Robin Shepard
All the colors of the beer rainbow in a Bullquarian flight.
Monroe, Wisconsin, isn’t known just for cheese. It has a long history of beer brewing; what is now Minhas Craft Brewing opened in 1845 as the Monroe Brewing Company.
Monroe also has a nanobrewery a block off its scenic Courthouse Square that’s become a destination for southern Wisconsin craft beer fans since it opened in 2017. Bullquarian Brewhouse is a cozy space that doubles as a music venue.
“Music and beer were always part of the plan,” says brewmaster and owner Ethan Kister, who majored in music while attending UW-Milwaukee and often sits in on the drums with local performers on open mic nights.
The brewpub is open Wednesday through Saturday with live music most nights. Bullquarian also features Vinyl Fridays, when patrons bring in their favorite albums.
A back room doubles as the brewhouse and kitchen (the bar serves an array of sandwiches and pizzas). Kister makes beer on a two-barrel system, brewing on Mondays and Tuesdays when the bar is closed. Kister sees Bullquarian’s small batches as an alternative to the much larger Minhas and New Glarus breweries.
Last year Kister turned out about 100 barrels, populating a regular tap list that includes a dozen-some styles including West Coast and New England IPAs, German lagers and weizens, Belgians and English ales.
Among the brewpub’s signature brews is a clean, crisp blonde lager made with a Swiss yeast, in a nod to the heritage of the early settlers of Monroe. Cheeze Hayze, an homage to Monroe Cheese Days, is a hazy IPA made with Bergamot hops. The Double Dime is a pre-Prohibition style lager with sharp hoppiness that comes courtesy of Paradigm hops. Erv’s Dark was my favorite pick on a recent Thursday as I listened as Kister played drums with two different groups. The smooth, rich, malty dark lager is named for Ervin Peters, Kister’s father-in-law. Currently a seasonal Oktoberfest lager is among his most popular taps. It’s a nice version of the Märzen style with soft maltiness and a clean finish. Although a bit light-bodied, it hits all the right notes.
The name Bullquarian is a mashup of Kister’s zodiac sign, Taurus, and his wife, Michelle’s, Aquarius. Both are fans of kettle sours and he excels in sharp, acidic takes on the gose and oud bruin styles. His Bull’s Bruin is a sour brown aged with American oak. It is tart, with just enough malty background to soften the sour edges, and is cleverly accented with the subtle woodiness of oak that comes out in the aroma.
On my recent visit I sat next to Tyler Maxson, who’d ridden his bicycle from his home in Rockford, Illinois. Maxson said after his 75-mile, four-hour ride, he was looking forward to enjoying Bullquarian’s Belgian amber. “This atmosphere doesn’t happen just anywhere. This place is packed, it’s friendly and casual, and everybody knows each other.” Cue up the theme song from Cheers.
