As I was contemplating writing this review, I had something of a revelation. It occurred to me that I had lost my interest in craft beer. I don't think of it as having been a sudden change but rather the result of the accumulated disappointment of many frustrating trips down the liquor store aisles. A man does not recover from such shopping trips -- he becomes a different drinker and, eventually, the new drinker finds new things to care about. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy drinking beer and I continue to support people I know in the business, but I don't keep up with new breweries that come along and only look for new releases occasionally and only from select brewers.
It's a bit sad for me as I'd been trying to keep up with the Madison and Wisconsin beer scenes for a long time. At least since 2007. Some locals may recall madison.com's attempts to capitalize on the blogging craze by publishing highlights from the Madison blogosphere in a weekly paper called POST. Here's a beer release round-up from yours truly that dates to the spring of 2007.
I love how the editor noted that my post was "edited considerably" in an attempt to deal with my prolix prose.
Perusing store shelves means wading through hundreds of American IPA's (and other beers) that taste like Hawaiian Punch and oodles of imperial stouts that have lived in multiple types of spirit barrels that I couldn't care less about. Well, if it's gonna be that kind of party, I'm gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes.
There's a coterie of breweries and brewpubs that I follow and look for in stores. When I go out of town, I drink the local brew, if possible, as long as it's not an IPA. And I can always get my Rauchbier fix with some Schlenkerla.
My next project is to pare down my beer bottle/can collection. So, if anyone wants some Wisconsin packaged beer vessels, let me know.
Despite dropping out of the craft beer world, I still read about it occasionally in Isthmus which carries Robin Shepard's beer column. In a recent one, he noted that Madison's Working Draft Beer had a smoked wild rice beer called Blue Plume available. I like smoke beers; I like wild rice beers. Ergo I just had to try it.
Blue Plume poured a crystal clear yellow. My glass got a big, white head that had staying power. Lots of bubbles were seen inside. This was a very pretty beer and not at all surprising since Working Draft brewmaster Clint Lohman is a master at brewing beers that look great and tempt you to pour some in your maw based on appearance alone. The aroma was similarly enticing with a generic berry-like fruitiness leading a sudsy ménage à trois along with a wisp of smokiness and some fresh grassy hops.
Taking a sip I found the brew to have a light-medium body. That is, it was fuller than any of the many pilsners that Lohman brews but not by much. Tasting behind the very fizzy curtain I found a prominent blueberry flavor - the "blue" in Blue Plume - from the wild rice joined by a nutty taste from those same seeds, a gentle maltiness, a hint of smoke, and a firm dose of hops that lent a brisk herbal bitterness. The wild rice flavors eased off on the swallow allowing those hops to step up. They, along with the generous fizz made for a rather dry and bitter finish to sweep away those wild rice blues.
As a smoke beer lover, I must say that Blue Plume needs a larger plume. The smoke here is like the wallflower at the dance. It looks on from the side as the wild rice flavors dance the night away. Still, I'll take a little smoke over no smoke. I'm of two minds on the grains. On the one hand, I really do like the wild rice flavors here, especially the nuttiness. But on the other, I miss the malt. A light lager seems to be the base for the wild rice and didn't contribute that much to the flavor. One thing I love unequivocally here is the hoppiness. The strong green-herbal taste and bitterness provide a great counterpoint to the fruity-nutty thing that the wild rice has going on.
All the ingredients are here; I would probably put the emphasis elsewhere, if I were brewing it. But I am not. Regardless, a tasty brew that I hope to drink again.
Junk food pairing: Pair your Blue Plume with a bag of Chili Cheese Fritos.
No comments:
Post a Comment