THE/OWL/BEER/IS/NOT/WHAT/IT/SEEMS: Rhoades' Scholar Stout by South Shore Brewery

Despite the suggestion on the label to "Try one in place of a cup of coffee", I want to begin by declaring that I drank mine in the evening after work and not first thing in the morning before work.

The breweries of northern Wisconsin (for a discussion on how to determine if you are in northern Wisconsin, go here) don't get anywhere near the love and attention that those in the south do. It's understandable, I suppose, as they are in small media markets and usually have limited or no distribution to the Madison and Milwaukee areas. They lack trendiness as well as the cachet of a New Glarus Spotted Cow that compels countless visitors from Illinois and Minnesota to stock up on cases of the stuff before heading home.

From my austral perspective in Madison, the biggest champion of the beers of the northern part of Wisconsin is Ryan Urban, an/the editor at the Barron News-Shield. He is the former host of the Beer Run Podcast which was, as far as I can tell, the last regular news source of beer happenings up north and it ceased activity in 2017. Today he writes about beer on the odd occasion for his paper's The Urban Rural Column and tweets about it on his Twitter feed.

On one hand, I do wish that some of the boreal beers of Wisconsin were more readily available down here because there are some delicious brews to be had. On the other, I appreciate regional variety and encountering different breweries and beers while I am traveling. Now, I grant you that you will find Spotted Cow in every corner of this state but, as I experienced on a recent trip, there are plenty of breweries up north with very limited distribution that basically require you to take a trip in order to taste their suds. (Or to attend the Great Taste of the Midwest. Still, I'd bet not all of those breweries up north are there.)

While most northern Wisconsin breweries see scant distribution here in the Madison area, beer from Ashland's South Shore Brewery regularly makes its way from the shores of Lake Superior to those of Lake Monona. South Shore began life as a brewpub in 1995 and eventually became a fully-fledged brewery. It took several years but their beers did eventually make the journey south to Madison in the early 2010s, if memory serves. At some point, distribution here stopped only to begin again at another time that is equally lost in the mists of time to me. Well, that's how I recall it, anyway. (I am almost certain that the 6-pack of their Inland Sea pilsner that I had in 2015 was purchased in Foster.)

Today I see their Nut Brown Ale and Rhoades' Scholar Stout around town. Ever since noticing their return to store shelves, they've been on my to-buy list. It's just that I'd always get distracted by other beers while at the store and whisper "Next time..." to myself as I grabbed a 6-pack of something else. Recently, however, I overcame my inclination to procrastinate and bought some of that stout.

Stouts have a reputation amongst many as being these thick, dark, heavy beers. Like motor oil. And there's something to this. I recall attending a Russian Imperial stout tasting back in 1994 or thereabouts here in Madison which was held in the basement of the Italian Workingmen's Club. As best I can recall, the event was hosted by the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild. It was a wonderland of potent, stygian beers made by some of Madison's finest homebrewers. Bearded libation bearers proudly poured samples for the relatively (in contrast to any beer event today) small but eager crowd. My beer palate was rather inchoate at this point so I was not particularly familiar with the style and remember looking at my first sample thinking, "It looks like motor oil." I also recall thinking that these antidotes to sobriety were quite delicious. (My memories of the event get hazy after this.)

But those were the Imperial variety and your normal, workaday stout need not be redolent of Valvoline. Indeed, South Shore tries to head off viscous concerns at the pass with the description: "It’s everything a stout should be: rich, hearty, not thick or overpowering, and with a creamy head."

Rhoades' Scholar pours a deep, dark reddish brown and comes with a lovely tan head of loose foamy goodness that lasted what I think of as being an average length of time. The stuff was so dark as to be opaque but, if I held my glass to the light and at the right angle, it appeared clear. It had a sweet aroma redolent of milk chocolate, coffee, and plum. No wonder the brewery recommends it for dessert.

The marketing division of the South Shore Brewery didn't lie: this is a rich tasting beer. Some roasted graininess and a fair amount of dark, though not particularly bitter, chocolate were most prominent. Behind them was some coffee taste and a hint of stone fruit. (Note that plum I smelled.) It had a touch of sweetness as well.

That coffee taste really came to the fore on the finish and, as the grain flavors faded, a nice herbal bitterness shone through which added a firm dryness.

The marketing division of the South Shore Brewery was also telling the truth when they said that the beer wasn't thick or overpowering. It had a medium body and its viscosity didn't approach that of bubblin' crude. I found it to be quite flavorful with a firm fizziness helping keep the richness from becoming too much and adding a mild astringency.

My notes say "Great beer" and they don't lie. This is a wonderful treat from the North. It's jam-packed full of flavor but isn't thick or cloying. While I probably wouldn't choose this beer on a hot day, it was a perfect choice on a recent fall day.

To the best of my knowledge, a stout is/was simply a strong porter. Rhoades' Scholar has the requisite flavors and is 6.3% A.B.V. which seems stronger than a porter to me.

Junk food pairing: The marketing division of the South Shore Brewery says that Rhoades' Scholar complements desserts so pair it with a bag of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Muddy Buddies.