This year’s Great Taste of the Midwest beer fest catered to a sold-out crowd of 6,000 craft beer drinkers on Aug. 10. It was the 33rd year for the beer festival; it drew nearly 200 breweries that poured more than 1,400 beers. The outdoor festival has become nationally known, not just for the beer but for its beautiful setting in Madison’s Olin Park next to Lake Monona.
Part of its appeal to craft aficionados are the personal appearances by brewers. You might even catch a rare appearance by Randy Sprecher. The founder of Sprecher Brewing doesn't get to many festivals any more, but he dropped by the Wisconsin Brewing Company booth to say hello to Kirby Nelson. The two old friends sipped on Nelson’s Czech pilsner. The pair, both brewing icons, were among the first brewers to usher in Wisconsin’s craft beer movement during the mid-1980s. That sense of history wasn’t lost on large crowd that quickly gathered around them, some even asking for photos.
Here are some of the beers from this year’s festival that I’ll be remembering for some time to come.
Barrel-aged:
Ocelot from 3 Sheeps Brewing
This American imperial stout is among the brewery’s limited release beers for its Barrel Society members, so getting a taste was a rare opportunity. This barrel aged stout was bold, rich and full of sweetness from cocoa nibs, vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of spice from ancho chilies.
Robin Shepard
Brewer's Cuvee from the Great Dane Brewing is a blend of two previous vintages of barleywines.
Big and Bold Beer:
Brewer’s Cuvee from the Great Dane Pub and Brewing
This blend of two of the Dane’s barleywines, 2012 and 2014 vintages, was incredibly smooth with caramel maltiness — and strong at 13 percent ABV.
Cask-conditioned:
Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine from Kuhuhenn Brewing Company of Warren, Michigan
A 2014 vintage of the brewery’s barleywine was conditioned with Brettanomyces and aged 16 months in Heaven Hills Bourbon Barrels. Deep, complex maltiness and hints of bourbon combine at 14 percent ABV.
Coffee brew:
Brew Brew from Rhinegeist Brewery of Cincinnati, Ohio
A California Common made with Armonia Hermosa cold brew from Cincinnati has a lot of coffee coming through in the nose, yet the body was balanced and the java didn’t overpower.
Robin Shepard
Kirby Nelson and Randy Sprecher created a lot of excitement when they were seen together.
Czech pilsner:
Wisconsin Vacation from Wisconsin Brewing Company
This traditional Czech pilsner was made as a one-off on the brewery’s pilot system. It was clean, crisp, dry — just what one looks for in the style.
Dessert beer:
Tony’s Humble Pie from Illuminated Brew Works of Chicago, Illinois
This white stout was made with blueberries, cinnamon and vanilla. This rich, dark, malty sweet beer reminded me of bread pudding in a glass. It finishes at 8% ABV.
Easiest-drinking ale
English Dark Mild from Missouri Beer Company of O’Fallon, Missouri
This amber ale was built around the soft bready Maris Otter malt. It was light-bodied and well balanced, and at just 3.8 percent ABV, it’s a sessionable beer.
Hoppy:
Tavern Cut from Hop Butcher for the World of Darien, Illinois
A first-time attendee at the Great Taste, Hop Butcher brought this double IPA, solidly hopped with tropical orange and grapefruit aroma and flavor.
Robin Shepard
Andy Gehl, co-founder of Third Space Brewing of Milwaukee.
Hoppy collaboration:
Smӧrgåsboard Hornidal from Working Draft Beer Company, Third Space Brewing and Omega Yeast Labs
This IPA featured Hornidal Kveik Norwegian yeast, Lotus and Nelson Sauvin hops which together lend fruity orange-citrus and hints of white wine sweetness.
Hoppiness to watch for:
Imperial Skull Double IPA from The Brewing Projekt
Loaded with Simcoe and Mosaic hops, this beer has lots of citrus with a solid malty backbone for balance.. Watch for this beer coming soon to Madison in 16-ounce cans.
Lager to love:
Zwickel from Urban Chestnut Brewing Company of St. Louis, Missouri
A crisp, easy-drinking Bavarian helles with the inviting light spiciness of German Hallertau hops.
Hot beer:
Shishito Pepper Idaho 7 Single-Hop IPA from the Broadway Brewery of Columbia, Missouri
This American IPA was another hit in the cask tent. Shishito peppers offer some heat, but they are milder in comparison to other peppers. They gave this brew a nice spicy accent without huge palate-staining heat and were a complement to the piney Idaho 7 hops. Serving it on cask softens things up and made for great execution.
Sour:
Owen from Perennial Artisan Ales of St. Louis, Missouri
This is a kettle-soured farmhouse saison that’s dry-hopped with Mosaic, and conditioned with Brettanomyces. Aromatic hints of papaya and pineapple, with a light bready-malty background. The brewery brought along just a few 500 mL bottles of this beer which meant a limited number got to try it.
Robin Shepard
Full Mile Brewing Company & Kitchen from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, was another first-timer to the fest in 2019.
Rookie Standout:
Full Mile Beer Company and Kitchen
“This is my 20th year coming to the Great Taste but it’s the first time I’ve poured my beer here. It’s incredibly cool,” said C.J. Hall, co-owner of Full Mile. The Sun Prairie brewpub opened last December. Full Mile brought six beers, and its Alpen Gold (Munich helles) was among the best for that style I sampled, and I was very pleased to see its Suncrushed hefeweizen — perfect for the hot and muggy conditions.
Robin Shepard
Phil Johnson of Taxman Brewing Company of Bargersville, Indiana. Taxman was among those breweries attending the Great Taste for the first time this year.
Out-of-towner:
Qualified from Taxman Brewing Company of Bargersville, Indiana
This first-time Great Taste attendee brought a Belgian quadruple that was deep bronze and full-bodied with dark fruit notes of cherry and plum. It was warm at 9.5% ABV.
Robin Shepard
Hawaiian-Shirt Party from The Brewing Projekt was my top overall pick despite (or perhaps because of) its style-defiance.
Most Memorable Beer Of The Fest:
Hawaiian Shirt Party from The Brewing Projekt
On the top of the list of my best beers at this year’s Great Taste was this beer, which breaks from strict style definitions. Brewer Will Glass’s latest creation is the one that I found myself continuing to talk about long after leaving the fest. This fruited kettle sour is made with pineapple and tangerine purees and toasted coconut. Several drinkers around the brewery’s booth commented it was like a piña colada with a beer chaser. Glass says that “Everybody in the brewery has been mocking it for weeks, but now they’re all drinking it, and a lot of it.” All that fruit puree makes this beer sweet and strong at 9 percent ABV. It’s a beer that you may want only one of, but wow, is it flavorful.
