A flight of four dark beers in the Hop Haus taproom.
These Black Friday releases, aged in different barrels, are best compared in a flight.
Hop Haus Brewing in Fitchburg is well known for its Black Friday releases. Brewmaster Phil Hoescht has six big, dark beers on tap in the Fitchburg taproom, and many will remain so through December. Most are variants of the brewery’s annual Black on Black stout ($8/glass and $20/four-pack). The differences among them largely come from being aged in different types of barrels. Raspberry Ruckus, which spent 11 months in raspberry brandy barrels before going on tap, stood out for me. The deep chocolate of the stout goes exceptionally well with the raspberry sweetness. It is a big and full-bodied beer at 11% ABV ($8/glass). A good way to try several is with a flight ($18).
Taking a “potluck” approach to collaboration, six Madison area breweries all brought an ingredient to brew day. The double IPA that emerged from the Working Draft brew house in late November is Casserollin’ With My Homies. “We wanted to capture the spirit of a casserole by just tossing a bunch of things together and seeing what came out the other side,” says Working Draft brewmaster Clint Lohman, who served as host.
Together the local breweries ended up adding more than two dozen varieties of hops, creating layers of resiny, herbal and fruity flavors.The beer is medium-bodied, copper colored, with a nutty-malty background to the hops. It finishes at 9.2% ABV. In addition to Working Draft Beer Company, other participating breweries included Karben4 Brewing, Young Blood Beer Company, Delta Beer Lab, Full Mile Beer Company and Kitchen, and Giant Jones Brewing. Only one batch was made, and each of the breweries received a few kegs to serve in their taprooms, so it will not be around long. If you see it, try it ($7/glass).
Full Mile Beer Company and Kitchen has a couple of great fresh hop beers on tap this month. Brewmaster Bill Morgan selected Centennial hops from this fall’s harvest at Four Winds Farm in Fitchburg.The hops left the field only a few days before Morgan picked them up and immediately put them to use. First Picked is a classic fresh hop IPA with firm piney bitterness. It has a few other hops blended in, most notably Amarillo, which lends a little dry grapefruit and citrus to the finish. This is an easy-drinking IPA and it’s modestly strong at 6.6% ABV ($7.50/glass).
Also on tap at Full Mile is Star Damage, an imperial red ale, featuring the same fresh Centennial hops ($7/glass). It offers a wonderful resiny bitterness with a toasted malty background and a touch of alcohol warmth at 8.4% ABV. For fans of imperial reds, this brings back memories of Sierra Nevada’s Celebration IPA, arguably among the reference beers for the style. The difference? Star Damage is full flavored, with more balance. Yes, the hops clearly stand out, but do so with assertive bitterness complemented by a solid malty background.
In comparing the two Full Mile fresh hop brews, the First Picked is crisper with its citrus character, and most will find it more approachable. But don’t miss either one.
Lake Mills’ Sunshine Brewing Company has been working on recipes for a coffee beer for more than a year. Brewer Caleb Meinke has tweaked the latest batch very nicely. Coffee Shop Connector is a blonde ale featuring beans from local roaster Simple Kup. Right away the coffee aroma is strong and inviting, like a first cup of coffee in the morning. Meinke uses roughly a pound of coffee per barrel of beer, so there’s a buzz from both the caffeine and the beer’s 5.1% ABV. The coffee is up front, while the beer emerges later. Meinke’s choice of hops, Wakatu and Motueka, add subtle sweet flavors of guava and passionfruit ($7/glass).
Deep malty brews go well with cooler weather. The Lone Girl Brewing Company’s newest release is Oatmeal Toffee Ale. This amber-colored beer has smooth toffee and chocolate notes and is similar to an oatmeal stout, just lighter in color. It’s made with a grist of 25% oats, which contributes to a soft body and accentuates its oatmeal cookie sweetness. It finishes at 7% ABV. This is a nice full-bodied amber ale, well balanced and easy drinking. It’s available at The Lone Girl in Waunakee and in the brewery’s Madison taproom on East Washington Ave. ($7/glass and $15/bomber).
