25 October, 2011

Beer Notes, 25 October 2011

Well, it looks like Carl Nolen's bid to take over Capital Brewery will not come to pass. But the real news in the article comes from the brewery's president, Scott Wiener:

Wiener wrote that the brewery has formed a board of advisers to help set long-term strategy, which could include expansion.

Lakefront has released Local Acre Wet Hop.



Local Acre lager is brewed with 100% Wisconsin ingredients. "This is the limited-edition, single batch, wet hop addition." Not sure if this is available in Madison or not. Anyone seen it on store shelves?

Before I move on I want to say "WTF, Lakefront?". I can find no mention of the brew on their webpage, only their Facebook page. Why do you guys insist on having people go to multiple sites to find out about your brews? The idea behind the Internet is to make the search for information easier, not more difficult.

Beer Street Journal has some news about Leinenkugel including this:



Leines is getting into barrel aging beer with some aged Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout due in a couple years. Next year sees the release of a couple new brews - a Wee Heavy Scotch Ale and an IPA. I had the Big Eddy IIPA back in 2007 and thought it was a tasty West Coast version of the style.

I wonder what's up with Leine's. The Big Eddy series debuted 4+ years ago yet they seem to avoid actually releasing the stuff with any regularity. It's like they keep dipping their toes in the craft beer waters but never dive in.

A hearty thanks to Jeff Glazer at Madison Beer Review for choosing the right person - my lady, The Dulcinea - to win a free pair of tickets to the Octoberfest extravaganza up in Kohler over this past weekend.

It was a good time. I ate too much and she drank too much. (And if I weren't driving, I would have too.) Founder's Nemesis black barley wine was incredibly tasty and incredibly potent. The Great Dane's pilsner was skunky. It tasted like I'd imagine a piece of cardboard that's been hanging in my shower for a couple years would. The two reps should have had some on the drive up before foisting it on us. The D laughed at me for telling the Big Bay rep that I really like Wavehopper. "You're such a beer geek," she taunted.

I sampled their Long Weekend IPA, which, coincidentally, isn't featured on their website. It was good stuff and distinctly non-West Coasty. Little to no citrus hoppiness and instead you get the more herby/grassy flavor. While a good beer, it would have been better if it hadn't been 35 degrees outside.

While I'm on the subject of Big Bay, the guy said that their porter is due next month but will be on draught only. While he didn't have a comprehensive list, he did say that it would make its way here to Madison and that the Coliseum Bar will probably get first dibs as they've been asking for it. This I did not expect. Do they sell a lot of Boatilla and Wavehopper there or do they just have a hard-on for porters?

Another beer that was good but would have tasted better about three months ago was Potosi's Wee Stein Wit. Nice balance of spice and orange. With this brew, their "shandy", and Czech pilsener, Potosi had a mighty impressive year, IMHO. Some of the best summer brews in the state. Plus I'm told their Tangerine IPA is excellent as well.

Lastly, Valkyrie Brewing Co. is looking to distribute in Madison but no date has been lined up. Brewmaster Randy Lee says he's been getting a lot of requests for Viking's Hot Chocolate to return so it seems likely he'll be brewing it again. Probably no Morketid (Viking's dunkel), though.

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