The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Day 7: Throwin' down in Madtown

I've said it before, but the length of a drive or number of miles traversed is directly proportional to my need for a beer. It's all about the anticipation. When we travel, beer is usually the end result because our destination is typically a brewery. The drive from our hotel in Minneapolis to Ale Asylum in Madison, WI, to meet Deuane and Carolyn (hereafter referred to collectively as D&C) was one of the longest of the trip. Every ten miles or so, I could feel my thirst gain strength. Unfortunately, I lack patience when driving (one could even substitute "driving" with "in general") but I digress. I'm always trying to make good time, because, you know, we're all gonna die soon, right? Might as well cram in as much shit as you can before you croak. That's my philosophy, anyway... which is why quantity almost always trumps quality when we travel for beer. I just can't help myself, because I never know if or when I'll be back to a specific place.

So, Day 7 of the Great Taste Caper found us on a lengthy four-hour drive to our ultimate destination, Madison, WI, home of Great Taste of the Midwest. To quote Clark W. Griswold, "Getting there is half the fun." Ain't that the truth. We'd had an amazing run of great beers, memorable breweries, and interesting, friendly folks along the way. To be honest, I was glad we'd be in one spot for a few days. On Thursday and Friday, we'd explore the craft beer landscape of Madison (one of our favorite beer cities in the country) before spending pretty much all day Saturday at the festival and in a post-Great Taste haze that always seems inescapable. This would be my third Great Taste, while Brewslut would chalk up her fifth attendance. She's no amateur, that's for sure! But before I get too far down that rabbit hole, let's stay put on Thursday and our descent into "Madtown," as the locals call it.

Outside Ale Asylum's tasting room in Madison, WI.

Our first stop of the day was Ale Asylum. Despite being in Madison on two previous occasions, I'd never been to this brewery. Six years ago when we attended the festival, John Trogner (one of my employers) asked me to take some beer to his friend, who happened to be Ale Asylum's brewmaster. Sadly, we couldn't get to the brewery during regular hours of operation, so we gave the beer to one of the packaging guys working at the production facility in the early morning. I'd had a few of their beers before, the most notable being Ambergeddon, a hoppy red ale reminiscent of (and inspired by, from what I've heard) Nugget Nectar. It was time to change that.

Unfortunately, we were running about an hour or so behind. D&C's flight was on time, and the airport is only a short Uber ride away, so they arrived like fifteen minutes after their flight hit the ground; one of the rare instances of an airline running on schedule. I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived, but we were greeted by a very modern, corporate-looking building. Turns out Ale Asylum settled into its new digs back in 2012, shortly after we'd last visited. Regardless, I was happy to be there to cross another brewery off of the long list.

Ale Asylum likes the color orange. Cool, because so do I!

D&C (and Zeke, Pleeps' bald-headed, feathered drinkin' pal) were already working on a sampler flight, and D had finished his first beer. Dr. Vennum, a seasonal IPA, appeared to be the winner of the bunch, so that's what I started with. Copious amounts of Mosaic and Denali hops lend notes of mango and pineapple. This had a beefed up Session IPA kind of vibe with a bright tropical aroma and refreshing finish. Overall, it was a great way to begin the day, and it certainly quenched my thirst, which had built up quite considerably over the last four hours.

I spotted a bourbon barrel-aged Barleywine on tap, so naturally I had to have it. Why do they need to be so strong? (Sorry for the rhetorical question.) I'll rarely leave a brewery without sampling a BBA Barleywine when one is available. At 10.4% ABV, this one was intensely malty (though not too sweet) with a nice bourbon bite and some cooling vanilla notes in the finish. I like my barleywines thick and chewy, and this one didn't disappoint. Pleeps agrees!

Pour Travelers represent!

The combination of those two beers definitely packed a solid punch, especially given how early in the day it was. Since D&C had been there for a while already, we decided to pack up shop after two beers and head over to Karben4, which was only about two miles away. Although this place screams science geek on the exterior, they also seem to embrace a whimsical child-like fantasy element, which is more than apparent in some of their beer names. So I guess you could merge the two and call it science fiction.

Outside Karben4 in Madison, WI.

Case in point, the first beer I ordered: Dragon Flute. The little D&D kid inside of me lit up when I saw this beer on the list. Then I read the beer description:

Magic. Adventure. Mayhem. Fluffy bunny hugs. Bluffy hunt fugs. Sunshine farts on a skittle tart. German and English malts stalk one another in the K4 thunderdome, whilst Mosaic and Centennial hops willfully participate in the bloody sugarlust. Two malts enter, one beer leaves. It doesn't take a team of rocket appliances to comprehend that this beer kicks ass. 

OK, where do I even begin? Not only is this one of the funniest beer write-ups I'd ever encountered, they also throw in a Ricky-ism ("rocket appliances," anyone?) which sealed the deal. Plus anytime someone uses or utters the word "fart," the 9-year-old in me chuckles.

Drinkin' beers, beers, beers...

Up next was the "double hopped" version of Karben4's flagship beer, Fantasy Factory. They apparently took Fantasy Factory and gave it "a week-long second dry hop bath" for an additional dose of tropical fruit flavor character. I found it to be a bit more heavy on the citrus fruit and resin rather than bright, sweet tropical fruits, but it was pretty tasty overall. 

Wisconsin is shaped like Homestar Runner's head.

Another beer on the list piqued my interest, so I inquired with our friendly bar staff (I can't remember her name, but she was fun). "So what's this Training Wheels business?" I may or may not have said. She probably responded with "a tequila barrel-aged Marzen?" Whaaaaaaaat?! There's a first time for everything, I guess. Anytime I encounter some whacked-out hybrid beer style conjured up by some LSD-gobbling brewer, I have to try it. This was one of those times. An Oktoberfest aged in tequila barrels, you say? This brought me back to a hideous shot I once concocted for some friends back in my amateur bar tending days called "Fat Ho on a Bike." Its ingredients? Tequila. Amaretto. Cola. That's it. And you know what? It tasted like a burnt bike tire. Seriously! While this beer didn't taste like the aforementioned chubby slut straddling a two-wheeler, it was still pretty weird. Part woody, part tart with some odd notes of green apple and citrus, this beer had a mild liquor tang that only could cut through with tequila. Not the greatest barrel-aged beer I've had, but I at least could appreciate the experimentation.

Obligatory "Pleeps with a coaster" pic.

After an enjoyable visit to Karben4, Carolyn required a quick nap, so we dropped her off at the ranch while the three of us headed to nearby Funk Factory. I was excited to check this place out, as they brew sour beers exclusively. The brewery actually refers to itself as a "Geuzeria," which I thought was clever albeit quite appropriate. Here's its simple, straight-to-the-point brewery mission statement: "Funk Factory is focused on exploring the traditional production of Lambic and Lambic-derived products such as Geuze."

First on the chopping block was Cherry Meerts. I must admit that I'd never crossed paths with something called "Meerts" before, so I was curious about its origins. Originally, I thought it was just a name created by the brewery, but further investigation led me to the correct conclusion. "Meerts" is actually a near-extinct beer style that falls under the "lambic" umbrella. Meerts (or meertsbier) is a low alcohol table beer traditionally made from the second runnings of a lambic's turbid mash. There is very little information online about this obscure beer style, but if you feel so inclined, you can dig into Funk Factory's blog for additional details.

Funk Factory's Cherry Meerts.

To paraphrase Ricky, once my brain compartments got learnt, this beer turned out to be what I'd anticipated: the little brother of a lambic. Light and tart with a dominant cherry character, this beer provided a refreshing pucker. I was sold. I'd wager that a taste of Meerts could convert non-believers and serve as a gateway to more complex lambics and similar Belgian styles.

Speaking of Meerts, Funk Factory has probably a dozen or more variations on this theme. Deuane ordered a pour of Arnold Palmer Meerts. Based on the cocktail of the same name, this beer was created to capture the flavors of this popular iced tea-lemonade hybrid. After three months of fermentation in French oak foeders, the base beer was steeped on a Nilgiri iced tea blend (from the Nilgiri region of India) as well as lemon myrtle (a plant) and fresh lemon zest. Wow! I can honestly say that I never tasted a beer quite like this before. This is the reason we travel for beer.

Up next was a Black Raspberry version of Foeder Saison. Fermented with a blend of saison yeast strains, cultured microbes, and the spontaneous yeast and bacteria reside in one of Funk Factory's French oak foeders, this saison was aged on spent black raspberries previously used to make a beer called Framzwart. The result is a complex beer with high acidity, deep color, and an intense fruity character.

Inside the Funk Factory Geuzeria.

By now, we were all sold on this place and decided to keep things in motion. Braambes En Vlier (Dutch for "blackberry and elderberry"), another intensely fruited sour, was next on the agenda. This collaboration with Forager Brewing Company of Rochester, MN, started as a spontaneous beer consisting of three different vintages of another beer called Méthode Traditionnelle. A portion was transferred to a barrel and refermented on wild blackberries and wild elderberries harvested in the woods of Minnesota. Three years in the making, Braambes En Vlier emerged, a sweet-tart, berry-forward red plum-colored beer that was quite delicious.

After a few sours, it was time to switch gears and move to something on the hoppy end of the spectrum. Eventually, I'll start craving hops. There's no way around it. Enter Dare Mighty Things, a "guest can" from The Brewing Projekt of Eau Claire, WI. A group of people at the table next to us seemed to be enjoying a can of this very much, so I asked about it. They praised the beer and gave the Citra hopped version a high recommendation (there were also cans of a Mosaic version available). So Citra is was. Hopped exclusively with Citra, this NE-style IPA was a truly exemplary interpretation of the style and stand-out of all hazy IPAs I've encountered over the last few years. It's amazing what one single hop variety can do. We liked this so much that we bought 4-packs of both the Citra and Mosaic to enjoy later.

Speaking of hazy NE-style IPAs in cans, we also purchased a pounder of something called Hazy DIPA (Version 2) from Untitled Art, a brewery based out of Waunakee, WI. This beer was pretty solid, but not quite as enjoyable as Dare Mighty Things. With that said, I really like the look of the Untitled Art cans. Their logo artwork is abstract but quite colorful and vibrant. I wouldn't mind trying some more of their beers, but they are only available in Wisconsin. Next time.

After a memorable first visit to Funk Factory (more on them later), we circled back to our headquarters to pick up Carolyn and head over to The Old Fashioned for dinner. (My apologies for the lack of photos from here on out.) This place is a Wisconsin institution. With its tag line "Where Wisconsin is King," it's no wonder why this place is a local favorite and always packed like sardines. Speaking of fish, Deuane and I have frequently opined about the pickled herring served at this fine establishment, which happens to also be one of my very favorite beer bars in the country. The tap selection is a well-curated, veritable "Who's Who" of the Wisconsin brewing scene. Since I prefer to drink local when traveling, it's a win-win. Sadly, they were experiencing some construction and, as a result, were forced to offer a down-sized menu. So, no pickled herring this time. Never fear, though, because the food here is excellent. I can't even recall what I had for dinner, but I'm pretty sure it was some kind of awesome salad. I know I had a bowl of killer corn and potato chowder, which was a very good decision. They change their menu frequently and always features locally sourced meats, cheeses, produce, and specialties from small Wisconsin producers.

Looking over the diverse and expansive tap list, I spotted a beer from Three Sheeps on draft called Fresh Coast, a tropical fruit-forward pale ale. Earlier in the trip, I had debated making the drive up to Sheboygan from Milwaukee to visit Three Sheeps. However, I found that not much else was in that area beer-wise, and it would take a decent chunk away from our planned time in Minneapolis. So we abandoned the notion of trying to squeeze it in. Frankly, I just wanted to go there for the name of the place. If it was Three Goats, I just might have made the drive!

The only thing that sucks about visiting The Old Fashioned during Great Taste weekend is that it's so packed. We finished up our dinners and cleared out. I would have loved to stay longer, but it was pretty loud and crowded, and the construction didn't help either. One of the bathrooms was out of order, so it was like waiting in the dude's line at a Dream Theater concert. Hopefully next time they'll have the pickled herring!

Things were pretty busy over at our next stop, The Cooper's Tavern, which was just up the street from The Old Fashioned. We'd have to get used to it, though. Tonight would serve as a dry run of things to come the following day, when thousands of beer geeks would descend onto Madison like a gaggle of geese touching down for a rest during its southward migration for the winter. The tap list was pretty sweet, as would be the case everywhere we went due to the festival taking place in a few days. In addition to two tried and true favorites - Toppling Goliath's Pseudo Sue and Strawberry Rhubarb from New Glarus - we also shared the new 4 Giants IPA from Founders, a citrusy, resiny Frankenstein recipe based on four of Founders' best Double IPAs - Sleeper Cell, Grease Monkey, 10K, and Double Trouble. Potent, that sucker was! After that lot, by now we were all pretty tired, so we decided to head back to the house and pack it in. 

. 

Back at the homestead, D&C crashed but Brewslut and I managed to crack open a few cans, including an IPA called Troll Way from Insight Brewing, a brewery with which I was unfamiliar. This one had a dry West Coast vibe that I enjoyed. The hop character was perhaps a bit muted but it was pretty enjoyable, especially since I found a 4-pack of fresh pounder cans for only $6.99. We also opened a can of the Mosaic hopped version Dare Mighty Things from The Brewing Projekt, which we'd recently procured at Funk Factory. This was tasty, but didn't come close to the Citra hopped version, in my opinion. some hop varieties are just hard to beat, and Citra is high up on the ladder.

And with that, bedtime. Stay tuned for more scenes from Madtown as we inch closer to the main event! Until then...

Great Taste... NOT Less Filling: Day Five

After a fun breakfast down in the hotel lobby with several of the Short's Brewing fellows, we decided to make good use of the little time we had before the festival began... and what better way to spend that time by visiting Steve's to purchase some beer to tote home with us to PA?  After the short drive, we arrived at Steve's, where we purchased a few bombers and mixed six-packs, as well as some Tyranena Scurvy (IPA brewed with orange peel) and Dirty Old Man (bottles of the Imperial Coffee Porter we had the night before at the brewery).  Then it was off to do a favor for Deuane: pick up a bowling shirt at Vintage Brewing Company.  Last time Deuane visited Great Taste, they didn't have his size in stock, and he was apparently smitten with said shirt.  Lucky for him, they had his size in stock (and he was indeed giddy when we delivered the shirt to him after we'd returned home).

On to the festival.  Now, let me preface what you are about to read with the following: If you've never been to a beer festival of this magnitude, then you can't imagine the amount of beer that is available.  We're talking five tents with thirty breweries each, plus an entire tent dedicated to nothing by cask ales!  Let me also point out that each brewery doesn't just show up with two or three of their flagship beers.  Every single brewery brings its "A Game!"  Most breweries bring six beers plus numerous special or rare beers that are poured at specific times throughout the day.  For example, Three Floyds poured Cognac barrel-aged Dark Lord.  You couldn't even get near to their tent all day.  Unless you wanted to stand in line for over half an hour to get three ounces of said beer, you were out of luck.  Honestly, it's not a bad idea to display some patience waiting for beers (as well as restraint from sampling too many beers). Unfortunately, I typically display neither at a beer festival.  I will say that Brewslut and I were, um, more well-behaved this time around.  Ultimately, it is quite an overwhelming festival to take in, even for seasoned beer aficionados such as ourselves.  So due to the reality of the situation, the forthcoming events will not be recounted in chronological order, but rather in the order that I can, well, remember it happening!

Before...

...After

We stopped by Four Hands tent and the owner remembered us from the Monk's event during Philly Beer Week.  I want to say we sampled Contact High, their summer seasonal, which I had marked in my Great Taste program, but I could be mistaken.  Still, this is a hoppy wheat beer brewed with blood orange zest.  I'd love to get my hands on a few bottles of this!

We tried several times to hunt down "Coffee" from Ale Asylum, to whom we were delivering a case of Troegs Perpetual IPA direct from John Trogner.  Apparently, Coffee taught John a lot about brewing during John's formative years.  It must have paid off, because all of the folks at Ale Asylum are huge fans of Troegs.  I even heard that one of its flagship beers - Ambergeddon - is somewhat of a Nugget Nectar clone.  So I suppose that's a fitting tribute, eh?

Taking a break with Pleeps.

One of the "special tappings" we marked down in our programs to attend was Central Waters' Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout at 1:15pm.  Surprisingly, there was virtually no line when we arrived.  Even if there was, I would have been happy waiting for it, because it turned out to be one of the highlights of the festival!  It was similar to New Glarus' Cherry Stout but with a moderate bourbon presence.  The vanilla notes worked really well with the base beer, making this one a winner all around!  Unfortunately, they were not pouring the Brewhouse Coffee Stout, which is one of the best I've ever had.

Enjoying some Tyranena with the "dirty old man!"

While we didn't have enough time to stop at Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery, we did make plans to swing by its tent at around 3:20pm, because they were tapping a Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Pumpkin Lager.  This was quite an interesting treat by which they took their base pumpkin lager and aged it in Black Swan Cooperage barrels from Woodinville Whiskey Company, then added Madascar vanilla beans directly to the firkin. Can you say "Yum?"

We made a quick stop at Minneapolis Town Hall's tent for a sample of their fantastic Mango Mama, a mango version of their excellent Masala Mama IPA.  We had the opportunity to share a growler of this a while back (thanks Deuane!), so it was a pleasure to revisit this after a few years.  

Pleeps rode around in my pocket all day!

Since we didn't get to visit with Dr. Joel during our visit to New Holland, we made it a point to stop by their tent several times.  They had their tent decorated like a zombie Halloween party, which was kind of cool.  Dr. Joel was decked out in a zombie costume and pouring at the event, so he hooked us up with some of the "special" offerings prior to them actually tapping.  For example, we tried the Blue Sunday Barrel #16 Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (glad I have the program to reference that one).  Back in 2009, they put some Blue Sunday into a French oak barrel.  Then in 2011, they inoculated the barrel with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and let it work its magic.  The result was a sweet but tart cherry pie-like beer that Brewslut liked very much.  This one perhaps one of the rarest beers we were able to sample at the festival.

A "das boot" you don't want to drink out of!

Short's Brewing Company out of Bellaire, MI, is a perfect example of a brewery bringing its "A Game" to Great Taste.  In addition to a bunch of cool photo opportunity exhibits and a personable bunch of guys, they are always pouring interesting and unique beers. Case in point: Black Chai, a black India Cream Ale infused with Chai Tea.  We also enjoyed samples of Van Dammage, an IPA with American hops and Belgian yeast (and awesomely named); Grasshoppah, and American IPA brewed with chocolate mint; and Brewslut's favorite, Strawberry Short's Cake, a Golden Ale brewed with strawberries, milk sugar and biscuit malts.  Short's is always a must-stop, multi-stop tent at Great Taste.  It's a shame they are so far away, because the brewpub itself is an awesome beer destination. 

 

Another great stop is always at The Livery's tent.  They are always pouring the craziest of the crazy beers they produce.  For example, one of the best beers of the festival we sampled was Cherry Taxman, a mammoth 14.5% ABV Russian Imperial Stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels with Michigan-grown cherries and cocoa nibs.  Good God, this was awesome!  One other beer that I remember trying was Impeche, a Belgian style Amber Ale aged in sour casks with locally grown Red Haven peaches and nectarines for twenty months.  While it wasn't as amazing as the Nectarine Tripel I sampled a few years prior, this was still a very good beer. 

While it doesn't seem like we sampled very much beer, these were simply some of the highlights of the day.  With that said, attending a five-hour beer festival as epic as Great Taste of the Midwest is over before you know it.  It really does go by in a flash and the whole day turns from a vivid memory into a smudgy blur.  The only thing there is to do after a day like this is retire to the hotel and take a nap, then wake up after four hours, realize you are still intoxicated and go back to bed... which is precisely what we did!

Cheers to Great Taste!