Eisphyre in June

On Monday, I decided to stop in at Star Liquor on the way home to try and grab some Bitter Woman From Hell Extra IPA from Tyranena. Unsurprisingly, they were out. However, brwemaster Rob Larson reports that he bottled the second batch of the stuff late last week so I'm hoping that it's in stores now or will be soon. In its stead, I found a four-pack of Capital's Eisphyre.



If I recall correctly, Eisphyre is their Autumnal Fire doppelbock made as an eisbock wherein the beer is slowly cooled to near freezing so that large ice crystals form and can be skimmed away. It has an alcohol content of 10-11% ABV so this is some potent stuff. It is very malty and warms your mouth just like Autumnal Fire which makes me wonder why it's out now. This beer is definitely for the winter months. Don't get me wrong, I love this bier but, it being summer, I think it ought to be brewed again in a few months. It came in a four-pack with means that brewmaster Kirby Nelson is joined Dan Carey and Rob Larson in this method of promoting limited edition brews. The packaging gave me the impression that Capital's limited releases - which are doppelbocks them all - would be sold this way. I am almost positive that I've seen their Weizen Doppelbock, which is the summer limited edition brew, in six-packs already so I am left to assume that Autumnal Fire will be the next bier to come in a four-pack come September.



Getting back to Tyranena, Larson reports that they've run out of the first batch of the Fargo Brothers Hefweizen already - the quickest in the brewery's history.



Larson has also succumbed to pressure (mainly from his wife, methinks) to distribute their lightest brew, Three Beaches Honey Blonde outside of the brewery's tasting room. I had some when I was there and it is a good brew. Not as flavorful as the rest of their stuff but I could definitely see sitting outside in the summer sun quaffing the stuff. And it would definitely be a good introduction to craft beer for folks who consider Miller Genuine Draft to be too heavy for their palates.

Things are quiet on the New Glarus front. I presuem that Dan and Deborah are quite occupied with the construction on their new facility and don't have time to tinker at this point. Their webpage says that the next installment of the Unplugged series comes out in October. Last I heard, it was still dubbed "Enigma" which makes me think of Alan Turing and, by extension, the Doctor Who episode, The Curse of Fenric. (If you're familiar with the episode, this makes some sense. If not, please realize I am a geek and continue reading.)

Lake Louie's Prairie Moon Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale is out - I swear I saw it at Star on Monday. Their webpage hasn't been updated, it seems, since last August. Whas' up wit dat?!

.......

OK, I just e-mailed them volunteering to update it for them.



Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee presents their Klisch Pilsner in July, which is, after all, only 2 days away.



Also note that the Viking Brewing Company puts out Big Swede, a Swedish-style Imperial Stout in July.

Unfortunately, the Great Dane's webpage is less than forthcoming about seasonal brews. But look for a boatload of ales: Hop Jack IPA, Uber APA, Aaron's Amber Ale, New Peculiar, and Mallards Ale. Over at J.T. Whitney's look for the Badger Bill Wit, a Belgian style wit. And don't forget the that the Ale Asylum is now open.

Regular readers may recall that last fall, I spent some time in the great northwoods. This gave me the chance to visit the White Winter Winery up in Iron River. I see that they're introducing some new products, though their webpage doesn't mention it. Acer Mead is a semi-sweet made with maple syrup. Black Harbor is a "dessert mead made with black currants, similar to a port, 21% alcohol, and aged with French oak." Yikes! That stuff will be good this winter in front of the fireplace. Also, there will be a very limited hard cider aged in bourbon barrels. Everything is being aged in bourbon barrels these days. I think Coke should give it a shot.