Brew Freunde: Bräu Buddies by Lakefront Brewery and Hofbräu München

I am trying to recall how I heard about Bräu Buddies. Either I read about it in Lakefront's newsletter or I stumbled upon it on one of my periodic strolls through their website checking on what the year-round pale lager is these days. East Side Dark and Riverwest Stein have stood the test of time, I suppose, while the pale lager spot seems to change every year or 2. (Probably less frequently, truth be told.) Klisch Pilsner, a Czech-style pilsner, which was, I believe, one of the brewery's first brews, went the way of the dodo. I think it was replaced by Lakefront Pils, a German-style pilsner. From there it gets murky.

Did Bierzeit, a wonderful Kölsch that seemed to be in the Lakefront line-up all-too briefly, come next? What a shame. I felt a bit spoiled for choice for a little while there between it and Kid Kölsch.

Did Lakefront Lager come next? A "Premium Lager", I avoided it because I associate those words with Miller/Bud clone type brews. The pale lager annual spot is now taken by Dive Beer which appears to be another Miller/Bud type American lager. Oof.

Looking at the list of beers no longer made at the Lakefront site, I feel sad that Cherry Lager and Holiday Spice are long gone. Wisconsinite was tasty; why did it have to die? Boo!

Oh well.

So somehow I stumbled upon the existence of Bräu Buddies, a collaboration between Lakefront and Hofbräu München. Described as a "rustic, German-style lager" and having been brewed with Melanoidin malts, I just had to try it. And so I snagged a six-pack.

Similar to my procrastination in taking notes for that hibiscus kombucha, I went through at least a six-pack before I ever busted out a pad of paper and pen. I was just too busy slaking my thirst. But eventually I did take some notes and took a photo or two.

The brew was light yellow to gold, depending on which part of the glass I was looking at. Clear as day and topped by a white head that lasted an average amount of time, I spied a few bubbles inside. It looked mighty purdy. A Helles? A Landbier? I dunno but I do know that the aroma was marvelous with a luscious breadiness no doubt from that Melanoidin malt while the hops gave a grassy scent.

Taking a sip, I was entranced the beer's medium-light body which held untold depths of toasty-bready-biscuity malt goodness. Not particularly sweet, the Maillard-inflected flavor was joined by grassy/herbal tasting hops. Not too strong but a bit more than enough to balance the malts. There are Saphir hops in here but I never caught anything fruity. Maybe something a little something floral in the aroma but I never tasted the tangerine that websites assure me are part of the Saphir flavor arsenal.

The breadiness lingered on the finish a bit while the hops, having taken on a more spicy note, gently faded in to add moderate bitterness and slightly less dryness.

This, this should be Lakefront's year-round pale lager. With its high melanoidin payload, Bräu Buddies hits the spot with a rich malt taste that I couldn't get enough of which explains why I've purchased multiple six-packs of it. I am feeling spoiled for choice again as this beer is a fine complement to New Glarus' Two Women, another rustic/country pale lager full of mouthwatering Maillard temptation.

Alas, I suspect Bräu Buddies' days are numbered and it will be consigned to the Lakefront Beer Graveyard before summer. What a bummer.

Junk food pairing: Bräu Buddies' label features a pretzel and this is a fine idea to accompany a can of the stuff. I suggest a bag of Rold Gold Selects Flamin’ Hot® Honey Mustard twists.

Going Up the Country: House Lager by Jack's Abby

My initial encounter with the lagers of Jack's Abby was a bust but it was my own fault. I should have known better than to drink an India Pale something that wasn't brewed in the UK. While it says "Hoppy Lager" across the front of cans of Hoponius Union, I believe it is actually referred to as an India Pale Lager elsewhere on the label. That's what I get for going off script, for stepping out from my beer comfort zone and trying something new - a steinkrug full of disappointment and sorrow.

The hop flavors were strong in that beer with an entire taiga of sharp, bracing piney taste paired with an orchard's worth of tropical fruitiness to make a heady brew that I found quite disharmonious. It was as if that couple from those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercials were on my tongue but, rather than finding choco-peanut eudaimonia, they came to blows.

So I went back to basics and bought a 4-pack of Jack's House Lager, the brewery's self-proclaimed specialty. It is billed as a Helles Landbier with "Landbier" being German for "country beer". My understanding is that they're brewed to satisfy the brewer's predilictions and aren't about adhering to style guidelines. It is also my understanding that the term, as used in Germany, generally refers to beers made in rural areas and small towns, not large suburbs of major metropolitan areas. It's the stuff you find when you're out in the Podunkreich and stumble upon a rural hole in the wall where the the regulars don't speak English and just drink the Teutonic tonic on offer.

The only other domestic Landbier that I know of available here in the Madison area is Two Women from New Glarus, located in the small town of the same name which is nestled in the hills of southern Wisconsin. Both biers are pale lagers with an emphasis on malt instead of trying to kill you with hops.

Jack's House Lager is a lovely gold and quite clear yet the can notes that the beer is unfiltered. How'd they pull that off? Did they use some kind of esoteric brewing diablerie to clarify it? My pour produced a fairly small head of white foam that lasted an average amount of time. There was a goodly number of bubbles inside this aureate elixir. Despite the aroma being as expected, it was still a great pleasure to take a whiff and get a noseful of lightly toasted bread and dough. The Maillard is strong in this one! There was also a little grassy hoppiness.

I think I was salivating by this time, my whole body tightening just a bit in anticipation of that first sip. Oh, it was glorious! Maillardy malt goodness ran in torrents over my tongue with the flavors of fresh bread and toast leaving no tastebud untouched. A touch of honeyed sweetness lurked beneath all the bready tastes. Some peppery hops kept things balanced while a nice fizz kept the beer's body on the lighter side and provided some astringency.

For the finish, those malty/bready flavors slowly faded which allowed more of that peppery hop taste to come to the fore where they added moderate bitterness and firm dryness.

Ausgezichnet! I have Mayor Quimby's voice in my head right now saying, "This is a, uh, fine Landbier!" All these wonderful malt flavors, a fairly light body - this is easy drinking at its finest.

Junk food pairing: Jack's House Lager pairs well with Takis Nitro. These spicy taquito snacks bring the heat that satisfies and House Lager will put those flames out.

Rustic Franconian Lagers Über Alles: Spezial by Gathering Place Brewing Co.

Franconia.

Franconia.

Franconia. Franconia. Franconia. Franconia.

Looking at the region on a map, it looks like one of those areas that, if you told a big city slicker you hailed from it, they'd laugh and call you a country bumpkin. Think of someone from the Plains states telling a Chicagoan or New Yorker that they're from Nebraska or Kansas. Sure, Nuremberg has a bit over half a million people, but it looks like most other cities are rather smaller.

The marketing division of Gathering Place Brewing Co. says that each town in Franconia has its own special lager. When I make it over to Germany and tour Franconia, I will do my best to verify this claim. However, I've read something like this written by people whom I trust have been there and to be reliable narrators. This Stadt here has its own proprietary pale lager while the one down the Strasse has their special dark lager. I think of these beers as Landbiers, a.k.a. – country lagers. Not so much a style with set ranges of color, A.B.V., and I.B.U., but more a generic geographical appellation. Just the beer you find in a rural or small town Gasthaus.

And so when Gathering Place describes Spezial as a "Rustic Franconian Lager", I don't think it really means anything beyond whatever lager they felt like brewing last fall or whenever this batch was brewed. (My can had no date on it and the brewery's website says it went on sale last November.) The only other such brew from Wisconsin that I am aware of is New Glarus' Two Women.

This was my first taste of Gathering Place. I didn't have high hopes going in. More like medium hopes. It's one of Milwaukee's newer breweries having opened in 2017. While they don't appear to be a haze factory trying to do something different for a change, I also hadn't heard that the brewmaster had studied in Germany and had enough tanks at their disposal to lager Spezial for 3 months.

Out of the gate, things went well. The beer was a beautiful dark gold that looked almost amber. In fact, after my initial once over, I held it up to another light mumbling to myself, "Is it gold? Or is it amber?" Thankfully my Frau didn't notice this. Or simply chose not to say anything, more likely. Atop the resplendent elixir was a slightly tan head that was fluffy and was in no hurry to go away. This was a genuinely beautiful brew that made you want to drink it on looks alone.

Spezial smelled nice too – like grapefruit and flowers engaged in a pas de deux of olfactory bliss with a little breadiness cutting in every so often. Just wonderful.

Appearances can be deceiving. For a beer that had such a deep color, it wasn't heavy. Not watery, mind you, but rather in that golden middle. There was a tasty bready base but it was those hops that really shine here with – quelle surprise – citrus/grapefruit and floral flavors. Also lurking in there was a touch of honeyed sweetness. The carbonation was precisely to my taste too with just enough to add a pleasant fizzy bite yet not make it particularly dry. This complemented the lingering spicy hop bitterness which left a very nice dry finish.

As I drained my glass, a lovely pattern of Schaumhaftvermoegen emerged with a band here and a spot there.

Spezial was a wonderful surprise. While I wish that it had just a touch more of that bready malt flavor - something Two Women has more of, it was still very, very tasty. All those grapefruit and floral hops flavors may have been front and center but they didn't overwhelm. Just the right bitterness, just the right fizz, it looks lovely – what a great beer. It made me wish that Covid was gone so I can buy some plane tickets for Germany. Or at least that it was spring and Spezial was on tap down at The Biergarten at Olbrich.

Junk food pairing – Just as Spezial evokes the Landbiers of Franconia, Dill Pickle Kraut Krisps evoke the rich culinary heritage of Germany with crunchy, tangy triangles made of sauerkraut and delicately seasoned with dill.