Craft Table and Tap - Saturday 3/17/12
On Saturday, I visited my sister and brother-in-law in Middleton, WI for the day as something of a joint celebration of my and my wife’s birthdays. For Dinner, we went to a place that was within walking distance of their apartment that had only been open a few months, but which they had said had gotten good reviews. They hadn’t been there before, but they said they’d heard the food was good, and that the beer selection was big.
The decor included high booth backs, a combination of low square tables, raised bar-like tables and booths that were somewhere in between. It all flowed very well. They had a number of antique tools on the walls that I felt were very out of place, but Amanda pointed out that they went well with the tin bucket that our fry-appetizer came out in, and the stoppered bottle that they gave us as a water carafe. My wife really liked the appetizers. We’d ordered fries which were thin-cut, crispy and lightly seasoned. They were okay. She also liked the buffalo wings which only had a hint of heat, but had a very good flavor – very garlicy. Andrew, my brother-in-law was disappointed by the wings because they were “buffalo,” but didn’t bring any heat to bear. He’s a big fan of HOT hot wings, but he’s also got good taste – he also likes them to have good flavor as well as heat. I liked the wings.
My sandwich was very good. I had a mushroom burger. They brag about locally sourced ingredients, and you can tell by the quality of their food. Although I’ll admit that I’ve had better burgers (Sobleman’s for instance) this was still a very good burger. I would definitely recommend it.
When we walked in, Wisconsin was playing (March Madness, of course), so one of the specials (aside from their St. Paddy’s day specials) was that that that there was a discount on Wisconsin draft beers. Well, lucky for me, they had good beer on tap. I started out with an Ale Asylum Hopalicious – a personal favorite beer of mine. It’s an American Pale Ale with 5.8% ABV by Ale Asylum in Madison, WI that brings a lot of hop flavor to bear without overpowering bitterness.
After dinner, but before desert, I tried a Lake Louie Warped Speed. I hadn’t heard of Lake Louie Louie Brewing Co. (from Arena, WI), but according to Andrew, it has a following in the Madison Area. Warped Speed is a Scotch Ale. Scotch ales that I’ve had in the past have been smoky, and although smoky can be done well, I don’t think it should be over-done. If their scotch ale was intended to be smoky, they missed the mark; but the beer didn’t suffer from it. It had a mild floral scent, and the flavor was bready and mildly sweet with a bit of hop bitterness. There was not much of a head and no lace on the glass. It was a beautiful cranberry red with a crisp mouth-feel and a flavor that covered your mouth during the sip and then sat on the center of your mouth afterward. Quite frankly, I thought it was an excellent beer.
Miller Brewing Company Brewery Tour - Monday, 3/19/12
When possible, I believe in taking my birthday off from work and celebrating all things me. This year, I was able to accomplish that. While trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my day, I decided to do the Miller Brewery Tour. It was one of two local breweries I wanted to tour, and it was the one with the most flexible tour schedule for my day. I started in the area that doubles as guest relations and their gift shop. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the gift shop was very big and the prices were pretty good on most items. Unfortunately, I’m not a big Miller drinker. Granted, I could have bought a number of items that represent beers under the MillerCoors family of brands: Leinenkugel’s, Blue Moon, Mickey’s, Old English. But quite frankly I wasn’t interested. I was at Miller, so I wanted Miller swag. (For the record, this was the first time that I realized that Blue Moon was a MillerCoors brand). So I bought myself a nice metal pin of the girl in the moon that is pictured on the Miller High Life bottles. It now holds a place of prominence on my bag.
The tour is free (my favorite price) and includes three samples and a small bag of pretzels at the end. There are no take-aways like commemorative glasses or anything, unless you want to purchase them, but I was more than happy with the price. There were twelve of us on the tour and it was a fairly quiet group. We toured the packaging plant, the brewery (we didn’t get to see the mash tun), the old caves and then ended at the “Miller Inn” for the sampling. Quite honestly, I would have liked to have seen more of the plant, but I enjoyed the tour nonetheless. On the old brewery, was a brewer’s star, which looks similar to the Star of David and represents purity. The six elements being water, hops, grain, malt, yeast and the brewmaster.
At the Miller Inn, we were given three beers:
Miller Lite – What’s to describe? It’s drinkable but it’s a lite beer.
Peroni – A common Italian beer distributed by Millercoors. It looks similar to a Miller Lite, but has a thicker mouth feel and, although not sweet, is “sweeter” than a Miller Lite.
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – Two of the people I was seated with described it as “limey,” and I let them know that it is intended to come across as lemonade-infused.
They told us where to sit. Being there by myself, I was seated with a mother-daughter pair and another gentleman who was there by himself. At first the table was all too quiet for my liking, so I hoped the social lubricant would do its job, and I started talking to my fellow tour-mates. Fortunately, they willing joined in and I had a good time. As it turns out, I was the only Milwaukee-area native at the table, so it made for some good conversation.
All-in-all, it was a very good time. But for other visitors, there are a couple of things to keep in mind – It is not wheelchair accessible, and to get the most from the tour, you should be willing to climb a few stairs. As long as that’s fine, then I’d definitely recommend it. The preceding video and the tour take about an hour or so. I milked my samples and talked a lot, so I was there for closer to an hour and forty-five minutes, but I think the social aspect is important (if you can get others on the tour to talk with you.)
The Wicked Hop - Monday 3/19/12
For lunch I headed to the Third ward and ate at The Wicked Hop. There is a decent amount of Cream City brick, and the décor is something you’d expect from an establishment in the Third Ward. Don’t know what I mean? Artsy, eclectic, somewhat modern, but blended with the old. I don’t think that does it justice. Come to Milwaukee and go to 2 places in the Third Ward; then you’ll know what I mean.
I asked the woman who was serving me what beer they had -It wasn’t on the menu and they didn’t give me a beer menu. From their website, I knew they had a good selection. She said, “We have everything,” and started naming styles. I asked what IPA they had and she told me they had Lakefront Poison Arrow on tap. Since I’d never had it, I ordered it. It was a dark amber with a hint of red. There wasn’t much malt flavor, so the focus was clearly on the hops. Nonetheless, it didn’t come across as poorly balanced. It had a floral sweetness with a bitter finish that rested somewhere between the center and the tip of the tongue. It had a medium bodied mouth-feel, and not much head to speak of. The scent was mild with similar floral notes to what were in the flavor.
After my meal, I had a Lakefront Big Easy (imperial maibock.) It was a medium-dark golden amber color with a nice head that faded fairly quickly but which left a little bit of lace on the glass. I sipped it and my first thought was that it tasted like honey. Not in the way that Leinie’s Honey Weiss tastes like honey. But in the way that Berenjager honey liqueur tastes like honey. Its scent was mild, sweet and malty – reminiscent of banana-nut muffins. Although there was a little hop-bitterness in the front of the mouth, it had a predominantly malty flavor. It had a syrupy mouth feel that only hit the back of the throat on the second swallow. The mild bitterness lingered on the tip of the tongue while the maltiness rested toward the center-rear of the tongue long after the sip. For an imperial, the alcohol wasn’t really noticeable in the flavor, making it easy to drink.
I had a turkey-swiss sandwich on rye with fries. Not a good pair for the maibock (which I think would have paired with a salty, garlicy feta dish better), but it was a nice subtle complement to the IPA. My food came out very fast and it was very tasty. Service was prompt, attentive and friendly. If I’d been in a hurry, I could have been in and out in a very short period of time (granted, I was after the lunch rush), but they also didn’t try to rush me. They were more than happy to let me sit here and type up notes while I sipped my beer.
So far, it has been a very pleasant birthday-weekend!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Newspaper Discoveries
So Amanda reinstated our newspaper subscription. Not that she cares about the paper itself. She wants the coupons. But since we have a paper in the house, I've been reading it. And in the last couple of weeks there have been some cool articles.
On January 17th there were two good ones.
First, there was a little announcement that Lakefront Brewery announced record sales last year - They produced 23,576 barrels of beer, up from 17,641 barrels the year before.
Something that I did not know what that they had introduced a black IPA style beer (which I'd love to try) and the "My Turn" beer series where an employee gets to brew a style of beer every three to four months. Great idea! Why haven't I been paying attention to Lakefront?! I already know I love their beer
They will also be celebrating their 25th anniversary this December and have plans for a special beer. Exciting!
http://www.jsonline.com/business/lakefront-brewery-reports-record-year-9a3rcpk-137506803.html
The second article from that date was about Joseph James Brewing Co. (Nevada based brewery) opening a second brewery in Franklin, WI. I had their Hop Box while I was in Las Vegas and I really liked it. I'm excited to see them come to Wisconsin. They plan to lease space 9750 S. Oakwood Park Drive, and their intention is to produce beer and soda as well as give tours and have a tasting room and gift shop. Right up my alley to be sure!
The interesting thing is that this will be the first time an out-of-state craft brewer has expanded into Wisconsin by opening a brewery. I certainly hope their successful.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/nevada-craft-brewer-chooses-franklin-site-r13r6ap-137545683.html
The last article that I want to share comes from a bunch of Superbowl recipes the paper put out on January 31st. It is a beer cocktail called "Tears in Our Beer" by Lucy Sanders, beer editor of CHEERS Magazine, and Russell Mueller, bartender at Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub.
2 lemon wedges
2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup
1 ½ ounces tequila
4 ounces Hinterland Saison ale (or a wheat ale)
Rub a lemon wedge along the rim of a 12-ounce glass and dip in salt. In a cocktail shaker, shake orange juice, lemon juice, simple syrup and tequila and pour over ice in the salted glass. Top off with ale and garnish with a fresh lemon wedge.
I have got to try it.
On January 17th there were two good ones.
First, there was a little announcement that Lakefront Brewery announced record sales last year - They produced 23,576 barrels of beer, up from 17,641 barrels the year before.
Something that I did not know what that they had introduced a black IPA style beer (which I'd love to try) and the "My Turn" beer series where an employee gets to brew a style of beer every three to four months. Great idea! Why haven't I been paying attention to Lakefront?! I already know I love their beer
They will also be celebrating their 25th anniversary this December and have plans for a special beer. Exciting!
http://www.jsonline.com/business/lakefront-brewery-reports-record-year-9a3rcpk-137506803.html
The second article from that date was about Joseph James Brewing Co. (Nevada based brewery) opening a second brewery in Franklin, WI. I had their Hop Box while I was in Las Vegas and I really liked it. I'm excited to see them come to Wisconsin. They plan to lease space 9750 S. Oakwood Park Drive, and their intention is to produce beer and soda as well as give tours and have a tasting room and gift shop. Right up my alley to be sure!
The interesting thing is that this will be the first time an out-of-state craft brewer has expanded into Wisconsin by opening a brewery. I certainly hope their successful.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/nevada-craft-brewer-chooses-franklin-site-r13r6ap-137545683.html
The last article that I want to share comes from a bunch of Superbowl recipes the paper put out on January 31st. It is a beer cocktail called "Tears in Our Beer" by Lucy Sanders, beer editor of CHEERS Magazine, and Russell Mueller, bartender at Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub.
2 lemon wedges
2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup
1 ½ ounces tequila
4 ounces Hinterland Saison ale (or a wheat ale)
Rub a lemon wedge along the rim of a 12-ounce glass and dip in salt. In a cocktail shaker, shake orange juice, lemon juice, simple syrup and tequila and pour over ice in the salted glass. Top off with ale and garnish with a fresh lemon wedge.
I have got to try it.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Beer and Chocolate
Plenty of people (at least people who appreciate a good beer) talk about pairing beer with food. This has been popular for some time, and although it continues to grow, it still isn't as commonly thought of as pairing wines with beer. Well I was going back over some articles I hadn't read in some of my old issues of The Beer Connoisseur magazine and the Winter 2010/2011 issue had an article that focused specifically on Beer and Chocolate. I've done wine and chocolate, but I've never done beer and chocolate. I think I may just have to try it - and have some friends over to try it with me.
The article (Sweet Rewards by Brandon Hernandez) starts by mentioning a "Beer-Pairing Box" by Recchiuti (www.recchiuti.com) which can be ordered from their website that includes:
- cardamom-nougat to pair with IPAs
- burnt carmel for less hoppy dark beers
- bergamot tea for English-style bitter ale
It then mentions additional pairings:
- Stone Smoked Porter with Taza's cinnamon-laced Chocolate Mexicano (www.tazachocolate.com)
- sour cherry Verhaeghe Echt Kriekenbier with Taza's 80% cacao chocolate
- Cambridge Brewing Company Milk Chocolate Stout (which is brewed with Taza cacao nibs) paired with just about any other chocolate variety
Then it goes on further:
- stout with truffles
- weissbock with a coconut filled chocolates
- slightly sweet beers with chocolates that have a caramel center
- darker Belgian-style beers with chocolate bars
- a very hoppy IPA with floral notes and citric edges paired with dark chocolate with deep red fruit notes and some spice
- a smoky stout with chocolate filled with almond and hazelnut praline
- stouts and porters paired with brownies and truffles
- smoky porter witha cardamom nougat chocolate
"It's best to avoid light, refreshing beers," warns Michael Antonorsi of Chuao Chocolatier (www.chuaochacolatier.com) in this article. He goes on to say that, "In general, very flavorful beers will pair beautifully with many different chocolates."
Alex Whitmore of Taza Chocolate suggests balancing sweetness - "putting a darker, 80% [cacao] chocolate with [something] sweeter and a sweeter, 50% chocolate with [something] drier."
In the end, I agree with the author's decision to wrap up his article with a quote from Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery (www.brooklynbrewery.com), "In order to find great pairings, you may have to eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of beer, which I can't regard as a problem"
The article (Sweet Rewards by Brandon Hernandez) starts by mentioning a "Beer-Pairing Box" by Recchiuti (www.recchiuti.com) which can be ordered from their website that includes:
- cardamom-nougat to pair with IPAs
- burnt carmel for less hoppy dark beers
- bergamot tea for English-style bitter ale
It then mentions additional pairings:
- Stone Smoked Porter with Taza's cinnamon-laced Chocolate Mexicano (www.tazachocolate.com)
- sour cherry Verhaeghe Echt Kriekenbier with Taza's 80% cacao chocolate
- Cambridge Brewing Company Milk Chocolate Stout (which is brewed with Taza cacao nibs) paired with just about any other chocolate variety
Then it goes on further:
- stout with truffles
- weissbock with a coconut filled chocolates
- slightly sweet beers with chocolates that have a caramel center
- darker Belgian-style beers with chocolate bars
- a very hoppy IPA with floral notes and citric edges paired with dark chocolate with deep red fruit notes and some spice
- a smoky stout with chocolate filled with almond and hazelnut praline
- stouts and porters paired with brownies and truffles
- smoky porter witha cardamom nougat chocolate
"It's best to avoid light, refreshing beers," warns Michael Antonorsi of Chuao Chocolatier (www.chuaochacolatier.com) in this article. He goes on to say that, "In general, very flavorful beers will pair beautifully with many different chocolates."
Alex Whitmore of Taza Chocolate suggests balancing sweetness - "putting a darker, 80% [cacao] chocolate with [something] sweeter and a sweeter, 50% chocolate with [something] drier."
In the end, I agree with the author's decision to wrap up his article with a quote from Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery (www.brooklynbrewery.com), "In order to find great pairings, you may have to eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of beer, which I can't regard as a problem"
Monday, January 2, 2012
Museum of Beer and Brewing
The Museum of Beer & Brewing (www.brewingmuseum.org) is a non-profit organization working to build a museum to preserve and display the history of beer and brewing throughout the world. When I last saw them, they were selling bricks from the demolished Pabst Brewing Company buildings to raise money. I would have loved to buy a brick, but I didn't have the money. I did, however, picke up their July/August 2011 newsletter. Honestly it wasn't all that impressive. It did indicate that on May 22nd, there was a dedication ceremony at Forest Home Cemetary for the Jacob Best Memorial. The following is the bio of Jacob Best from the Find A Grave website (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8857387):
Business Magnate. Jacob Best learned the brewer's trade in his hometown of Hesse Darnstadt, Germany, and then moved on to operate a small brewery in Mattenheim. In 1840, two of Best's four sons immigrated to America, settling in the Kilbourntown section of Milwaukee. They were joined by Jacob Best, his two younger sons and other family members in 1844. With his sons, Jacob Best opened the Emipre Brewery producing lager beer, wiskey and vinegar. As demand increased of light lager beer, the firm changed its name to Best & Company. Retiring in 1853, Jacob Best tranferred ownership to Lorenz and Phillip. After 1860, Phillip assumed sole control of the brewery which became the Pabst Brewing Company. While retired, Jacob Best held local political offices, first as a ward assessor and the school commissioner. He remained active until his death. (bio by: Charles Haig)
The newsletter also mentioned that at the 7th Annual Karl Strauss Award Dinner on September 11th, The award was given to the Gettelman family. Gettelman Brewing Company was founded in 1854 and was bought by Miller Brewing in 1961. Milwaukee's Best was originally a Gettelman product. The cost of the dinner was $75.00 / person. I wanted to know more about this award so I did a little digging and found information about Karl Strauss.
Karl Strauss (1912 – 2006) immigrated from Germany in 1939. He started to work at Pabst that year, and worked for Pabst for 44 years. He helped Pabst reformulate its beer, and created a new Pabst Blue Ribbon. After retiring in 1983, he became a brewery consultant for both large breweries and microbreweries, internationally including Goose Island Brewery. He also co-authored The Practical Brewer, and was President of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas from 1961–1963. He was a founder and director of the Museum of Beer and Brewing in Milwaukee, which now presents the annual Karl Strauss Award to individuals for lifetime contributions to the industry.
The Karl Strauss Brewing Company, which he helped found in 1989, continues to bear his name.
Membership in the Museum of Beer & Brewing can be purchased at several levels. The cost of membership goes toward the creation of the museum -
$20 Enthusiast
$25 Family Membership
$50 Collector
$100 Brewer
$250 Master Brewer
$500 Corporate Member
$1,000 Beer Baron
Membership can be sent to them at PO Box 1376, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1376, and they ask that name, address, phone and e-mail address be provided.
Business Magnate. Jacob Best learned the brewer's trade in his hometown of Hesse Darnstadt, Germany, and then moved on to operate a small brewery in Mattenheim. In 1840, two of Best's four sons immigrated to America, settling in the Kilbourntown section of Milwaukee. They were joined by Jacob Best, his two younger sons and other family members in 1844. With his sons, Jacob Best opened the Emipre Brewery producing lager beer, wiskey and vinegar. As demand increased of light lager beer, the firm changed its name to Best & Company. Retiring in 1853, Jacob Best tranferred ownership to Lorenz and Phillip. After 1860, Phillip assumed sole control of the brewery which became the Pabst Brewing Company. While retired, Jacob Best held local political offices, first as a ward assessor and the school commissioner. He remained active until his death. (bio by: Charles Haig)
The newsletter also mentioned that at the 7th Annual Karl Strauss Award Dinner on September 11th, The award was given to the Gettelman family. Gettelman Brewing Company was founded in 1854 and was bought by Miller Brewing in 1961. Milwaukee's Best was originally a Gettelman product. The cost of the dinner was $75.00 / person. I wanted to know more about this award so I did a little digging and found information about Karl Strauss.
Karl Strauss (1912 – 2006) immigrated from Germany in 1939. He started to work at Pabst that year, and worked for Pabst for 44 years. He helped Pabst reformulate its beer, and created a new Pabst Blue Ribbon. After retiring in 1983, he became a brewery consultant for both large breweries and microbreweries, internationally including Goose Island Brewery. He also co-authored The Practical Brewer, and was President of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas from 1961–1963. He was a founder and director of the Museum of Beer and Brewing in Milwaukee, which now presents the annual Karl Strauss Award to individuals for lifetime contributions to the industry.
The Karl Strauss Brewing Company, which he helped found in 1989, continues to bear his name.
Membership in the Museum of Beer & Brewing can be purchased at several levels. The cost of membership goes toward the creation of the museum -
$20 Enthusiast
$25 Family Membership
$50 Collector
$100 Brewer
$250 Master Brewer
$500 Corporate Member
$1,000 Beer Baron
Membership can be sent to them at PO Box 1376, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1376, and they ask that name, address, phone and e-mail address be provided.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Brewfest - July 2011
At Brewfest in July this summer, we found a couple of beers that I think I would really like to find and bring home.
Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. I really liked it. Their website (http://www.kentuckyale.com/beer/Pages/KentuckyBourbonBarrelAle.aspx) gives the following description, which I think is pretty accurate:
Award winning Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is a unique sipping beer with the distinctive nose of a well-crafted bourbon. Our Kentucky Ale is aged for up to 6 weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries.
Subtle yet familiar flavors of vanilla and oak are imparted to this special ale as it rests in the charred barrels. Pleasantly smooth and robust, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale may also be served as an aperitif or after dinner drink.
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale won a silver medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in the Barrel and Wood-Aged Category
A beer that I thought was good, but not something I'd drink often or much of, was Delafield Brewhaus's Mango Sunset Lager. It was a sweet beer, with a great smell and made with all real fruit. It was a seasonal summer lager, and got mentioned in BeerFM's review of BrewFest (http://www.beerfm.com/2011/08/milwaukee-brewfest-2011/)
I also learned that Potosi, WI (Nearish to Dubuque, IA and Galena, IL) has a brew pub, which I don't believe was on my bucket list of Wisconsin breweries and brewpubs - http://www.potosibrewery.com
While we were there we also met the BeerFM people and got some of their bumperstickers and magnets. It's definitely a site I plan to check out.
Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. I really liked it. Their website (http://www.kentuckyale.com/beer/Pages/KentuckyBourbonBarrelAle.aspx) gives the following description, which I think is pretty accurate:
Award winning Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is a unique sipping beer with the distinctive nose of a well-crafted bourbon. Our Kentucky Ale is aged for up to 6 weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries.
Subtle yet familiar flavors of vanilla and oak are imparted to this special ale as it rests in the charred barrels. Pleasantly smooth and robust, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale may also be served as an aperitif or after dinner drink.
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale won a silver medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in the Barrel and Wood-Aged Category
A beer that I thought was good, but not something I'd drink often or much of, was Delafield Brewhaus's Mango Sunset Lager. It was a sweet beer, with a great smell and made with all real fruit. It was a seasonal summer lager, and got mentioned in BeerFM's review of BrewFest (http://www.beerfm.com/2011/08/milwaukee-brewfest-2011/)
I also learned that Potosi, WI (Nearish to Dubuque, IA and Galena, IL) has a brew pub, which I don't believe was on my bucket list of Wisconsin breweries and brewpubs - http://www.potosibrewery.com
While we were there we also met the BeerFM people and got some of their bumperstickers and magnets. It's definitely a site I plan to check out.
Beer Availability
This last August while I was in Boyceville for Picklefest, I noticed something that I always notice in Boyceville. It's the selection of beers available at the bars in town, but this time I was at a festival where there were a small variety of other vendors serving drinks. It's the strange lack of craft and import beers. You can get Heineken and (as I've said before) Leinenkugel's original. The more common beers available (and being drunk) were Bud, PBR, Coors Light, Bud Light Lime, Busch Light, Coors Light, Miller Light and Old Milwaukee. There were a number of other drinks like the cans of Jack Daniels Punch (which is a tasty fruity drink) and Jack Daniels Lynchburg Lemonade (which was only okay, at best). I had a couple of Jack Daniels Punches, but for the most part I drank Leinies Original and High Life. And as near as I could tell, very few people other than myself were drinking either of those beers. Busch Light and Coors Light seemed to be the most popular. No offense to either, but I just don't understand that selection of beer. It seems so limited. Nonetheless, one town over, in Menomonie, there is a grocery store with a very nice selection of craft beers and imports. Needless to say, Amanda and I typically buy a six pack or two on our way into town.
Galena Brewing Company
The weekend of October 22nd, Amanda and I visited Galena, IL for a wedding.
Before we left, Amanda looked for things to do. Since it's a couple of hours drive, we decided to leave Friday and stay the night before the wedding. We wanted something to do with the extra time. Amanda discovered Galena Brewing Company (http://www.galenabrewery.com/), and they were listed as having a live band - The Smiley Tillman Band from Chicago. So after making our way to the hotel, we headed into downtown to 227 N Main St. The door was open and we could hear the music out on the street. We walked in and grabbed a couple of seats at the bar to enjoy the evening.
We arrived fairly late and the bar closed at 11 pm, so I didn't order their beer sampler. Their sampler size varies according to how many beers they currently have on tap.
The band was engaging and the bartender attentive but not distracting. This microbrewery and brew pub was establised in 2009, and on the way into Galena we had seen a bilboard advertising Uly's Dark, their award winning beer.
That evening I ordered the Uly's Dark. It was definately good. Amanda, not being a big beer drinker, ordered their "Local Lemondade." It is made with VeeV acai spirit, lemonade and beer. It was shaken over ice and served in a mason jar. Amanda let me have a sip and it was really quite tasty.
I was looking at the their info and they have growlers available! More places need to make growlers available. It would be like picking up a gallon of milk for the week. Except better!
Amanda was kind of hungry so we ordered their meat and cheese plate. It was definately a nice late night snack. After finishing my Uly's Dark, I had their IPA. It was good. Really damn good.
The decor of the bulding is definately quirky - in a good way. It is open, high ceilinged with bright (but soft) light. It was comfortable. Some of the brewing equipment right there in the room behind the bar. It had the feel of being outdoors. In one of the corner they had kitchen cabinets, and the tables are in an area that somehow had something of a living room feel to it. As odd as the whole combination sounds, it's inviting and comfortable.
The hours are a bit limited since they close at 11 PM. But I have to say that for the small town feel, the hours didn't seem out of place. And after the long drive, I was happy to leave at 11 and head back to the hotel.
The next day after the wedding (and before the reception) we stopped back again. It was a busy day, as is to be expected in a place that is something of a quaint destination town with a lot of nice shops on the main street. The hostess was rather scatterbrained, but we were able to get a seat without much difficulty. The delay allowed us to poke around in their gift shop and I picked up a shirt.
After we were seated, Amanda ordered a Bloody Mary and I ordered their flight of beers. Right away we got some beer bread with honey butter. simple, but tasty. We received water not too much later, after a little wait, we received the food we'd ordered (3 tapas for $12) - The crostini was amazing, the tart and the flautas were good. Then, after all of that, we finally received our drinks. The wait was about 15 minutes from the time we ordered. Not terribly wrong, but for how easy it was, to make a bloody mary and pours some beers, it was kind of a long time. We probably would have been better off if we'd tried to squeeze in to the bar.
The bloody mary was mediocre with an unimpressive garnish, and it came with a farmers American ale chaser.
The beer, on the other hand, was good.
The beers that I received in my flight were:
- Farmers american ale
- Miner's Treasure amber ale
- Anna Belle's IPA
- Uptown Brown nut brown ale
- Uly's Dark oatmeal stout
- Oktoberfest
All were good. I like their Oktoberfest better than maybe 30-50% of other Oktoberfests I've had. The Uptown was interesting - it had a light smokey scent and flavor that wasn't overpowering. It was a nice beer with a definate coffee influence.
I would definately drink Galena beer again. And I would also go back to visit the brewery again too.
Before we left, Amanda looked for things to do. Since it's a couple of hours drive, we decided to leave Friday and stay the night before the wedding. We wanted something to do with the extra time. Amanda discovered Galena Brewing Company (http://www.galenabrewery.com/), and they were listed as having a live band - The Smiley Tillman Band from Chicago. So after making our way to the hotel, we headed into downtown to 227 N Main St. The door was open and we could hear the music out on the street. We walked in and grabbed a couple of seats at the bar to enjoy the evening.
We arrived fairly late and the bar closed at 11 pm, so I didn't order their beer sampler. Their sampler size varies according to how many beers they currently have on tap.
The band was engaging and the bartender attentive but not distracting. This microbrewery and brew pub was establised in 2009, and on the way into Galena we had seen a bilboard advertising Uly's Dark, their award winning beer.
That evening I ordered the Uly's Dark. It was definately good. Amanda, not being a big beer drinker, ordered their "Local Lemondade." It is made with VeeV acai spirit, lemonade and beer. It was shaken over ice and served in a mason jar. Amanda let me have a sip and it was really quite tasty.
I was looking at the their info and they have growlers available! More places need to make growlers available. It would be like picking up a gallon of milk for the week. Except better!
Amanda was kind of hungry so we ordered their meat and cheese plate. It was definately a nice late night snack. After finishing my Uly's Dark, I had their IPA. It was good. Really damn good.
The decor of the bulding is definately quirky - in a good way. It is open, high ceilinged with bright (but soft) light. It was comfortable. Some of the brewing equipment right there in the room behind the bar. It had the feel of being outdoors. In one of the corner they had kitchen cabinets, and the tables are in an area that somehow had something of a living room feel to it. As odd as the whole combination sounds, it's inviting and comfortable.
The hours are a bit limited since they close at 11 PM. But I have to say that for the small town feel, the hours didn't seem out of place. And after the long drive, I was happy to leave at 11 and head back to the hotel.
The next day after the wedding (and before the reception) we stopped back again. It was a busy day, as is to be expected in a place that is something of a quaint destination town with a lot of nice shops on the main street. The hostess was rather scatterbrained, but we were able to get a seat without much difficulty. The delay allowed us to poke around in their gift shop and I picked up a shirt.
After we were seated, Amanda ordered a Bloody Mary and I ordered their flight of beers. Right away we got some beer bread with honey butter. simple, but tasty. We received water not too much later, after a little wait, we received the food we'd ordered (3 tapas for $12) - The crostini was amazing, the tart and the flautas were good. Then, after all of that, we finally received our drinks. The wait was about 15 minutes from the time we ordered. Not terribly wrong, but for how easy it was, to make a bloody mary and pours some beers, it was kind of a long time. We probably would have been better off if we'd tried to squeeze in to the bar.
The bloody mary was mediocre with an unimpressive garnish, and it came with a farmers American ale chaser.
The beer, on the other hand, was good.
The beers that I received in my flight were:
- Farmers american ale
- Miner's Treasure amber ale
- Anna Belle's IPA
- Uptown Brown nut brown ale
- Uly's Dark oatmeal stout
- Oktoberfest
All were good. I like their Oktoberfest better than maybe 30-50% of other Oktoberfests I've had. The Uptown was interesting - it had a light smokey scent and flavor that wasn't overpowering. It was a nice beer with a definate coffee influence.
I would definately drink Galena beer again. And I would also go back to visit the brewery again too.
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