Robin Shepard
A Delta Beer Lab snifter glass with a dark beer in it.
Two barrel-aged beauties are out this month from Delta Beer Lab in Madison.
Delta Beer Lab has two barrel-aged beers hitting local shelves this month. Barrel-aged Scotch Ale is set for mid-November, and a barrel-aged version of the brewery’s Grand Stout is scheduled for a Black Friday release. I got a preview taste of both a few weeks back. The Scotch Ale is made with a touch of peat-roasted malt that gives it a light touch of roasted smokiness. It’s aged in J. Henry & Sons bourbon barrels for a light, sweet spirit sweetness, especially in the finish. It ends up at around 8% ABV. The Grand Stout is much more robust in maltiness and barrel accents. It spends about 10 months in Driftless Glen bourbon barrels, resulting in a boozy, warm blend of dark-roasted chocolate malts. Both beers will be available in the Delta taproom ($10.50/10 ounce glass), and in 16-ounce cans ($20/four-pack).
The newest addition to the Lake Louie Brewing line-up is an American stout called Dark Side Of The Loon. The eye-catching label brings up memories of the cry of loons up north. This stout is dark, full of chocolate maltiness with light roastedness. It is medium-bodied and as smooth as a loon landing on a calm lake. This is my favorite Lake Louie beer, just ahead of Warped Speed ($11/six-pack).
Another dark beer to keep an eye out for this month is a Baltic porter from Madison’s Young Blood Beer Company. Professional Coward will appear in late November. The Baltic porter is fermented with lager yeast at cold temperatures to allow the chocolate malts to emerge while remaining clean and well-balanced. Head brewer Kyle Gregorash expects it to have smooth chocolate and caramel character like a porter, only with subtle sweetness. This medium-bodied black beer comes in at 8% ABV.
Just as hockey season warms up, O’so Brewing Company is out with what it calls a check-inspired (as in against the boards) version of a Czech-style lager. Pavelski Pils is named for Wisconsin’s Joe Pavelski, a two-time Olympian, Badgers standout and NCAA champion. Pavelski went on to play for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars until he retired earlier this year. Pavelski grew up in Plover, home to O’so. The beer features Pilsen malt and Czech Saaz hops, both considered essential to a great Czech pilsner. It is very clean, a soft golden lager with crisp firm herbal character from the Saaz. It finishes at 4.8% ABV ($11/six-pack; two dollars a case is donated to youth hockey programs).
The Tyranena Brewing Company in Lake Mills turns 25 this month. To mark the occasion it will, as it does every year, feature a special anniversary beer, this time an imperial stout aged in a combination of barrels that include bourbon, cognac and cherry bitters, then all blended together. Like all of brewmaster Rob Larson’s previous anniversary beers, this one will be big and bold, finishing at around 14% ABV. The special anniversary beer, called Twenty-Five, was released on Nov. 15 in the tasting room ($7/8-ounce glass and $20/four-pack).
The New Glarus Brewing Company may be most known for Spotted Cow, but it’s also revered by sour beer fans. Vintage 2024 appeared in the brewery’s Beer Depot a few weeks ago ($15/500 mL Bottle). The wild sour was brewed in 2022, allowed to ferment in oak foeders for a year before being bottled in 2023, after which it was bottle conditioned for another year. The vintage series of sours are highly sought. Vintage 2022 won gold in the World Beer Cup. The 2024 version is tart, mildly acidic, with hints of dry peach and mustiness. New Glarus also recently released Barleywine 24, very inviting with smooth caramel maltiness. It’s deceptively medium-bodied, though there’s sweetness and warmth from its 9.8% ABV that makes it a great beer for the changing season.
And cheers to Vintage Brewing Company brewmaster Scott Manning and his brewhouse team for capturing yet another award for Scaredy Cat oatmeal stout. The beer won a gold medal at last month’s Great American Beer Festival. It’s among the brewpub’s most recognized beers, also winning a bronze in 2015 at the same fest. It also has a gold medal from the 2016 World Beer Cup.
