Robin Shepard
Cans and a pint glass of Joe Staudt beer.
This sweet stout from the Hop Garden is a perfect Valentine's Day sipper.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, a sweet stout with touches of chocolate malt can be as nice as a box of candy if your significant other is a beer lover.
A great pick is a new beer from Hop Garden called Joe Staudt. Brewery owner Rich Joseph makes this chocolate oatmeal stout with Blackprinz, a debittered black grain that adds color without the bitterness found in heavily roasted dark malts. (The beer is named after Joseph’s father-in-law.) Joe Staudt sells for $11/four-packs of 16-ounce cans.
Also worth noting, The Hop Garden’s taproom in Paoli hosts its annual Souper Bowl competition among local soup makers from noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 11. The event raises funds for the Belleville Community Food Pantry.
Young Blood Beer Company is teaming up with Bloom Bake Shop to make a cookie-inspired brown ale. The bakery helped by toasting the oats for the beer. The caramelization brings out the sweet nuttiness of fresh baked cookies, with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. The beer is named Dibs on Your Shacket, a reference to a heavy shirt style of jacket. Look for it in mid-February. It will sell for $6/pint and $14/four-pack of 16-ounce cans.
Several local brewers celebrate milestones in February. Starkweather Brewing marks one year in business on February 10 and brewmaster Peter Schroder plans to release a Baltic porter that has been aged in Old Sugar Distillery bourbon barrels for a year. Look for it to be big and bold at around 10.5% ABV. It will sell for $8.50/12-ounce glass and $20/crowler.
Parched Eagle Brewery owner Jim Goronson always makes a special beer for his own birthday on February 4. This year he made Maniac Baltic Porter, rich in malty chocolate and caramel sweetness. It finishes with warmth from its 8% ABV and sells for $7/glass, $12/bomber, $18/howler, and $24/growler.
Delta Beer Lab turns four on Feb. 18. Owner and brewmaster Tim (Pio) Piotrowski will be pulling out a few vintages of his Grant Stout and Barleywine just for the occasion. And in late February watch for Delta to offer a German helles in its experimental beer series.
February is a great month for bock beers. One not to miss is at The Lone Girl Brewing Company in Waunakee. John Russell’s Maybe Next Year bock is made with German Hersbrucker hops that lend light herbal spiciness. It is balanced and easy drinking at 6.3% ABV. Look for it in late February, selling for $6.50/pint and $19/growler.
Also on the bock beer front, Capital Brewery’s annual Bockfest in Middleton will be held Feb. 25. This year marks its 26th anniversary. Tickets are $20 and $25 (VIP).
In Lake Mills, Rob Larson at Tyranena Brewing Company has brought back Paradise by the Dashboard Light, a solid porter with a fruitiness that complements the malt. The beer hasn’t been offered in 13 years. Its release on Jan. 20 came on the anniversary of the death of Meat Loaf (Michael Lee Aday) who wrote the song that inspired the name. Larson describes it as a “doubly blessed cherry porter.” It sells for $10/four-packs of 12-ounce bottles. And Tyranena’s new tasting room, The Fharmacy Public House, is now open at 203 N. Main St. in Lake Mills.
An update to my January beer list: Delta’s West Coast IPA (full name, or number, is IPA.31.7) is outstanding. This old school IPA takes advantage of modern hop varieties like Mosaic that offer crisp orange and pineapple notes. This is the best West Coast IPA I’ve had since the pandemic started, if not longer. It sells for $12/four-pack of 16-ounce cans.
Another January release to grab is Working Draft Beer Company’s Boujee Nights, a Belgian Golden Strong ale. It’s the first in a new series of beers offered in 750 mL champagne bottles. It is bright, crisp, and bubbly, thanks to a month of bottle conditioning. It was originally released for New Year’s Eve, and the brewery still has about 25 bottles left at $23 each.
