On a Saturday afternoon last month, I made my initial visit to Starkweather Brewing. It was about 12:15, methinks, so the place had only been open for a quarter of an hour. Yet the bar area had zero empty seats while the other part of the brewpub with the larger communal tables had a smattering of folks enjoying a cold one, perhaps even carousing. Despite having changed owners and gotten a new name, the tavern at 2439 Atwood Avenue seems to have retained its neighborhood vibe.
Last summer it was still home to Next Door Brewing but the pandemic and a desire to spend more time with their families nudged the owners into accepting an offer for the business. Peter Schroder, who used to brew at One Barrel down the street, amongst other places, and his partners Tom McVary, Michael Chronister, and Tom Gosse bought out Next Door and rechristened the joint Starkweather Brewing Company.
Starkweather, named after the nearby creek, is my local brewpub so I was excited to hear of its opening which was on 10 February, if memory serves. The initial beer list was posted online and it was both impressive and worrying simultaneously. Impressive in that there were 15-20 beers on it. Worrying in that I could have been looking at a case of quantity over quality. I suppose Schroder had time to blow waiting on walls to be painted and bureaucrats to approve licenses so why not brew? Still, it came across as an attempt to dazzle with the sheer number of offerings.
Hell, maybe Schroder is a beer demigod with 18/00 brewing skills and they were all top notch. But I'd feel more confident if there were 4 or 5 brews, a more reasonable number of styles for someone to master. Heck, maybe most folks are content to be dazzled by a lengthy beer list and brews that are simply good enough. But I'm not a brewpub owner.
Despite some skepticism, I went to Starkweather excited to try their rye brown ale because, well, rye is a very tasty grain and tasty grains make for tasty beers. This would be the third or fourth rye beer I've had this year. A bumper crop! In addition, Starkweather is my local brewery. I want delicious rye beers to be available a healthy walk, short bike ride, or shorter bus ride away.
The rye brown ale is called Musical Couches. For this brew, Starkweather collaborated with not only the former occupants of the brewhouse, Next Door, but also Adventure Club Brewing Company up in Bayfield which I'd never heard of until I read the beer's description.
This beer looked magnificent with a lovely clarity and a deep brownish red hue. My pour produced a small off-white patch of foam that was off in a hurry. I couldn't see any bubbles inside. It was sweetly scented with a berry-laced honey aroma being most prominent followed by a dash of caramel and a pinch of grassy hops.
A light body was accompanied by an equally delicate fizz. I tasted berry and a little roasty grain on my first couple sips. Subsequent quaffing revealed traces of milk chocolate and my precious earthy rye. That berry-like taste faded shortly after swallowing leaving behind a mild dose of herbal hops that provided a modicum of dryness. A vaguely minty taste settled on my tongue as well.
While Musical Couches looks great, I found that it tasted watery with too much of that berry flavor. Maybe it's me because it seems like I am tasting that flavor a lot lately. Is my palate to blame? Is there a certain malt variety that's readily available in these days of shortages that's going around? I love the hops here but this beer tasted like a mess to me otherwise.
It looks like there's been a little turnover on their beer menu so I hope to try another Starkweather flavor soon.
Junk food pairing: as I type, Starkweather's kitchen is not yet open so, if you're drinking a Musical Couches there, run down the street to the gas station and grab a bag of Turtle Flavored Chex Mix.
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