Robin Shepard
5th Quarter porter from Lucky’s comes three ways: on CO2, on nitrogen or infused with coffee.
Malty beer styles — Scotch ales, bold stouts and rich barleywines — are known as winter warmers. As the alcohol goes to your head, the chill starts to come off, too. Local brewers are finding ever more inventive ways to keep you warm in the most delicious ways.
Baltic porter from Ale Asylum
A bold, flavorful dark lager loaded with layers of German malts that lend a rich chocolate sweetness to the porter. This is malt-lover’s beer, yet it finishes clean and slightly dry. It finishes at 8.7 percent ABV. At Ale Asylum, $6/glass and $35/growler.
Twenty from Tyranena
This imperial stout was created to mark the Lake Mills’ brewery’s 20th anniversary in 2019. It’s a big warm stout at 13.9 percent ABV. The base stout was first aged for six months in bourbon barrels from the Heaven Hill Distillery, then the batch was further aged in either bourbon barrels from the Woodford Reserve Distillery, or wine barrels used for Madeira, before the batches were blended back together and packaged. What emerges are notes of chocolate, raisin, fig, molasses, prune and tobacco. At the Lake Mills taproom. $6/10-ounce glass, $26.50/32-ounce howler.
Stocking Stuff from Barrel 41 Brewing Company
Neenah’s Barrel 41 has been introducing its beers to Madison over the past few months. This coconut oatmeal pastry stout is stuffed with 45 pounds of toasted coconut in a seven-barrel batch. It also includes espresso roast cold brew from Acoca Coffee of Appleton. Barrel 41 is doing a tap takeover at The Rigby Pub on Dec. 20 with this beer and others. At the Neenah taproom, $6/glass, $12/crowler; pint prices in Madison will vary.
Make Friends Not Fences from One Barrel Brewing and Ooga Brewing Company
This big farmhouse ale is made with Pilsner and Vienna malts along with a touch of wheat and honey malts. Its yellow golden color matches its wonderfully warm, earthy, spicy taste, somewhat similar to a saison. The beer was brewed in Beaver Dam at Ooga Brewing by Jeff Scanlan and Sarah Ferree, along with One Barrel’s Peter Schroder. At One Barrel for $6/glass, and at Ooga Brewing for $5.50/glass.
British barleywine from Giant Jones Brewing Company
Barleywines, with their rich depth of flavor and warm character, are well suited for winter drinking. Brewmaster Jessica Jones brews a range of big, certified organic beers, and this British take on the barleywine is a bold statement. It’s made with Maris Otter and Munich malt that gives it a solid caramel backbone. Goldings hops lend spicy marmalade-like notes. This beer will be released in early January. It should finish at 10-11 percent ABV. At the Giant Jones taproom, $5/8-ounce glass, $6/10-ounce glass, $6/bottle.
Cuvee 2020 from 3 Sheeps Brewing Company
This is an unusual blended winter seasonal that appears every January in limited quantities. Every year the recipe is slightly different. This year 3 Sheeps’ owner and brewmaster Grant Pauly pulled a Belgian quadruple aged in rye whisky barrels, an imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels, an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, and a rye stout aged in bourbon barrels; all had been aging for a least a year. The result is rich, with the dark fruit sweetness of the quad balanced by the roasty notes of the imperial stout and the dryness of rye. Watch for it in early January. It’s sold for $15/22-ounce bottles that usually don’t stay on shelves long. You don’t have to travel to Sheboygan. A few bars around town are likely to have it on tap.
5th Quarter porter from Lucky’s 1313
Porters are easy drinking any time, but are often thought of as winter beers. Lucky’s 1313 brewmaster Keith Symonds revamped the brewpub’s 5th Quarter porter (a beer sold by Lucky’s since 2017) to have more body and more dark malt flavor, yet it’s well-balanced and clean. What’s more, it’s being served three ways: on a CO2 tap, on a nitrogen tap, or infused with a medium roast house brew from Madison’s Indie Coffee. At Lucky’s 1313, $5/glass.
Coconut Chai stout from Delta Beer Lab
This stout is made with bready Maris Otter malt and enough coconut milk to make drinkers sit up and take notice. Brewery owner and brewmaster Tim Piotrowski also infuses a chai tea he makes with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and vanilla beans. This creative take on a holiday spiced milk stout is full of body and subtle strength at 6.5 percent ABV. Available in the Delta Beer Lab taproom by early January, $8/glass and $15/four-packs of 16-ounce cans.
