Tommy Washbush
A montage of a beer glass from Hop Haus, a can from Lakefront and a can from Delta Beer Lab.
Black Friday is a dark day for stout lovers.
Black Friday beer shopping is synonymous with the release of one-of-a-kind stouts. Many are the boldest and biggest brews of the year. Most require going to the brewery to pick up the beers that day. It’s a good idea to check online for any advance reservation or deposit requirements. Here’s a roundup of some notable local releases.
Delta Beer Lab teamed up with Athens Grill of Westport to produce Admiral. The beer is a strong stout, aged for almost a year in J. Henry & Sons bourbon barrels. It finishes at 11.1% ABV. It will be available on tap and in 16-ounce cans ($20/four pack) at Delta Beer Lab, Athens Grill and Seven Acre Dairy in Paoli starting on Black Friday. A small amount of the same stout was also aged in a bourbon barrel from New Riff Distilling in Kentucky, and it will be offered on tap for a side-by-side comparison.
The Hop Haus in Verona and Fitchburg has five variations of barrel-aged imperial stouts ready for release. This year’s main offering, Black-on-Black, is an imperial stout aged in Willett Bourbon barrels for 10 months. It’s available at the brewpub in four-packs of 12-ounce cans ($20). Taproom-only releases on Black Friday include a stout aged in whiskey barrels with cinnamon, a rum barrel-aged stout, and a stout that was double-aged — for a year in Willett barrels and then an additional year in Jim Beam barrels.
Lane Smith, owner and brewmaster at Sunshine Brewing in Lake Mills, has tweaked the recipe for his annual Black Friday stout to add more layers of flavor and make it stronger. Sunshine’s Five Layer Cake is a pastry stout made with several varieties of malts, plus cocoa nibs, vanilla and coconut. Smith also adds dark Belgian candi syrup which creates dark fruit sweetness and pumps up the alcohol to about 8% ABV ($14/crowler). This is a dessert beer; its flavors change as it warms to room temperature. “Those different flavors will come at different stages while drinking it,” says Smith. “At colder temperatures the roasted toffee and coffee-like flavors stand out, but as it warms, look for the vanilla and coconut to emerge.”
Tanner Brethorst, brewmaster at Capital Brewery in Middleton, plans to release a barrel-aged version of the brewery’s Imperial Destroyer stout that spent nearly nine months in a Driftless Glen rye whiskey barrel. At 10.2% ABV, it’s a bigger version of the regular Imperial Destroyer (which is not barrel-aged). The beer is full of chocolate and cherry notes with a background of the warm spiciness of rye whiskey. It will be sold in 22-ounce bombers at the brewery on Black Friday. A small amount will be offered on tap. (The price has not been set.)
Octopi Brewing is releasing two bourbon barrel-aged pastry stouts. One features the flavors of a German chocolate cake; it was brewed in collaboration with Xul Beer Company in Knoxville, Tennessee. The other is a coconut s’mores stout that Octopi brewed with Angry Chair Brewing of Tampa Bay, Florida. The beers are expected to be offered in the Octopi taproom on Friday, but won’t hit local liquor stores for at least a week later. Both beers were aged for two years in bourbon barrels and each finishes at 17% ABV. They are packaged in two-packs of 16-ounce cans ($20).
The Lone Girl Brewing Company is offering Armageddon Highway, a double/imperial stout aged for nine months in J. Henry Bourbon Barrels. It’s sold in 22-oz. bomber bottles ($15; tap price not yet set). The beer is the first of five special releases; a different one goes on sale every Friday between now and Christmas.
Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee always goes above and beyond on Black Friday. In previous years the lines of customers have started forming well before the brewery opens at 8 a.m. This year Lakefront has four beers packaged in 19.2-ounce cans (prices range from $20-$30/each). Among the rarest releases is a 5-year-old bourbon barrel-aged stout.
Third Space Brewing in Milwaukee dipped into its extended-aged beers, or what it calls its cellar stash. This year it’s offering a robust Russian imperial stout that’s been sitting for two years in bourbon barrels. It is flavorful and strong at 13% ABV (single 16-ounce cans $15/each). Third Space is also unveiling the 2023 version of its Deconstructed Dessert beers. The brewers draw inspiration from the flavors of a dessert and parcels them into a series of related beers. This year the brewery is tackling the Linzer Torte, an Austrian pastry made with fruit preserves, nuts and shortbread crust. Third Space’s mixed six-pack ($45) starts with a barrel-aged imperial stout. The variants highlight: (1) the base stout, (2) lemon and vanilla, (3) honey and cinnamon, (4) pecan, (5) red currants, and (6) a blend of all five beers.
Raised Grain Brewing in Waukesha is planning to release four beers for Black Friday at the brewery. Among them is a bourbon barrel-aged stout called 1000, named to designate the brewery’s milestone in reaching 1,000 batches made since opening in 2015. The beer was aged in bourbon barrels for seven months with cinnamon and coffee and is packaged in 16-ounce cans ($15/each).
