Brew Report From the Verge of Autumn

September is a week away and that means that autumn is just around the corner. We've had a lot of rain the past couple days which is good practice for the days ahead when more precipitation will be falling. As the seasons change, so does the beer available at your local home of John Barleycorn. Now is the time we transition from the wheat beers and IPAs of summer to Oktoberfests and those brews which look to the fall harvest for inspiration. Let's start with the brewers in the Madison area.



Capital over in Middleton has a couple brews for the season. Firstly there's their fall seasonal – Oktoberfest. It's a Märzen style brew. Traditionally, Märzens were brewed in March ("Märzen" is German for March) and aged until the fall when their sweet malty goodness is enjoyed. It should be available now. Secondly there's Autmnal Fire, a limited edition brew. This is a doppelbock with a bit of bite. Capital says that it's good for sipping from a snifter and this is indeed the case as this is no session beer at 8.5% alcohol. Look for it next month.



Also next month, look for Berghoff Oktoberfest from the folks down south in Monroe at the Huber Brewery.



A bit east of Monroe in Highway 11 is Janesville and Gray's Brewing Company who I don't think have updated their webpage in years. The words "Check Back For Seasonal Beers" have been up there for ages. Gray's seasonal is their Autumn Ale. This is an English Brown Ale and, like Märzens, is light on the hops and heavy on the malts with the color coming from small amounts of caramel and chocolate malts.



Over in Lake Mills, Rob Larsen brews Gemuetlichkeit Oktoberfest. I'm not sure when it'll be available. The last newsletter from the brewery didn't mention it but it did mention Rob's next entry in his Brewers Gone Wild series:



Rob says the beer: "is based roughly on our Wannabe Extra IPA same malt profile, same hops but she is not quite as heavy (she had a fairly aggressive fermentation)... a little more bitter... has a wee bit more of an alcohol kick (~7.6%) and is dry-hopped with a little bit more than a pound of hops per barrel. Highly speculative debut date of September 7, bottle filler dependent." The wait is on.

I am pleased to see that there's a new brewery in these here parts - Furthermore Brewing. It's in Spring Green, which is about 40 miles west of Madison. They currently have two brews:



Firstly there's Knot Stock, "a most particular pale":

Black, cracked, stuffed in a sack, boiled and cold-infused. We've braided the assertive presence of hops with the stimulating character of fresh black pepper. Not so much a kick in the shorts as a hop lover's wake-up call, our Knot Stock might just become your go-to pale.

Then we have Proper, "12 ounces of easy-going elegance":

It's not just about the best beer, but the best places to enjoy it. Nestled in the woods near Spring Green you'll find American Players Theatre. There, the audience can kick back and marvel at the genius of Shakespeare brought to life. APT and its festive, open-air venue have inspired us to craft an elegant, light-bodied and "proper" English Ale. Furthermore Proper is a toast to APT, a Spring Green gem.

The stuff is fairly widely available considering how new it is. Here's a list of locations where their suds can be found.

Considering that I work a mere 3 blocks from the Great Dane Brewpub, I am woefully ignorant on their seasonal brews and their webpage directs folks to the pub itself. The Ale Asylum has nothing new on their beer list. J.T. Whitney's is now serving Frozen Tundra Championship Ale which they call their "Packer seasonal". It's a medium-bodied amber ale. Kudos to JTW's for indicating what's on tap at their webpage.



Looking to Milwaukee, Lakefront will soon release their Pumpkin Lager. There's pumpkin in the mash plus spices. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of beers that try to emulate the flavor of a pumpkin pie. One is my limit.



Also in the Milwaukee area is Sprecher with their Oktoberfest.

Before looking up nort, I do want to mention that New Glarus now makes mention of the next iteration of brewer Dan Carey's Unplugged series - Enigma. Here's the description:

The mystery began with wild yeast spontaneously fermenting a rich treasure of malted barley and whole cherries. Unlined oak casks breathe deep vanilla hues and chords of smoke into this sour brown ale. Our Master Brewer has forged a smooth garnet tapestry that defies description. Wander off the beathen path.

Sounds like a batch of his Cherry Stout went south and so he improvised. Look for Enigma in October.



From the City Brewery in LaCrosse comes their Festbier, an Oktoberfest.

Over in Black River, the folks at Sand Creek Brewing Company have a couple seasonal offerings.



Their Pioneer Black River Red is an Oktoberfest lager.



The Cranberry Special Ale is their fall seasonal.





Keep an eye out for Abby Normal, the Viking Brewing Company's August release, a Tripel Abbey-style Ale. And starting next month, they'll have their Rauch, a smoked beer. Or, rather, a beer made with smoked malt. The folks up in Dallas say that it's light on the smoke flavor.



Lastly, we have Leinenkugels and their Oktoberfest. It'll be available starting next month.

Next week I'll be off to Rhinelander and Green Bay for work and I'm hoping to hit a brewpub or 3. If all goes well, I'll be able to report on the Brown Street Brewery in Rhinelander and the two in Green Bay.