Robin Shepard
Greenview co-owner Trevor Easton is ready to welcome you to the new brew house.
Greenview Brewing has completed the installation of its new brew house at 1808 Wright St. To celebrate, owners Trevor and Maureen Easton are planning an open house April 2 with special beers, food and tours. Greenview opened its taproom at that location last September, but only now moved its brewing equipment out of House of Brews, where it had been leasing space since opening in 2013.
“It’s really nice to finally be through the transition period,” says Trevor Easton. Now he can expand capacity and do more experimenting with his gluten-free beers. He’s also purchased additional fermenters, which could double the brewery’s production in 2016.
Later this spring, Greenview will unveil new packaging, with six-packs of 12-ounce bottles. Up until now Greeenview has been offering only 22-ounce bomber bottles and draught beer at a limited number of bars and restaurants.
And, Greenview is planning to release its first gluten-free sour beer for Madison Craft Beer Week, April 29-May 8.
Strong motion
Some of Wisconsin’s biggest beers will be showcased at Capital Brewery’s third annual Starkbier Fest on March 19. “Stark” means “strong” in German, and this traditional Bavarian event is expected to have some of the areas boldest and strongest brews. Traditionally, brewers combat the colder months with sweeter, maltier beers with higher alcohol warmth.
So far, over 15 breweries have signed up to participate. Tickets are still available, but are limited to just 500, making this a smaller festival with more opportunities to talk with brewers and brewery representatives.
Waiting in wood
MobCraft has been stepping up its barrel-aging program and plans to release several new beers aged in wood over the next several months.
“Barrel-aging adds layers of complexity,” says MobCraft’s Henry Schwartz. Copper Queen, an American strong ale aged in an Elijah Craig barrel, is hitting stores this month. A similar version of Copper Queen, made for Riley’s Wines of the World, is out now, only it was aged in a Four Roses bourbon barrel. The bourbon-barrel-aged Mystique, a double IPA, should be out by midsummer.
Black Tart Outlaw, a sour beer aged in bourbon barrels, is planned for an August release.
MobCraft has also taken all of its crowd-sourced beers produced in the past 15 months and aged each in different types of barrels. Schwartz estimates he has over a dozen different beers maturing, some of which will be served at the grand opening of its new Milwaukee brewery. MobCraft announced last fall it was moving from shared brewery space with House of Brews into its own place in the Walker’s Point neighborhood of Milwaukee. That date has yet to be set, but it’s expected to happen in late June or early July.
Beers to watch for:
LakeFront Brewing of Milwaukee is working on SMASH Ale, a beer made with a single malt and single hop variety. Head brewer Luther Paul describes it as a light-bodied beer ideal for the summer months ahead. The first six-packs could appear by early April.
Great Dane Pub and Brewery just tapped Botanical IPA. It’s a hop-forward beer made with seven different herbs and spices that include coriander, chamomile, ginger, juniper, orange peel, lavender and orris root.
