A half-dozen local beer makers have teamed up with Old Sugar Distillery to make signature whiskies, each labeled with the name of the brewery and the distillery. Old Sugar owner Nathan Greenawalt has been working on the project for over 18 months. He’s planning a release party sample flights and bottles for sale Dec. 8 from 4 to 10 p.m. at the distillery, 931 E. Main St.
Each brewery worked with Greenawalt to make a specialty mash that was used for a whiskey. Middleton’s Capital Brewery used a recipe similar to its schwarzbier called Fishin’ in the Dark. Ale Asylum used Ambergeddon amber ale. House of Brews did a take on its A-Frame amber ale. MobCraft made a mash with cherrywood-smoked barley that lends a Scotch-like flavor. Next Door Brewing made a mash using rye malt, to resemble the spicy qualities of a rye whisky. And the Great Dane Pub and Breweries came up with a traditional bourbon mash.
“There are so many different types of whisky and endless flavors that it’s fun to experiment,” says Greenawalt. The whiskies are packaged in 200 ml bottles and sold in sets of three for $50/set. Because most of the breweries do not have a license that will allow them to sell the bottles over their bars, the best place to find the whiskies will be at Old Sugar and select liquor stores.
Celebrate Black Friday
The Hop Haus in Verona has put together a small barrel-aging program and plans to release two beers from it on Nov. 25, aka Black Friday. Brewery owner and brewmaster Phil Hoechst has made an imperial stout and a barleywine; both will be for sale in bomber bottles. “We don’t have a ton of room to do a lot of barrel-aging, so we’re trying to make a few unique beers,” says Hoechst.
Pocket Rocket imperial stout has been in the barrel for nearly 10 months. It’s robust, with roasted malty character accented by bourbon, finishing at around 10 percent ABV. The barleywine, named Dance Off, has been in the barrel for about nine months and ends up at around 9 percent ABV. It’s rich in caramel and biscuit maltiness, hopped with Chinook, Amarillo and Centennial hops. Hoechst is also planning a barrel version of his Plaid Panther scotch ale for draught release. All have been aging in bourbon barrels formerly used by the Heaven Hill Distillery of Bardstown, Kentucky.
Production is limited to about 400 bottles each. Your best bet to get these beers is by going to the brewpub on Black Friday.
Time to leave earth
Martian Sunrise from Karben 4 is an assertive IPA featuring only Mosaic hops, which are known for a range of flavors and aromas including citrus, pine, earthy, herbal, minty, spicy and berry — thus a mosaic of qualities. Its deep reddish hues come from crystal rye and caramel malts. It also has a touch of oatmeal, which lends softness.
Fans of bitter beer should like this one. The Mosaic hops lend a rough, raw, resiny hoppiness that blends with the crystal rye, becoming spicy and peppery. I like the assertive hop aroma, too, and the beer’s alcohol warmth adds to its complexity. It all works to make this a very interesting hoppy beer.
Brewmaster Ryan Koga thinks Martian Sunrise will do well in six-packs, but he’s not yet ready to commit to bottling it because his other beers have filled up his production schedule for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, it’s likely to be offered on draught in the brewery’s taproom well into December. Martian Sunrise finishes at 7 percent ABV and approximately 70 IBUs. It sells in the brewery’s taproom for $5.50/glass and $16/growler (refill).
More beers to watch for
The Great Dane is releasing Belgian Prairie in 22-ounce bombers at its brewpubs. The beer is a Belgian-style tripel made with Prairie Fumé, a white wine from the Wollersheim Winery. The 22-ounce bombers are hand-numbered and sealed with white wax.
Pearl Street Brewing’s Linalool IPA just started reappearing. This beer, first produced last year, is made with Northern Discovery hops, a variety found growing wild in Wisconsin in 2007 and now cultivated near Sun Prairie. It is currently the only beer anywhere made with Northern Discovery hops. That means supplies of Linalool, which was a hot seller last year, can get scarce.
House of Brews has made Harvest Robust Porter in collaboration with Madison’s Food Fight Restaurant Group and Second Harvest food bank. During November, one dollar from every pint sold is being donated to Second Harvest to address hunger.
