23 May, 2006

Goodbye Sconnie Ales, Hello Ale Asylum

Last month I gave a rundown of spring brews made here in 'Sconsin. A reader recently related that William Kuether Brewing is no more. The commenter, "The Enemy", remarked:

Don't hold your breath for the Tamarack Timber. Looks like Kuether Brewing went under. Rumors of a sale of premises and/or assets, phone disconnected, local taverns confirming their Sconnie Ale accounts are no longer serviced, basically everything short of an official confirmation from Bill Kuether himself.

R.I.P.

In other beer news, my friend Charles and I stopped in at the newly-opened Ale Asylum yesterday evening after work. The spartan industrial exterior belies the wonderful tavern inside. There was a handful of folks bellied up to the bar when we walked in. Although it was bright & sunny outside, the lights were down low inside. If it was any darker, I might have had a flashback to Jocko's. OK - I exaggerate. Don't get me wrong, though, I liked the dim lights as it lent the joint a moody atmosphere. Interior walls were painted a lightish red-brown and they had some really nice wainscotting. The bar top was steel with a funky swirly pattern in it and trimmed with wood. I felt the walls were on the bare side but Charles liked the minimalist look. The wall next to the men's room's door had a photo of Clint Eastwood from one of his spaghetti westers while the walls inside had some great photos including pictures of Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. The area around the bar is on the small side but the main lounging area off of it was great. The room is quite long. About two-thirds of it is dotted with tables while the far end has leather couches and chairs with a pool table in a little cove. The brewery can be seen through windows and a glass door on this end as well. Charles and I plopped ourselves down in a couple of the leather chairs and propped our feet up on the footlocker which served as a table.

So, how is the beer? I had their Hopalicious American Pale Ale and the nut brown on Sunday at the WORT block party. Yesterday I had the hefe weizen (no lemon, thanks) and it was excellent; a nice pint of cloudy wheaty goodness! It had a very full flavor - less watery than some weizens I've had. A good malt underpinning.

Although we didn't have much interaction with the staff, they were quite friendly. There is small patio outside which I presume will be populated with chairs at some point. Oddly enough, there was a couple at the end of the bar drinking cocktails. I saw only a modicum of spirits behind the bar and find it odd that someone would go to a micropub and eschew the brew.

My only gripe is all bare walls. I'd like to see more pictures as it would give some more character to the place and transform it into a watering hole. Other than this, I'm very happy to see that the place is finally open. I live on the far east side of Madison which makes the Great Dane a bit of a hike for me and, although I've got nothing against J.T. Whitney's, I try to avoid the west side, if I can. So it's nice to have a brewpub close to where I live. My final observation is about the patrons I saw. The Great Dane & J.T. Whitney's seem to generally be populated by folks that I don't really feel all that comfortable around. Either it's people in formal business attire or yuppies. I don't want to stereotype and say that these kinds of folks are bad or evil or any such thing, it's just that walking into a tavern and seeing people clad in suits & ties or a gaggle of the Urban Outfitted just gives me the willies. No doubt many such people are really nice and I'd get along with them very well. But I just ask myself where are all the folks like me clad in jeans and a t-shirt? Yesterday at the Ale Asylum, I walked in and found people there that wouldn't look out of place at the Eagle's Crest or Wiggie's. Yeah, I know it's early in the game but I felt at home surrounded by people in jeans, t-shirts, and shorts. This is my Studs Terkel Factor. Would Studs be able to walk into the joint and find a Joe Six-Pack to bullshit with? And, as of now, it seems that of the brewpubs in Madtown, the Ale Asylum is the only one that's got it.

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