one in a long time, since they didn't strike me as anything memorable. I enjoyed it. It's definately got a nice flavor, but I still don't believe it's a very memorable beer.

Wisconsin State Fair

Every year, Amanda and I try to take a night after work to go to the Wisconsin State Fair for a couple beers and some fatty fair food - the kind that will give you a heart attack just by being within 10 feet of it. I always get the smelt boat from the Door County Fish Boil (because I love fried smelt, and I don't find it very often anywhere else), and I try to have one of the unique and possibly disgusting sounding new fair foods. This year it was the Krispy Kreme cheese burger. It was okay. Not as gross as I suspected but not great.

Before I got my burger, I grabbed a Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale from the World Cafe area near the westside marketplace (Amanda likes window shopping random fair swag). It was the only craft beer they had at that location (although there are others sold at a couple other locations).

I've never had it before. I liked it. It was a beautiful golden color with a smooth, slightly tart taste. I really liked it.

Unfortunately after my burger, I just wasn't interested in beer any more. Which was disappointing (although it saved me money).

Amanda on the other hand found the Leinie Lodge and they were serving the cheapest beer on site - she got a 20 ounce Berry Weiss for $6.00. It was such a great price (for the size, compared to the rest of the site) that I would have overcome my post-burger disinterest if they'd been serving something I was interested in drinking.

I'll get another chance this Saturday, when we go back with friends.

Newcastle Brown Ale

Today one of my co-workers offered to take a couple of us out to lunch, so we walked down to Bar Louie on Water Street and had their Southsider burger. It's a darn good burger. I asked our waitress what beers they had on tap, and she said, "I don't know, we have like 40". Their bar menu didn't have that many. There were some good beers on it, but not alot that I was feeling so I had a Newcastle Brown Ale. It was good. Not my first, and not my last. But I think I prefer the New Glarus Fat Squirrel for a nut brown ale.

Summer Shandy

So I'm having a couple beers while getting stuff done around the house and I decided to give Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy another shot. With my first sip, I realized that I still don't think it's a good beer.

Then I looked at the label - "Weiss Beer with Lemonade". I always thought it was a weiss beer with lemon among the flavors. So I thought about the "lemonade" aspect while I was drinking it and I started to get it. It's sweet, with a hint of tartness, a strong lemony flavor - but it really is more of a lemonade flavor than a lemon zest kind of flavor. And then it hit me - It's less of a beer with lemonade and more of a beer flavored lemonade. That made it considerably easier to drink. My problem is that if that's what it takes for me to drink it, it still leaves me disappointed. I like my lemonade strong and real tart. But Summer Shandy is definately neither. From a lemonade standpoint, it's kind of weak. From a beer standpoint it's kind of bland.

But my friends like it, and even though it might not be for me, I still think it's a pretty good idea for a summer beer. It may not have earned a repeat performance on my taste buds, but it has a place in my fridge.

My friends better drink it, though; I'm not sure I can cook with it...

Completed the Set - Hofbräu in the Summer

Today I had the last of the Hofbräu beers that the Old German Beer Hall currently has on tap with their amber. It was a darker color than I expected with a mild, full flavor - rich, but not overpowering. It went down nicely over conversation, and had I not been on lunch with work waiting after I was done, I would have had more than one. So I have completed the set of Hofbräu beers - Obviously I have seasonal beers, but none of them are on tap right now.

I also nearly completed the set of free lunches that they offer. Their weekday lunch special is a meal with the purchase of a Point rootbeer, a Hofbräu beer or a cocktail; but it isn't all of their food. The choices are bratwurst, weisswurst, knockwurst, lieberkäse, or hotdog (I believe it's a Klements). The only one I haven't had is the hotdog, and I'm not sure I'm really interested. Don't get me wrong, I still love the old children's meal of mac-and-cheese and hotdogs, but that's one of the few times I'll eat hotdogs anymore. I had the bratwurst today.

This evening I tried the Capital Brewery Fest, which is their summer seasonal. It has a nice mild flavor - slightly sweet, very earthy, maybe a hint of bitter around the edges. Had it with a buffalo chicken salad, but I think it would go better with a tomato sauce based meal, or a tomato soup, or a beef broth based soup. Good. Definately good, but not my favorite. I think I'd have to be "in the mood" to drink it again, but I think I'd definately pick it over plenty of other beers depending on what's available.

Three Beaches Honey Blonde

I got done with work late tonight, and by the time I got home Amanda was in the middle of doing her own thing. So I grabbed a bite to eat and figured I'd sit down at my computer - not something I've done much of recently, except for an odd moment here and there while doing things around the house. Since I was just sitting around (like I need an excuse, really) I grabbed the Tyranena Brewing Company Three Beaches Honey Blonde. My first sip was a pleasant surprise. It started with just a hint of tartness and faded into a smooth, mild sweetness with just enough character to stay interesting. If it were a little more citrusy and maybe a touch sweeter, it could pass itself off as a cider instead of an ale. Very pleasant.

I also like the slightly stout bottle. For some reason I like the little things that aren't directly related to the drinking of beer - The shape of a bottle, the design of the cap, popping off a non-twist off cap (which I didn't get to do - this one was a twist off). Little things that, for me at least, add to the experience

Point Nude Beach

Last night with dinner I had a Point Nude Beach. It was good. It had a little more of an earthy taste than most wheat beers I've had.

What struck me as odd is that it had a taste that was similar to something I tasted in the Point Cascade Pale Ale. I wonder if there's some ingredient that they used in both that lends itself to a similar element to the flavor in both - and if I could pick it up in any of their other beers.

Now I really want to try other Point beers to find out.

Getting Fed Up Isn't All Bad

I went back to my Capital Amber and still wasn't enjoying it. So I turned it into part of a savory lemon marinade for chicken breasts and grilled them with some twice baked potatoes.

I still wanted another beer, though, so I tried the Lakefront Brewery White Beer - it's a Belgian wheat style beer that was a little less sweet than I expected, but it was still good and the flavor grew on me as I drink it. I'm glad I got a second one in that sampler pack I picked up on Friday.

Some Beers Do Not Go Well Together

I was doing some chores around the house earlier today and decided to Try the Lakefront IPA. It's a new beer to me, and I loved it. It has a clear citrus flavor along with the wonderful hoppiness of a good IPA. This tart/bitter was nice while I was getting stuff done.

I needed lunch, so I made myself a nice smoked salmon sandwich and decided that it might go well with an amber, so I grabbed one of the Capital Brewery Wisconsin Ambers I've got. It was too close to the last sip of Lakefront IPA and the Capital Amber just tasted bad. So I set it in the fridge and am drinking some water to clear my palate before I keep drinking it.

Although I've had Capital Brewery beers that I enjoyed, I'm beginning to think that their amber might not be for me. I occasionally like to have an Amber, but they aren't my first pick. I'm finding that there are more times that I go to grab a beer and think that the flavor of the Capital Amber just isn't what I'm looking for. I might have one or two left, and if I do, I think I'm going to retire them to the status of cooking beers.

Hoffbrau Original - One New Beer

This last Friday, 8/6, I went to the Old German Beer Hall and had the Hoffbrau Original with my lunch (I had the Weisswurst). The sausage had subtle seasoning and went very well with the Hoffbrau Original. It is a pale beer with a nice clean flavor. It's what I would consider "light bodied", and it went down easy. I don't think I'd pair it with any heavily seasoned foods, rich sauces or anything with too strong of a flavor. I liked it.

In the evening, while running some errands, I stopped by Southridge Mall in Greenfield to pick something up for the house and then I stopped into the World Market. I like world market's beer and wine selection. It's not what I would consider big, and they carry a lot of standard items, but it's also a little easier to find some imports than you would find in many grocery store liquor departments. Originally, I thought of getting a build-your-own six pack, but then I saw they had a summer beer 9 pack that included Tyranena Brewing Co. Three Beaches Honey Blonde, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Blue Moon Honey Moon, Lake Front Brewery White Beer, Breckenridge Brewery SummerBright Ale, Capital Brewery Fest, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, Samuel Adams Summer Ale and Point Brewery Nude Beach.

I already have Summer Shandy, but I've got friends that will drink it (and maybe I'll try it again), Summer Ale (I like it, so an extra isn't a bad thing) and White Beer (I've never had it, the one I've got in the fridge is from the Lakefront Brewery sample pack I'd bought. I figure if I like it, there's no harm in having a second on hand.) - but I've never had any of the others.

So I picked it up. I love sample packs of beer.

Surprised by a New Beer

This last week Amanda and I went to see Wicked in the Uihlien Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts with our friends Bryan and Marilou. Before the show started we grabbed drinks from the stand they set up. I didn't want anything strong, so I didn't get a mixed drink. Instead I got a Point Pale Ale.

For some reason I seem to have be prejudiced against Point Brewery beers. And now I'm beginning to wonder why. I think it's because I may have had one of their beers about 10 years ago that I just did not like. I've avoided them ever since - it's kind of part of the "Life's too short for cheap beer" mindset that I had developed.

A couple of years ago I was visiting my friend Adam in Wausau and he had a Point bock of some kind. I enjoyed it, but I figured it was just because I have yet to meet a bock I didn't like.

Well the Point Cascade Pale Ale was very pleasant. I was so pleased that I've decided to give Point beers another chance. Maybe I was just unlucky with my first Point experience. I suppose it just goes to prove that I really do need to try things twice.

Half a Day of Beer

Last week Saturday I had to work in the morning (I rarely work Saturdays), so after work was done I and a co-worker went to the Old German Beer Hall (at this point, I think I can safely say it has become a favorite spot of mine) for their smoked porkchop meal and a beer.

Right after I gave my order to the bartender I heard someone tell one of the other patrons that they currently have 2 seasonal beers - their summer beer and a maibock. I don't know what their summer beer is, but I ordered it. I have to say it's the first time I've had a beer there that I didn't care for. It wasn't bad, but it was... well, bland, I suppose is how I would describe it. It lacked character, so I can't think of how to describe it better.

Later in the afternoon, Amanda and I went to the "first annual" Milwaukee Brewfest. I had a fantastic time. We got there before they opened, and we brought non-perishable items to get the discount on the tickets. As part of the event we each got a free pint glass. It wasn't just a souvenir, but it was pivotal to the event. There were 2 beer tents and a few of the beer vendors had separate stands around the perimeter. All you did was walk up to a vendor and let them know what you wanted that they offered, then they'd give you a free sample (about a quarter of the glass). So all you did was walk around sampling different beers (or ciders in a couple of cases). They had live music and food vendors.

Now, being a first year event, it had it's short comings - beer ran out earlier than expected, and they ran out of the Milwaukee Brewfest glasses (although they brought in more glasses with logos from breweries instead of the Milwaukee Brewfest logo). They also didn't have enough bathrooms. But first year problems aside, it was absolutely worth the money we paid to go. I'm really looking forward to next year.

After our first few beers, I started wishing I had a palate cleanser so the tastes wouldn't all run together. They had rinsing stations for rinse your glass, but I didn't know what to do to clear the taste of my latest beer from my mouth - which is when I noticed people walking around with pretzel necklaces. It was like childrens' candy necklaces, except better. It was a simple string run through pretzels, and we bought them from one of the food vendors - Problem solved!

I kind of wish I'd had a pen on me so I could keep track of the different beers I had, but I didn't and I had so many that I can't say I remember what most of them were. I remember I had 3 kinds of Crispin cider, Stone Brewing Co., St. Francis, Ale Asylum, Horny Goat, Buffalo Water, and Rogue. Were there more? yes. Do I remember who they were? No. Did I have any beers I didn't like? No. Were some more my style than others? Of course. Absolutely worth it.

After the event ended, Amanda mentioned that she wanted a Strongbow cider on tap. I'm pretty sure she was thinking of going to Paddy's Pub, which we both really like (although we haven't been there in a while). But I really wanted to get back to the Old German Beer Hall to try their Hoffbrau maibock. So I suggested we go to the Harp - which serves Strongbow on tap AND is just a couple blocks away from where I was hoping to go.

So we had an appetizer at the Harp while Amanda had her Strongbow and I drank a Guinness. Then we walked across the street to Trinity Three Irish Pubs for a desert, and I had a Carlsberg. This was the first time I had a Carlsberg, and although it isn't quite my normal choice in beer I liked it. I'll have to try one again when I haven't had an afternoon of drinking leading up to it. After Trinity, we walked over to the Old German Beer Hall and I had a half liter of that maibock I wanted to try. It was great. Definately my kind of beer. We finished off the day by walking over to Molly Cools for an actual dinner. I had their Crabby Patty and it was delicious.

All in all it was a great afternoon and evening.

Lesson Learned - One New Beer

I am a firm believer that unless you're a lightweight, occasionally having a drink on lunch is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with your job.

Well, I learned a new lesson. I and two of my co-workers went to the Old German Beer Hall on 7/28. They each had a Point rootbeer and I had a half liter of their strongbock. It was really good - not heavy, but not too light with a nice full bodied flavor. I loved it, and it paired very well with their lieberkäse (a fine ground pork meatloaf seasoned similar to a mild sausage - served as a thick slice sandwich style).

Unfortunately, it has a slightly higher alcohol content and I had a second glass. It didn't impair my ability to work, but Brad told me he could smell the beer on me. That's not something I intend to do again. I absolutely intend to drink it again - just not 2 on a work day.

Fruity Beer

The last week of July (Monday or Tuesday, I don't remember which) we went to lunch at Waterstreet Brewery. There was a convention in town, and it didn't work out to our advantage because they were B U S Y. While we were waiting for a table, one of my co-workers bought me the Raspberry Weiss - Well, I ordered it and he insisted on paying for it. Gotta love a free beer - I ordered the Raspberry Weiss because it was a warm, sunny day and I was expecting a nice light beer with mild sweet tartness.

Or so I had hoped.

I had never had it before and as it turns out, I didn't care for it. It was too sweet and too fruity. Drinkable, but not something I'm interested in trying again. It reminded me too much of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss, which I'm not really a fan of. At the Brewfest we attended on 7/31 I had amanda try the Waterstreet Brewery Raspberry Weiss because I wanted to see what she thought of it since Leinie's Berry Weiss is her favorite beer. She said the Raspberry Weiss isn't as sweet and fruity, but it was "okay".

In retrospect, I might be willing to use it as a beer mixer. In my opinion, there are two good ways to mix beers - at least two good ways that I've tried. One is the layered approach, like you get in black and tans, and the other is just to pour two beers together, like the Honey Bear (a mix of Leinie's Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss which had some limited popularity a couple of years ago. I've never tried it).

I'm a big fan of the half and half layered style drinks. I've done it with Murphy's Stout and Hardcore Cider. Guiness Draft and Harp. Guiness Draft and Bass. Guiness Draft and Berry Weiss (which was only "okay" in my opinion).

But I also tried a mix of Guiness Draft and Lindemans Framboise Lambic - which I rather enjoyed. It was suggested by a friend of ours who was bartending when Amanda and I went out a couple of years ago. She asked if they had Berry Weiss. He said they didn't, but that they had Framboise. He said that he liked it mixed with Guiness. I tried it and had to agree with him! New Glarus Brewing Co. also has a nice raspberry framboise ale - Raspberry Tart - that works well.

The Raspberry Weiss doesn't have quite the same kind of flavor as the framboise, but it might work in a similar mix, so I might try it sometime.

Summer cookout - Summer beer

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, but I've tried some new beers and had some great beer moments. So I figure I'll back it up to Sunday, July 25th. Amanda had invited a friend of ours over to start planning a State Fair party, and while he was over he asked if we had any summer beers.

Unfortunately, I didn't.

And it got me thinking - maybe I should take more advantage of the seasonal aspects of beer. That evening, we decided to have a cook out with John, John and Gregg. I ran to the store to get some brats (I just grabbed a Johnsonville party pack) and some summer beers. John had mentioned Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, so I picked up a six pack, and since I don't care for Summer Shandy I also picked up a six pack of Sam Adams Summer Ale, which was a new one to me.

Now one thing I like about cookouts is beer brats. My love of beer brats is two-fold. The first is definately the easiest - I love eating them. But the second is important in maintaining a properly stocked refrigerator - Making beer brats gives me a chance to use beer in my fridge that I'm not drinking before it gets old and skunky.

Why would I have beer in my fridge that isn't getting drunk? Because although I'm willing to try any beer, I'm not willing to keep drinking some of them. Since everyone has different preferences in beer, it stands to reason that there isn't any bad beer, there is just better beer. But that doesn't mean I'm going to drink a beer I don't care for if there's something else available.

This time I used MGD and Harp. I don't really drink MGD, but we always try to keep some on hand for guests. Plenty of people drink Miller and I'd rather have MGD in the house than Miller Lite. I've gotten to the point where it has become my preferred beer for making beer brats and beer dip. But this time I only had one bottle left in the fridge so I broke into the next oldest beer in the fridge - Harp.

Unlike MGD, I do drink Harp, but since I prefer darker beers, I only drink it regularly. I had originally bought it to make black and tans (or more acurately half and halfs, since Harp is a pale lager instead of a pale ale) - but after a couple I got tired of them and the Harp wasn't going anywhere - So it was time to start cooking with it.

Anyhow, the cookout was a good time - relaxed and enjoyable. A perfect way to end a relaxing weekend. The Summer Shandy's went over well and I got to try my first Samuel Adams Summer Lager. It was a success. It was light, with a pleasant tartness and a little bitterness that went down quite nicely over dinner. I had thought of having a second as we sat out in the back yard around the firepit and chatted, but I find that beer makes me thirsty and I didn't want to end up dehydrating myself before work. That's fine, it's still there waiting for me.