One Barrel Opens, Brenner Brewing, and NG Saisaon

Last Friday I braved the Sahara-like temperatures and went to the One Barrel Brewing Company opening. I arrived at about quarter to six to find that the joint was busier than a whore on dollar day.





The air conditioning was powerless against the thirsty horde of hot and sweaty drinkers who seemed to be mostly of the yuppie persuasion. (Even Kathleen Falk was in attendance.) While waiting to be served I heard a voice call my name only to find my old pal Amy was already there. She told me that she had arrived at about 10 after four and it was similarly packed. It was difficult to hear her over the din of the crowd. While those brick walls look nice, they make for a deafening environment. I felt like I was in college again at a State Street bar.

The beer menu had three 1BBC beers listed although one was crossed off – an IBA. I thought it was called Penguin but the website lists that brew as being a pale ale so perhaps I misread it. Regardless, it was tapped out and so was left with Strong Ale #2 and The Commuter, a session beer.





The strong ale, on the right, was good but standing in a crowded 90 degree room with it being 100+ outside dissuaded me from a 10% ABV beer. Amy offered a sip and I can say that it was very tasty. Sweet with barely a hint of hops, it hid the booze very well. I thought it odd that this stuff was being served in a pint glass instead of a snifter or other smaller drinking vessel. Granted, all pours were $4.50 so it was a bargain but why would they push large quantities of such potent stuff? I hope it was because they were short on glassware. (The same goes for you, Essen Haus. You give a half liter pour of a doppelbock by default? WTF? And while I'm it, you guys really need to clean your tap lines more than once a decade.) The Commuter is a Kölsch and a fine one at that. Reminded me of Gaffel with its prominent biscuity flavor and crisp finish. I personally don't think that an ABV of 4.8% qualifies it as a session beer but it probably had the lowest alcohol content of all the brews on offer. There was a slew of guest taps available and I noticed the odd Hibiscus Saison from Vintage.

1BBC seems to be off to a good start. Things will get more interesting as more of their beers become available and the crowds thin a bit so I can actually hear my interlocutor.





Over in Milwaukee Mike Brenner is looking to get Brenner Brewing Company off the ground. He has a second Kickstarter campaign going on right now. The plan is for each bottle to feature the artwork of a local artist and a QR code which links to a webpage featuring a "beer soundtrack" by local musos.

Lastly, I see that New Glarus' latest Thumbprint beer is a saison. A few years back Dan Carey brewed an imperial saison which was excellent but this is just the plain Jane variety.