Robin Shepard
The brewhouse at Capital has been busy, brewing a dark dopplelbock and a new hazy IPA.
The bock beer season gets into full swing in February and March. Strong bocks and doppelbocks have long been associated with monastery brewing as a kind of liquid bread that helped monks get through their fasting during the Lenten season. This year, the Great Dane has again cancelled its annual Bockfest due to the COVID-19 pandemic (although creating a week-long bock focus in its restaurants) while Capital Brewery in Middleton is returning to its traditional day-long Saturday celebration.
Great Dane Pub & Brewing is releasing its best-selling seasonal Velvet Hammer Bock in 12-ounce cans for the first time. Look for it in February ($12.50/six-pack). It’s been a seasonal mainstay of the Great Dane for more than 20 years, and ranks among the best local versions of the bock style, so it’s great to see it in take-home packaging. Soft and full-bodied, it is rich in imported German caramel malts. And it lives up to its name of being velvety smooth — but at 6.8 percent ABV, it can hit like a hammer. This beer draws its inspiration from the small Kneitinger Brewery in Regensburg, Germany, where brewmaster Rob LoBreglio discovered his love of the style.
To make up for the cancelled Bockfest, from March 2 (Ash Wednesday) through March 6, all Great Danes will offer a selection of its Velvet Hammer, Uber Bock, iced Uber Bock (made by freezing the keg in the brewpub’s cooler), Maibock and Andechs Doppelbock from Germany along with optional German food pairings.
Capital will hold its 25th Annual Capital Bockfest on Feb. 26. This event is traditionally held outside in the biergarten, whatever the weather.
Brewmaster Tanner Brethorst says production of blonde doppelbock has been coming along nicely. He’s also bringing back the brewery’s dark doppelbock, out of rotation for more than a year. Brethorst tweaked a few processes; fans of this beer may notice a richer maltiness, reminiscent of full-bodied German standards like Ayinger’s Celebrator and Spaten’s Optimator.
Capital is also out with a new hazy IPA. Juice O’Rama is the first hazy IPA from Brethorst since taking on the brewmaster role at Capital last summer. The beer is deep golden in color, and not quite as hazy as one might expect for the style. This IPA is double-dry-hopped with six varieties of hops, and what stands out most is the piney and citrus notes of Sultana. This beer will stay around this spring as Brethorst intends to adjust the hop bill a bit to allow more of the juicy flavors to emerge. It is available in the brewery’s bierstube ($6/glass and $20/growler). Some 12-ounce cans are likely to reach local stores later in the spring.
Sweet stuff
If you are looking for something sweet for Valentine's Day, pick up a four pack of G5 Brewing Company’s Tastes Like Midnight. The Beloit brewery is offering a special four-pack of the beer that includes two cans of traditional imperial stout and two cans of the same beer blended with homemade caramel sauce and a touch of almond ($16-19/four-pack). The core imperial stout is full of amaretto, dark cherry and raisin-like sweetness. The companion
Robin Shepard
G5 opened in Beloit in 2019.
beer (called Tastes Like Midnight-Millionaire) enters the pastry stout category with lots of caramel, nuttiness and even a hint of shortbread. Both are strong at 12.5 percent ABV. G5 opened in summer 2019 and has been self-distributing to Madison for more than a year. (G5 brewmaster Tim Goers actually lives in Madison and commutes to Beloit.)
A beer that might be hard to spot but worth looking for is a new Scotch ale from the Potosi Brewing Company. Queen of Scotts is medium-bodied and modestly strong at 7.2 percent ABV. Its deep flavors include caramel and chocolate sweetness of Simpsons Golden Promise malt, a base grain revered by brewers in Scotland. It’s a draft-only beer and should be hitting Madison taps by mid-February.
Togetherness
Jessica Jones from Giant Jones Brewing Company and Clint Lohman of Working Draft Beer Company have been collaborating on a Baltic porter. Look for it in early February in 500 mL bottles ($6-$8/bottle or $6/glass at brewery). The bold silky version of a porter is made with caramel and Munich malts, Pacific Gem hops, and fermented as a lager. With wonderful malty depth and subtle hints of dark cherry and plum, it finishes balanced and dry. It was brewed at Giant Jones and it follows the brewery’s organic certification protocols, finishing 8.5 percent ABV. While Lohman has developed a local reputation for making lagers, this is the first commercial release of one from Jones. The result is a great example of full collaboration between the two brewers in building off their respective strengths to span the ale and lager genres in making a hybrid like a Baltic porter.
