13 October, 2010

New Brewery, Ale Asylum Moving & Other Brewing News





I had no idea until today that the Chameleon Brewing Company was open for business in suburban Milwaukee. It's an offshoot of Sprecher. The site says: "Chameleon beers are light in body, yet full of complex flavors and aromas." I guess Sprecher was just looking for a different marketing ploy.

They have 3 beers at the moment: Hop on Top, an APA, Fire Light which is an American Pale Lager, and lastly Witty, a Witbier with a unique set of spices including Grains of Paradise.

The brews seem to be available mostly in and around Milwaukee with the only Madison-area purveyor listed being the Sentry at Hilldale.

Another interesting beer-related development is that the Great Dane is moving towards opening another outpost on the far east side of Madison. Beer would not be brewed on the premises but instead imported from the Great Dane at Hilldale.

The article notes that, owing to the 2007 Brewpub Tourism Development Act, the Great Dane would be able to open only one more location after this one.

A 2007 state law allows breweries making less than 10,000 barrels of beer a year to have up to six bar locations. Butler said the next and final addition won’t come for a few years but would likely be in the Milwaukee area.

It's a shame that Butler, et al are essentially one step away from their company not being able to grow any longer. The irony is that they initiated the process to get that bill passed, although, once the distributors heard about it, they went out and got it amended to their liking.

Speaking of distributors, O'so up in Plover had a spat with one of it distributors and, starting 1 September, their beer stopped being distributed in several counties including the one in which the brewery resides, Portage.

Furthermore is releasing their new IPA Hopperbolic next month and the Madison Beer Review has a listing of release parties.

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Lastly, I read today that Ale Asylum is looking for new digs. Their lease expires in 2012 just like the Mayan calendar and they need more room. If they don't stay on the north side, I have some friends that are going to be mighty disappointed.

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