I’ve been casually beering my way into 2019. Beers here and there, only a couple big outings (like the Eagle Park can pop-up shop at Funk Factory, and of course the Central Waters anniversary stout release). Trying to open beers I haven’t had before, or haven’t had in a while. The Isthmus Beer and Cheese Fest helped do that; what I’ve liked about that event over the years is the ability to both revisit old favorites and experience new ones.
It was a real stunner that Surly’s Barrel-Aged Darkness was still available at about 2:30 p.m. the day of the fest. Regular Darkness is an aggressively hopped stout, but the time in the barrel imparts a sweet and spicy profile to lend it some additional complexity. It’s usually long gone by that time.
Lakefront’s Black Friday XXX Vintage Reserve offered a similarly spirit- and barrel-heavy experience. These bottles were a tough get back at the Lakefront brewery in November; my buddy and I missed out, but remedied that last weekend.
I will admit that there was a moment when I was worried I’d never escape the pull of a veritable murderer’s row of Wisconsin Brewing Company, Revolution, Third Space, and 2017’s rookie favorite, The Brewing Projekt. Revolution’s Straight Jacket is world-class barleywine science, and a return to Cupid’s Envy from WBC is always welcome. I was thrilled to try a pour of Third Space’s 3:30 tapping of Mystic Knot, but it was the two Cow Cow variants from The Brewing Projekt that really got me. Irish? Really good. Peppermint Mocha? A damn-near perfect chocolate mint stout.
St. Francis Brewing has been around for a decade, but there haven’t been a ton of Wisconsin breweries to win medals at Chicago’s Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers like St. Francis’ Teotwawki, a bourbon barrel-aged brown ale brewed with all the ingredients of a boozy autumn pie. The cinnamon wasn’t as loudly overt as in Odd Side’s Freedom Toast, another big brown ale, but its subtlety is probably what earned it props at FOBAB.
Stem Ciders expanded distribution to Wisconsin in late spring of 2018, and I’ve spotted the Denver import on various taps since early June. The Stem booth was pouring a Spiced Black Currant cider out of 750 mL bottles, and the nose was incredible, very currant-forward with a rich vein of baking spices.
My personal winner of the festival and one of my favorite beers of the winter so far, though, came from the young Lion’s Tail Brewing in Neenah, Wisconsin — my hometown, full disclosure. I’d had the brewery’s New England IPA, Juice Cloud, on tap at the east side Mr. Brews, and made a point of stopping for a few more tastes at the festival.
What I didn’t expect to find was Council Tree, a pitch-perfect, sincerest-form-of-flattery riff on Crooked Stave’s classic Nightmare on Brett barrel-aged dark sour. A blend of pinot noir and charred oak barrel aging, an infusion of Montmorency cherries — I don’t know if the Nightmare on Brett reference was intentional or coincidental, but I had to go straight to the Crooked Stave table to see if Nightmare was pouring to compare. It compared very, very well. Forget pencilling in, I’m marking the appointment to visit the Lion’s Tail taproom in permanent ink, all-caps.
It was a pleasure to see Crooked Stave there, too, for the record. From the last drops of Surette Reserva Palisade Peach to the deliciously crackery Origins to that OG dark sour Nightmare on Brett, Crooked Stave has been on shelves in other Midwestern states, but having it in Wisconsin means I can casually wander into a shop for a bottle of Mama Bear’s Sour Cherry Pie, and that’s a nice way to ease into an evening of drinking.
