The West Coast Moves East: River Rye'd Lager by Yazoo Brewing & Leinenkugel's

When I ran across this brew over the summer, I was delighted to see a rye lager in the beer cooler and a bit perplexed at the same time because I'd never heard of Yazoo Brewing. Yazoo Records, yes; Yazoo Brewing, no. Looking them up, I asked myself if a Nashville brewery was truly trying to make inroads into Wisconsin. I thought that, here in 2024, unless your brewery has a cachet known throughout Christendom, you don't expand too far from your homebase. Then I read the fine print and saw that it was a collaboration with Leinenkugel's as part of Yazoo's 20th anniversary celebration. Now this made more sense.

The rye lager is one of the great neglected bastard children of the brewing world. I still lament not being able to get Hoss every autumn and occasionally consider petitioning some government agency to rectify this terrible situation. And so, when I see one available, I am quick to fork over some of my filthy lucre.

Having read the fine print on the front of the label, I then neglected to do the same on the back where the text boasted that the beer was "generously hopped" with the Cascade variety. While I am not anti-Cascade, I do normally interpret their presence as something of a warning sign, namely to expect an American hopping regimen that gives a lot of fruity taste. My apprehension wasn't that my tongue would OD on grapefruit flavors as much as the citrus taste would overwhelm the rye.

Again, the label was the clue to it all. It said "lager" with the word "pilsner" nowhere to be seen. My understanding of beer taxonomy is that, when an America craft brewer designates their beer a "lager", they mean an American light lager like Miller/Coors/Bud with no expectation of subtle malt goodness being implied. It's a lawnmower beer or a craft beer to appease Miller/Coors/Bud drinkers. On the other hand, "pilsner" tends to mean the beer stands a chance of having a nice grain flavor with some attempt to balance malt and hop. Presumably River Rye'd would be a showcase for the hops.

Well, too late as I had brought the six-pack home. Iacta alea est.

River Rye'd looked either like your typical American light lager such as Miller or Bud or a fine pilsner, depending on your disposition. It was a lovely light yellow and clear as day. My pour yielded a very nice, loose head of brilliant white foam that lasted a little while. There were, as you can see, some bubbles inside. The aroma was ambiguous but delightfully so. Those hops gave pine and citrus scents but there was some cracker to be had too. A very nice start. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all, if I was able to smell some malt.

My lingering reservations aside, I eagerly took a sip and discovered a light-medium body with a healthy dose of fizz. Waves of pine and grapefruit cascaded over my tongue while a modicum of flavor of grain did its best to undergird the ostentatious display of hops. Sweetness was minimal.

For the finish, the hops lingered, grapefruit first followed by pine, as the malty base, such as it was, faded leaving a mild bitterness and only the barest hint of dryness.

River Rye'd was much as I suspected it would be after having read the label in full: it was like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale without the strong malt backbone. The Cascade hops took center stage here. While I was disappointed that the grains generally and the rye specifically were muffled by the hops, I still enjoyed the beer. But one per session was enough for me as the hops were just a little too generous.

Junk food pairing: I recommend pairing River Rye'd, should you still have some around, with a big bad of Ruffles Flamin' Hot Cheddar and Sour Cream chips. The heat will take the edge off the pine while all that dairy adds a nice, mellow tasting counterpoint to the grapefruit.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 74: Down Highway 53 There's a Place Called Osseo

(late October 2022)

(Listen to the prelude.)

As happened last year, October rolled around and I found myself with a fair amount of vacation time to use before the end of the year. So I once again planned a trip up to the northwestern part of the state. And just like last year, my first destination was Osseo to meet a couple of friends from high school for dinner and drinks.

On the way up, I stopped at the Black River Falls rest area. It has a lovely scenic overlook a short walk from the parking lot. You go up Bell Mound and then take a boardwalk around it to the overlook.

 

The historic marker noted that the area was home to a mine owned by the Jackson County Iron Company and that the mine’s buildings and pit would be visible from the overlook. I looked and squinted and looked again but couldn’t see them. Later I realized that the marker dated to 1976 and that the pit mine was handed over to the county and had become Wazee Lake at some point in the intervening years. My Frau and I took a swim there back in 2009 and it is magnificent. Water clear as day. Most of the lake is rather shallow but the open mine bit is a genuine abyss and I am told that people dive there to get their certification.

A 30-mile drive north and I was once again in Osseo which lies in the far northeast corner of Trempealeau County. Founded in 1857, the origin of the name is lost in the mists of time but the best theory is that it comes from the name of a character in Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" which was published the previous year.

My time in Osseo last fall saw no shortage of rain and I abandoned my plans to walk a stretch of the Buffalo River Trail as the storms had left many large puddles. This year was dry and warmer, even if the sun wasn’t always shining. I parked, pulled my bicycle out from the back of my car and was off.

It wasn’t long before I realized that I hadn’t put on my shoes which didn’t have mesh sides and kept the wind out. While it was certainly warmer than last year, it still wasn’t balmy out. I cursed as it dawned on me that I had forgotten to pack my other pair of gym shoes and my boots. It seemed that I was destined to have cold feet on this ride.

Although it had rained the previous night, the storm wasn’t of biblical proportions so standing water was merely sporadic. But the crushed gravel wasn’t always firm and my tires sank in for much of the ride. Not deeply, mind you, but my legs did get a workout.

The trail is about 36 miles long and stretches from Mondovi to the west of Osseo to Fairchild to the east. It follows Highway 10, more or less, and is a former rail corridor. The railroad was built between 1887-1890 by regional lumber baron Nathaniel Foster. (I have once source giving his middle initial as G while another C.) Foster owned lumber yards in Mondovi and Osseo as well as Eleva and Strum, two towns which are in between those two. Originally called the Sault Ste. Marie & Southwestern Railway, it would become part of the Omaha Railway and finally the Chicago & Northwestern. The tracks were abandoned in 1975 and dismantled the following year. Eventually the Wisconsin DNR bought it and turned it into the Buffalo River Trail you see before you.

The DNR website explains that the Buffalo River was so named because early French explorers had christened it Riviere de Beeufs since the area was home to many bison back in the day.

The Buffalo River, which I remember being called the Beef River when I lived in the area, looks more like a creek as it wends its way from Osseo westward where it eventually meets the Mississippi River.

Although the river runs right behind my old high school, I don’t recall ever going to its shores while a student there.

I saw no other people on the trail but I did see a young buck who was probably sniffing around for a doe.

No doubt he’ll be running for dear life in a month or so when gun season opens.

Farther down the trail near Strum was this fine dome home. I did not expect to see the legacy of R. Buckminster Fuller in rural Trempealeau County.

When I got to Strum, my feet were rather cold so I turned around and headed back to Osseo instead of continuing on to Eleva, as had been my original plan.

I checked in at my hotel and took a shower before my next destination which was Burly N Bucks, a tavern which held the promise of beer, food, and good company.

It was a rather nice small town watering hole. I was impressed with the tap beer selection which included Leinenkugel’s from 30 or so miles up the road in Chippewa Falls as well as a couple brews from Sand Creek, again 30 or so miles away but to the south in Black River Falls. Not only was I grateful that there were some fine brews to be had, I also appreciated that the taps had a regional bent. Of course there was Spotted Cow but also Capital’s Wisconsin Amber. 16oz pours of Oscar’s Stout from Sand Creek were a mere $3.25, half the price you’d pay in Madison, I’d bet.

I was to once again meet my friend Jason and a newcomer, Brad, who was unable to attend last year because of his goofy work schedule. This time around, it was Nick who would be a no show.

We had dinner and chatted the night away. Brad and I hadn’t seen one another since 1990 and it was a pleasure to attempt to catch up on over 32 years of life. He seemed to be much like he was in high school, a bit aloof and happy to let others do their thing as long as they let him enjoy a modicum of solitude and the quiet of the country. In between reacquainting ourselves with one another and reminiscing about our high school years, we solved a few of the world’s problems and were flummoxed by kids these days.

Just like last year, no photos were taken. I don't know if this is because we're men, because we're Gen Xers who didn't grow up with smartphones or what. The thought of taking pictures never even occurred to me, although I'd like to show my Frau more examples of the type of people I grew up with.

I felt badly because I had intended to bring up some Nutkrack candied pecans again but completely forgot. On the other hand, Jason bestowed the gift of soap upon me with a couple bars from Chippewa Falls’ newest purveyor of soaps, Ope! It’s Soap. They were beer soaps with the Leinenkugel’s brand. I hope that this gift was not an indication of a hygiene deficiency on my part.

Unlike me, my friends had to work in the morning so we didn’t stay out too late. The plan now is to see one another more often than once a year. Something to work on.

I returned to my hotel, kicked back, and set out to finish the book that I was reading.

********

By all rights, I should have read it back in 7th or 8th grade but didn’t. I also neglected to do so in high school, although I did read Twain’s short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” then. Several years ago I dipped my toes into the Twain waters once more when I read Letters From Earth. But never Tom Sawyer nor Huck Finn. Having finally read the former, I would say that I should have done so back in 7th grade.

While I enjoy Twain’s writing immensely, I couldn’t help think that it was truly meant for 12 year-old me. Still, there were some funny bits such the scenes in the church which poke fun at religion. I also laughed when Tom and Huck are planning to become rogues and Huck suggests they have orgies because that’s what bad guys do, never mind that he has no idea what they are.

I had a couple chuckles while reading it and am happy to have gotten this classic of American literature under my belt but it's not something I plan to return to.

********

The next morning I arose planning on investigating the remains of a town no longer on the maps. But first I made a trek over to Osseo’s general store, Stockman's Farm Supply & More, where I bought a pair of boots and some decorative Indian corn which now hangs in our dining room.

Impulse buy.

The previous night Jason had told me that someone had opened a gaming store in town recently. And so my next stop would be Boards & Bricks.

The store boasts a large selection of Legos, puzzles, board games, and a smattering of role-playing game materials.

I ended up buying a little puzzle of Madison.

At 500 pieces, we stand a chance of assembling it in one night and not having to let it sit out at the mercy of the cats.

Wondering how it was that such a fine store opened up in a very small town, I struck up a conversation with the woman behind the counter. She told that it was opened back in June by a gentleman who had moved to the area from Utah(!) and his dream was to own a gaming store. (I guess Mormons just aren't into Settlers of Catan, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.) Well, he made his dream come true…in Osseo. I wish him the best of luck.

As we were talking, the woman glanced out the front windows. I followed her gaze and saw an older gentleman putting a couple of pies into the back of his car.

"I've seen people carrying pies all day," she noted.

You see, just 2 storefronts down was the Norske Nook, famous for its pies. It's a small chain (4?) of Norwegian restaurants scattered around the state. However, the original (OG, as the kids say these days) Norske Nook is directly across the street from the gaming store.

Puzzle in hand, I made my way back to my car and headed west. On the way out of town, I saw this sign:

All your needs taken care of in one spot.

On Highway 10, I ran into a sight I saw a lot of up north - tractors on the highway.

One thing I was not able to do in Osseo was stop in at the Northwoods Brewpub. They have a rye ale to die for but it’s not brewed year round so its availability is a total crap shoot. Oh well. The brewery is in a former condensery - a place where water is removed from milk to make evaporated or condensed milk - and the lovely old building makes for a nice spot to have a brew and a meal.

My next stop was to look at the remains of the long lost town of Hadleyville.

********

Bonus photo. I found another (inoperable) pay phone! This one is inside a little neighborhood grocery store in Madison.

You Got Fruit Juice in My Dunkel!: Bavarian Dunkel by Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

At some point around the middle of last month I continued hot and cold relationship after seeing a new brew at my local bottle shop – Bavarian Dunkel. Most new Leinenkugel brews seem to be yet another iteration in their neverending parade of shandies. Yet here was a nod to the German roots of the venerable Chippewa Falls brewery. Reading the label, however, engendered hesitation as it noted that the bier was "Brewed With Natural Fruit Juices". Was this the first step towards the shandification of the dunkel?

According to Chris Drosner, Bavarian Dunkel replaces Snowdrift Vanilla Porter. This was a positive development to my mind as I found that beer to be syrupy dreck. Still, fruit juice in a dunkel?

It's not so much that I have a preternatural disposition against such a pairing as much as it is an anxiety over who it is introducing this novelty. This is Leinenkugel, after all, the brewery that has twisted and warped the poor shandy from being a simple, pleasant mix of ginger beer or lemonade and beer into the Boone's Farm of craft brewing. This experiment could be tasty or it could be Kool Aid.

Regardless of Leine's shandymania, the brewery is certainly no slouch and can whip up a fine brew. And so it's no surprise that, on appearance, at least, Bavarian Dunkel is shining example of bier. At casual glance, it is a stygian cupful, with a deep, deep copper color. I couldn't discern clarity but I am confident that is was clear as the style demands unless the fruit juices muddied the waters. The head was tan and creamy, lasting 30 seconds or so. Since light could barely penetrate the darkness, I couldn't tell what the bubble situation was like inside.

The aroma was full of dark chocolate and roasted grain like a good dark bier but the fruit juices – blackberry and elderberry as Mr. Drosner discovered – made themselves known. I thought of sour cherry. Mild grassy hops rounded things out.

I am guessing there weren't a whole lot of bubbles to be seen as the carbonation was restrained. However, this allowed bitter chocolate to step to the fore with roasty grain and faint coffee trailing. There was a slight fruity sweetness which tasted malty in addition to a moderate berry-like fruitiness. Elderberries are very tart and so I'd say this tasted more of blackberries. The hops linger in the background adding only a touch of bitterness which melded with the chocolate and, I'd bet, some elderberry tartness.

At the end the bier's choco-fruitiness was joined by some spicy hops which added a sprightly sheen of mint. There was no shortage of Schaumhaftvermoegen with thick streaks aplenty adorned with spots of foam all around.

With the first sip Bavarian Dark allayed my fears of it being an unearthly dunkel-shandy hybrid. It has a medium body with a nice creamy texture full of rich dark chocolate. The fruit juices are subtle and complement the dark grain flavors very well. Nothing overly sweet or cloying here. I wish more Wisconsin breweries steeped in the lager tradition would do something like this instead of abandoning it for pastures of tropical fruit eyepahs.

Junk food pairing: Being the new winter seasonal, Bavarian Dunkel will be around for a spell. Well, at least until next month when summer seasonals come out. You'll have some time, at least, to enjoy one with a bag of Jay's Barbeque potato chips. The BBQ dust has a smoky side that goes well with the dunkel side of Bavarian Dunkel but also a dash of sweetness to complement the berry juice. On the sweet side gingerbread cookies are everywhere these days and also pair well with it as they have a nice pungent earthiness to them that I like with the roasted grain flavors in the bier.

A Final Wisconsin Oktoberfest With Addendum

Today will be my terminal tasting of Oktoberfests from Wisconsin breweries. By and large this year's crop has been disappointing. Words like "full" and "rich" were sadly inapplicable to most of these biers. At least one was laden with diacetyl – a big disappointment. But most were simply one dimensional, thin and watery with a touch of caramel sweetness and perhaps some hops.

There were, of course, many more homegrown Oktoberfests that I haven't tried than those that have crossed my lips. Amongst bottled brews are New Glarus, Ale Asylum, and Sprecher. Add to that those from brewpubs and I'm sure you've got quite a total.

I'm no statistician so I am not sure if 12-14 samples is representative enough of Wisconsin Okto-output to render a valid verdict for 2016. But as far as my tongue is concerned this year was simply disheartening. I'd like to be able to just put this episode behind me and wait for Wisconsin to shine with its Weihnachtsbiers but we don't really brew many of those. What is my state's preferred winter seasonal?



First up is the venerable Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. I wrote about the special place in my heart for Leine's not too long ago. Having said this, their output is uneven. They brew some fine beers but they also brew liquids that are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the style listed on the bottle. It's like they're starter beers. They get you into the ballpark of what the style is about without ever going all in.

Will the same fate befall Oktoberfest?

It poured a deep gold which was something of a relief as I figured it wouldn't be overly sweet. Clear as day, I could see a fair number of bubbles rushing upwards to a big, frothy, white head that decided to stick around for a while.

As expected, my nose caught a bready smell first. It was joined by some tasty grassy hops. Sure, there was some caramel sweetness but, as the color foretold, it was rather mild. And really, overall, the aroma was pretty tame. Not bad, but certainly not an olfactory fanfare.

The taste was mostly more of the same. A restrained bread/biscuit maltiness bolstered by a touch of caramel sweetness. While the hops were grassy on my nose, they pulled a Jekyll and Hyde routine and took on a sharp herbal/spiciness on my tongue. Add in just the right amount of carbonation and you've got a nice little bit of zing going.

The malt fades at the end leaving that zesty hop flavor to come forward for a rather dry and bitter finish. My glass was left with some scattered patches of Schaumhaftvermoegen.

Leine's Oktoberfest was just about what I expected it to be – a Virginia Slims beer. It's got all of the Oktoberfest components but not enough of most of them. More malt flavor was needed in place of the hints of bread and biscuit here. I will admit, however, that I really like the hoppiness. Grassy to the nose but spicier on the tongue with a little bite. Really nice.

Junk food pairing: Pair Leine's Oktoberfest with something simple like potato chips and a bacon & horseradish dip.



This is really more of an addendum as the Old Style brand is, to the best of my knowledge, still owned by Pabst which is, in turn, owned by a "beer entrepreneur named Eugene Kashper and a private equity firm based in San Francisco. According to Wikipedia, anyway. And so, while Old Style is not a Wisconsin company, it is being brewed in La Crosse again at City Brewery, the former of of G. Heileman.

Old Style was very popular in Chicago when I was growing up there and when my friends and I would steal beer from our fathers' stashes, it was usually Old Style. (And sometimes Special Export or Hamms.) I don't have an affinity for the beer or the brand because of this but Old Style has a long history in Wisconsin and I think it fits the theme here, if only tangentially. Having said this, I see that the Old Style website plays up its (former?) popularity in Chicago heavily. "Chicago's beer" is everywhere. Oh well. Alia iacta est.

I haven't found any indication that Old Style used to brew an Oktoberfest while it was still brewed in La Crosse back in the day although G. Heileman may have under a different label.

As with the Leine's Oktoberfest, I didn't go into this with great expectations.

Old Style's Oktoberfest was amber in color which augured a sweeter bier. It was clear and, against all odds, I managed to pour a bier with a nice head. This was was firm and off-white and, happily, it lasted a while. There was a modicum of bubbles inside.

As was forewarned by the color, Oktoberfest had a not insignificant caramel sweetness to it that managed to somehow not lapse into being cloying. There was a little biscuit flavor as well as a healthy dose of peppery hops. The carbonation fell into the optimal range. And there was also this nebulous earthy/spicy flavor. The best way I can describe it is that it was as if they were going for that peppery flavor you find in some amber lagers such as Eliot Ness but couldn't quite get there. It wasn't unpleasant, really, it just malformed or perhaps undercooked.

For the finish the malt bid farewell leaving some peppery hops to do their thing. Here that meant a fairly firm dryness and attendant bitterness. Along the lines of a German pils, I'd say. Schaumhaftvermoegen was everywhere with streaks all around my glass.

With a medium body Old Style's Oktoberfest had a bit more heft than Leine's but this is purely because of the additional sweetness. What both biers had in common was a real lack of maltiness – especially the kind that doesn't taste like caramel. They were both thin and in need of more of a grainy foundation. The peppery hops in the Old Style were a pleasant surprise but they required more malt to play against.

Sadly, these Oktoberfests by larger, maybe less crafty, brewers are very much in line with those brewed by smaller, craftier ones.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Old Style Oktoberfest with some Doritos dipped in a vat of warm, gooey Velveeta cheese food product.

The Trouble With the Maples: Maple Dunkel by Leinenkugel Brewing Company

I am taking a break from the Oktoberfest madness before I polish off the remaining ones in my cellar. It's like a 7th inning stretch. Besides, there is a cornucopia of non-Märzen beers out there to enjoy.

One that tried recently was Leinenkukgel's Maple Dunkel. The bier is available only as part of their Autumn Explorer Pack. Well, unless the liquor store you frequent busts the packs open to sell as singles. I was ambivalent about it going in. On the one hand, another of their newish seasonals, Snowdrift Vanilla Porter was simply disgusting to my palate and exemplifies how flavorings bring out the worst in the brewery. On the other, this year's Spring Explorer Pack brought Heart of Oak, an oak aged Vienna lager which was excellent.

But I like dunkels, I like maple syrup. Either this bier would be a cloying train wreck or another justification for my sentimental love of the brewery despite it being a subsidiary of the Omni Corp of brewing.

Having lived up by Eau Claire for a stretch, Leine's has a special place in my heart. It was something of a hometown brewery during the interregnum between the closing of Hibernia and the opening of the Northwoods Brewpub, circa 1997, which was the next brewery to set up shop in Eau Claire, during which many old duffs bemoaned the loss of Walters at taverns across the area. During my college days when money was tight, Leinekugel's (Original) was a welcome respite from countless half-barrels of Old Milwaukee. After college, when money was tight, I couldn't afford to drink Sprecher all day at Summerfest and so I quaffed many a Leine's Honey Weiss.

And so despite having sold out to Miller in 1988 and having run the shandy into the ground, I still indulge in a Leine's every once in a while. Besides, they have a nice tour.

Maple Dunkel pours a lovely deep copper color and is quite clear. I think I need to start pouring every beer like you're supposed to pour bottled nitro brews – turn the bottle upside down into the glass and shake like a maraca. For whatever reason, I was only able to produce a small head. The light tan foam didn't stick around very long. There were some bubbles inside. Aside from my poor pouring, it was a very beautiful bier.

As I was inspecting the appearance, I could smell maple. It was somewhere between maple syrup and maple-flavored syrup although it leaned towards the latter. The aroma was sweet and overpowered the basic bier with just a tiny hit of dark malt roast coming though. At this point I was basically resigned to my fate which was going to be drinking a flavored mess. Another Snowdrift – cloying and awful.

It was no surprise to taste maple. Lots and lots of maple – flavoring. It was cloyingly sweet with an overabundance of vanilla-caramel taste but lacking the woody-earthy flavors and the slight tartness that real maple syrup has. A rather muted dose of roasted grain could not penetrate the treacle while some spicy hops struggled to be tasted.

That maple flavoring lingered a bit at the end until spicy/grassy hops come and add some welcome bitterness and dryness. There was no Schaumhaftvermoegen in sight.

Maple Dunkel is a dreadful bier to my taste. I've had beers brewed with maple syrup and maple sap and some were good and some weren't. I can imagine a tasty dunkel that has been laced with maple flavoring – if the flavoring has been used judiciously. That's not the case here because there's no dunkel here. It's just maple flavoring. Although I will say that I liked the hops quite a bit as they were the only thing that I could taste besides maple.

Junk food pairing: I kept my snacking simple with Maple Dunkel and indulged in plain old Cheez Its.

To Keep Jack Frost at Bay: Big Eddy Ryewine Ale by Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy series began in 2007 with a draft-only double IPA that was available here in Madison and in Milwaukee. Big Eddy beers are big, bold brews full of flavor and alcohol too. Most are also chances for the brewery to experiment with styles that are otherwise not represented in its portfolio. Such is the case with Ryewine Ale, a barleywine with a healthy dose of rye.

I will confess that I do not drink barleywines very often. But it's not that I have a distaste for the style. Far from it. I have wonderful memories of drinking my first back in 1991 or 1992 when a bottle of Old Nick touched my lips. A few years later I sampled the Great Dane's first barleywine with a friend whom I hadn't seen for some time. And so I have fond memories associated with the style but it just rarely seems to find its way into my glass these days. On cursory introspection I will attribute this to the fact that I like to sit back and sip on barleywine while in no hurry whatsoever. Small doses to be savored over time, a spirit which is lost to me these days as my attention seems to jump from one thing to another.

/omphaloskepsis

Originally released in the spring/summer(?!) of 2013, I picked up a four-pack in the fall of 2014 and it has been aging in my cellar ever since. I recently brought one up from hibernation and decided to see how well it could chase away the winter chill.

Ryewine Ale pours a deep mahogany that is opaque unless you cant your head so that you're not looking at the glass perpendicularly. It looked clear but I was unable to be certain. My pour produced a very small tan head that was off like a prom dress. I could not see any bubbles inside the beer at no matter which angle I peered into the beer's depths.

Sadly I did not drink any Ryewine Ale when it was fresh and so I'm not able to tell you how this two and a half year-old version tastes in comparison to its youthful self. Having said this, I can say that sticking my nose into my snifter revealed a wonderfully sweet aroma overflowing with notes of vanilla, caramel, and a plum-y fruitiness.

I was surprised upon taking my first sip that the beer's body was lighter than I had expected. It was fairly heavy but not syrupy and viscous as my nose led me to believe and tasted much like the aroma. The vanilla which had been quite prominent to the nose was here but reduced. It blended well with a big fruity sweetness. Balancing the sweetness was, quelle surprise, alcohol. Ryewine Ale is 10% A.B.V. and suffered no shortage of boozy burn. As someone who loves rye in beer, I was happy to taste some of that earthy spiciness but it didn't stand out as I'd hoped.

On the finish the vanilla/sweetness combination faded as a boozy warmth settled in. Before long some grassy hop flavor and bitterness appeared and gave the finish some unanticipated dryness which was quite pleasant after all of the preceding sweetness.

As you probably surmised, Ryewine Ale did a fine job of chasing off Jack Frost. By definition the barleywine is a sweet beer but Leinenkugel did well by it in keeping this one from being treacly. The alcohol, a little carbonation, some rye, and those hops on the finish keep the sugary flavors from overpowering the palate.

Junk food pairing: Help keep Ryewine's delicate balance and pair it with some dark chocolate covered pretzels or mellower cheeses such as Colby or Provolone Cheez-Its.

No More Oak Oppression: Heart of Oak by the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company began in 1867. Over the years it developed into a prosperous regional brewery. In 1988 it went from craft to crafty before such a distinction was ever thought of when the Miller Brewing Company bought it. In the mid-90s the brewery began to establish its reputation of the maker of beers that taste like Froot Loops/Fruity Pebbles, a bit of renown that remains today. Berry Weiss was introduced in 1996. Ten years later came Sunset Wheat with its big Tang-y orange flavor. The following year saw Summer Shandy hit shelves and the brewery has since made its fortune with shandies. In 2012 the brew went national and by 2014 accounted for 50% of the brewery's business.

Having achieved such great success with Zima: The Next Generation with a new flavor of shandy seemingly introduced annually (watermelon is next), it's easy to forget or not even know in the first place that Leinenkugel brews more than fruit-flavored concoctions. Microbrew fans are attracted to the Big Eddy series of high octane and intensely flavored beers. But Leinies has been (relatively) quietly rolling out beers that are neither fruity nor imperial. For instance, they introduced a new winter seasonal a few years ago called Snowdrift Vanilla Porter which I found to be horrible but gave us a new annual IPL which is pretty good.

This past summer Leinies introduced a new beer as part of its Autumn Explorer Pack called Heart of Oak, an "oaked Vienna lager". Aging beer on oak to imbue it with the wood's distinctive flavor is a fairly new trend in microbrewing and not particularly widespread although it is gaining in popularity. How did Leinenkugel's foray into the world of arboreal aging turn out?

Heart of Oak pours a beautiful amber hue. The beer was clear and adorned with a big frothy head that was…ecru. There were a lot of bubbles going up the glass. I found the aroma to be quite inviting with the mellow earthiness of the oak coming up front with a bit of bread behind it as well as some malty sweetness that was plum-like to my nose.

I realized that, while I've noted the oak, I've not said anything about the Vienna lager. We here in Wisconsin are blessed with three amber lagers that are either Vienna lagers or are based on the style: Sprecher Special Amber, Capital Wisconsin Amber, and Wisconsin Brewing Company's Golden Amber Lager. The first two have been around, to the best of my knowledge, since the 1980s and are cornerstones of Wisconsin microbrewing. Wisconsin Amber seems to trail only Spotted Cow as the top Wisconsin microbrew to be found in non-microbrew establishments around the state.

The style dates back to around 1840 and one Anton Dreher, a denizen of – quelle surprise – Vienna. I'm not sure that anyone knows what his beers were like exactly but I tend to think of the style as being a lighter take on the Oktoberfest/Märzen. The emphasis is on the malt but the Vienna lager isn't quite as malty as its Bavarian cousins.

My aside aside, it was the oak which really stood out in the taste. While it didn't have the forest-in-a-bottle taste of Atom Smasher you couldn't miss it. But the oak's relatively moderate flavor didn't hide the malt which had a nice Maillard reactiony breadiness. There was also a little bit of malt sweetness that tasted like stone fruit to my palate. A hint of vanilla was subtle but its sweet-yet-savory flavor worked well with the oak and malt while carbonation added a little bite and some dryness. Lastly there was a bit of peppery "heat". I have no idea where it comes from but it's that same kind of "heat" that Capital's Autumnal Fire has but milder in this case. It tastes less like pepper than it does alcohol but Heart of Oak is not a big beer. Perhaps this is just my tongue tasting hops in an odd fashion or some such thing.

The beer finishes dry but moderately so. The oak flavor lingers a bit as does some carbonation. As they slowly dissipate, they're replaced by a mild astringency and an equally mild dose of grassy hop bitterness. Schaumhaftvermoegen consisted of two large splotches.

Heart of Oak benefits greatly from having just the right amount of oak. It complements the malt rather than overpowering it. The brew had a smooth mouthfeel and a medium-light body that belied its 6% A.B.V. which I think of as being rather high for the style. I also liked the dry bite given by the carbonation. All those bubbles helped balance the flavors here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer. It has a clean lager taste yet it has a complex set of flavors led by the oak. It managed to walk a fine line between being light & refreshing and hearty & warming. My only complaint is that it is generally sold as part of a variety pack that includes one of Leinenkugel's ubiquitous "shandies".

Junk food pairing: Heart of Oak pairs best with crackers and cheese. Try some Cheddar 'n Bacon Easy Cheese on Vegetable Thins or Cheddar Easy Cheese on Chicken in a Biskit crackers.

Sibling Rivalry: 2014 & 2015 Über-Oktoberfest from Leinenkugel Brewing Co.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy series began back in 2007. Named after the springs where the brewery in Chippewa Falls was built, the series boasts beers that are big and boozy and aimed squarely at the microbrew crowd. First came a Russian imperial stout but I'd swear that there was also an imperial IPA released in 2007 that I sampled down at the Echo. (Holy grapefruit, Batman!) I recall that Big Eddy meandered for the first several years of its existence with some releases being bottled while other were draught-only. I also think that the styles were pretty random and randomly released. About two or three years ago the series settled down and a more or less stable line-up and release schedule were set. (Though I gather Leines reserves the right to tinker as they wish.)

Today I present what I believe to be my first ever vertical tasting blog post. I'd love to say that I used my tremendous foresight last year and planned this all ahead of time but, alas, I just realized a week ago that I still had a couple bottles of Leine's vintage 2014 Über-Oktoberfest in addition to a fresh four pack. "And so," I thought, "why not see how last year's batch fared?"

Because my photography skills are about as good as Neville Chamberlain's diplomatic skills, you can't tell from looking that the photos (2014 above, 2015 below) but the 2014 brew was slightly darker. The elder beer was a deeper shade of amber, though only just. Both were clear. The 2014 iteration had a tan head which dissipated fairly quickly and was quite effervescent with many a bubble heading upwards from the bottom of the glass. Its younger sibling had a one-inch head that was a bit lighter – I wrote "off white" in my notes – and was nice and frothy. There was a fair number of bubbles going up from the bottom of the glass but not as many as the 2014.

Visually the beers are very similar. As I moved onto the nose, I could sense a Cain Complex developing. The older beer smelled syrupy sweet with caramel and honey all over the place. On the other hand, the fresh beer's aroma had more to offer. My olfactory receptors caught some delectable toffee sweetness but there was a nice savory bready aroma and some earthy hops too.

The sibling rivalry continued on the tongue. 2014 was smooth but syrupy and heavy while 2015 was lighter. The older beer tasted very sweet with caramel and honey from the nose being joined by stonefruit like peach. There was a hint of grain here but this was a Maginot Line of bread that was overpowered by a blitzkrieg of malty sweetness. I caught a hint of grassy hops plus some carbonation but they could offer only token resistance.

In addition to a lighter body (not light, mind you) the new 2015 brew provided a variety of flavors in addition to big malty sweetness. There were definite toffee/honey flavors here with more than a modicum of sweetness but there were also grainy flavors like were like bread plus roasted ones that brought some great melanoidiny/toast flavors to the fore. I could also taste the alcohol (it's 8.5% A.B.V.) just a bit and the carbonation offered just a bit of dryness. There was some subtle herbal/grassy hop flavor but it was firmly underneath all the malt.

Unsurprisingly, the older beer finished with the cloying sweetness slowly fading while a hint of spicy hops tries its best to balance things out. Also unsurprisingly, it fails. The newer brew finishes dry with a more earthy/grassy hop bitterness that lingered. Neither beer bestowed much Schaumhaftvermoegen on my glass although the 2015 beer left a few decent patches.

The lesson here is that Leine's Über-Oktoberfest does not age well. Not in my basement, at least. Drink it while it's fresh. The year-old beer had a heavy body which was reflected in a flavor that was cloyingly sweet – think Hallmark levels - and not much else. The 2015 brew was lighter and much less sweet. I enjoyed the toasty malt flavors quite a bit. Leines says the beer has 35 I.B.U.s from a combination of Mt. Hood and Spalt Select hops. The hops were very subdued until the finish when all that pesky malt was finally out of the way. Considering the premise here, an Oktoberfest with more intense malt flavor than normal, more booze, and more robust hops, Über-Oktoberfest goes down rather easily. This is not a beer to quaff during an Oktoberfest party but it was very tasty and held back the cold on a chilly autumn evening.

Junk food pairing: I had my road to Damascus moment a few weeks ago and will again preach the word of the curd: eat deep fried cheese curds with your Oktoberfest brew. A double order is required with Über-Oktoberfest.

The India Pale Lager from Up Nort: IPL from Leinenkugel's

Yesterday I looked at Central Waters' IPL and today we have another. This time it's from Leinenkugel's.

Apparently the powers that be at Leine's took some time off from brainstorming more "shandy" flavors (can a limited edition yuzu-chipotle-tamarind "shandy" be far off?) to address the current hop craze. The result was their new(ish) IPL (a.k.a. – India Pale Lager). It is at once a concession to current trends with a firm emphasis on hops and its attendant "I/India" marketing meme as well a nod to tradition in being a lager.

The beer was initially introduced last fall on draught only at various establishments in the brewery's hometown of Chippewa Falls as well as in Madison and Milwaukee. But in late June/early July (or thereabouts) bottles hit store shelves. According to Leine's website, IPL is available year-round.

IPL pours a beautiful clear gold color. I got a really big foamy, white head that proved to be in no hurry to go anywhere. In the beer itself there was a goodly number of bubbles forming on the bottom of the glass and then floating upwards. From a visual perspective, IPL was quite aesthetically pleasing.

IPA had a similar smell to that of Central Waters' Summarillo. There was a distinct citrus/grapefruit aroma along with pine from hops. Leine's claims there are five varieties of hops in IPL but their website only lists two - Hallertau Mandarina Bavaria and Ahtanum. Elsewhere I've read that the remaining ones are Hallertauer Herkules, Citra, and Cascade. A nice mix of German and New World hops that mirrors the style's mix of trendiness and tradition. The malt aroma here was more prominent than Summarillo's with more potent notes of honey and raisins.

Although IPL and Summarillo are in the same ballpark as far as flavor goes, there are some significant differences. Both have a prominent citrus taste. Four of the five hops in IPL contribute citrus qualities with Hallertauer Herkules being the lone holdout. However Leine's went for grapefruit whereas Summarillo leans more towards orange. IPL also distinguishes itself with those Hallertauer Herkules hops. They take no guff from their citrusy counterparts and impart a strong, fragrant piney/resiny taste. Again we have that trendy/traditional dichotomy at play. While the hop flavors were certainly out front, there was a definite malt sweetness to be had. There was a certain earthiness to the malt on the nose which was lost on the tongue. The malt tasted more doughy with a caramel flavor too.

The beer finished clean and dry just like one would expect. Those Hallertauer Herkules stayed the course and left some lingering spicy/pine bitterness. My glass was left with some really nice, thick Schaumhaftvermoegen. With Leine's IPL your glass will be pretty from pour to final swig.

IPL is a very fine beer. It's a bit bigger than Summarillo coming in at 6% A.B.V. and 57 I.B.U.s. Still, it was rather easy drinking with a medium-light body and a nice smoothness. Caramel malts give a bit more sweetness for the hops to play off of but the beer never tastes heavy. There's simply a really nice interplay of flavors here. Yeah, the emphasis is on the hops but the malt never lets you forget it's there. To my tongue the citrus/grapefruit flavors come first and then are superseded by the spicy/resiny ones which take you into the finish. This seems rather fitting for a beer from Leinenkugel's, a brewery steeped in German lager traditions. It's as if they let the young whippersnappers their turn but then followed that up by giving notice that tradition endures.

Junk food pairing: Pair IPL with some Asian fare such as Oriental snack mix with its Yin/Yang pairing of delicate rice crackers and wasabi-laden peas or for a heartier meal, fry up some shrimp chips. You know, those oddly-colored chips that are like Shrinky Dinks until you fry them whereupon they poof up like a Cheetoh.

Snowdrift Vanilla Porter by Leinenkugel

Last year Leinenkugel decided to replace its winter seasonal Fireside Nut Brown with Snowdrift Vanilla Porter. I shuddered upon hearing the news because Leines generally over does flavoring in beer. Berry Weiss, Sunset Wheat, and their dreadful shandies all are more akin to a Boone's Farm product than a beer enhanced by fruit. I figured that the vanilla would simply replace the fruit in the fateful scheme of fruit flavoring. Were my fears justified?



Snowdrift is a nice looking beer, I'll give it that. It's a very deep brown to the point of being nearly opaque although there were plenty of tiny bubbles making their way up. My pour had a nice head which lasted a fair while. As I was trying to get a decent photograph, Snowdrift's splendiferous odor emanating from its frothy head hit my nose. The roasted grain was most prominent but there was also a toffee aroma there along with a sweet raisin scent. Oddly enough, the vanilla was very faint.

I should have stopped there but no. In the interest of all that is good and holy about beer I actually drank it. It was medium-bodied, which was pleasant, but lacking in actual porter taste. What it did taste like was vanilla extract. This flavor was front and center along with an astringent taste akin to the flavor of alcohol in a very big beer. Snowdrift is only 6% ABV but my tongue wasn't convinced that it wasn't an imperial something or other with so much alcohol that no amount of malt could cover up the taste. I actually took multiple sips to try and taste the grains. A nice roasted flavor was there but buried underneath a sea of vanilla that was a bit too sweet for my palate.

The hops came though at the end and teamed with the carbonation for a fairly dry finish which was a nice contrast to that which came before.

I thought Snowdrift was bad. To its credit, it is not cloyingly sweet like Leinenkugel's fruit concoctions. I feared this beer would be like a milkshake so at least Leines avoided that. But there's too little roasted grain. I mean, porters are supposed to have some burnt grain in the grain bill, right? The vanilla and that astringent flavor dominated and that was not pleasant at all.

Junk food pairing: Don't bother to drink this beer and save your comestibles for something else.

Leinenkugel Tries Its Hand at a Kölsch

Leine's new midwinter/spring/summer seasonal is Canoe Paddler, a Kölsch-style brew with rye. This is the third rye Kölsch I know of from Wisconsin with House of Brews and Woodman already having brewed the style. Canoe Paddler is a "Kölsch-style" beer because Kölsch is a trademarked appellation. The Kölsch Convention says that a Kölsch isn't a Kölsch unless (the whole issue of rye being set aside) it's brewed in its "area of origin" which it defines as "municipal Cologne plus all the breweries outside municipal Cologne which acquired their vested right with the term Kölsch before this code of competition came into effect." Basically, if it doesn't come from the Cologne metro area, it can only be a "Kölsch-style" beer. The convention also dictates that a Kölsch be Reinheitsgebot complaint and I would guess that the rye adjunct isn't.

Kölsch is, in German brewing parlance, an Obergäriges Lagerbier, i.e. - a top-fermenting lagerbier. To my mind, if it's not lagered it's not a Kölsch nor a Kölsch-style. If that bad boy hasn't been sitting around in low temperatures for a spell then you've got a golden ale brewed with Kölsch yeast. Apparently Cologne had laws that banned bottom-fermenting beers and the Kölsch grew out of that brewing environment.

My photo this time isn't too horrible though I've got to go for a lower angle shot the next go round. Canoe Paddler is straw colored and very clear. I got a nice foamy head on my pour which stuck around for a while but was low in the Schaumhaftvermoegen department. And there are bubbles. Lots of bubbles. The stange is a fine glass in which to show this fine looking beer off. Giving it a whiff, I found that it smelled like crackers with a hint of pear fruitiness. Perfect. So far, so good.

The first thing I noticed when I took a sip was how effervescent Canoe Paddler is. It was like drinking champagne. Once the bubbles had done their work, I could then taste the malt. Rather than having a clean, cracker kind of flavor that the aroma hinted at, it had more of a gentle, squishy bread dough taste. Never having been to Köln, I have to admit I don't know what a true Kölsch tastes like fresh from the teat. From the imports I've had, I will cop to a preference for Reissdorf over Sunner und Gaffel. Canoe Paddler tastes like the latter two. I like Reissdorf because it has a smooth cracker-like flavor. This beer has a much chewier mouthfeel. (Is this because of the fermentation temperature?) There's enough malt/bread flavor here but my tongue was kept waiting for a bit of sweetness that never came. I think part of the problem was that Canoe Paddler is over carbonated and that mellow dryness interfered with my tongue's ability to enjoy those flavors. It finished well, though, with a dry crispness that has a little hop bitterness and some spiciness from the rye.

Junk food pairing: I paired my Canoe Paddler with some Bold Chex Mix and it was just jimdandy.

Leinenkugel's: IIPA and Trend Starter

The next installment in Leine's Big Eddy series will be an Imperial IPA:



Speaking of Leine's, it seems that their Summer Shandy has spawned a trend.


Breweries are looking for ways to curb receding market share to wine and spirits with new products geared toward those that don’t like the taste of beer. For those that do and drink craft beer on a casual basis, Shandy might appeal. Casual craft beer drinkers and drinkers that cling to flagships (and safe seasonals) still drive more volume in the category than those who experiment. Though breweries are increasing activity with barrels and so on, that fringe crowd is massive and can’t be ignored. Shandy offers a trade-up opportunity for those danging between premiums like Bud Light and crafts, and can work as a gateway to trials of other brands in the portfolio.


Sam Adams, Anheuser-Busch, Labatt, Harp, and Saranac all have shandies on tap for the summer.

So Long Leine's Fireside Nut Brown

Word is that Leinenkugel is dropping their winter seasonal, Fireside Nut Brown, after this year's batch. It's apparently going away to make room for another beer as yet to be determined.

While Fireside was never a regular purchase for me, I have had it and it's not bad. Like most of their brews, the stuff is kind of watery - lacking a real malt backbone. And it's not that potent so I have to wonder why it is their winter seasonal. Hopefully the Big Eddy series will get some more exposure by being introduced full-time.