Robin Shepard
Rustic flooring, big windows and chandeliers dominate the main tap room.
How many times have we typed this sentence over the last year? Craft beer drinkers in Madison have yet another new venue to try. Tangent Kitchen and Tap Room, the spin-off venture from Vintage Brewing, features eclectic house brews alongside beer cocktails, an expansive wine list, and an upscale food menu.
Tangent, 803 E. Washington Ave., occupies 7,000 square feet on the ground floor of the new eight-story Gebhardt Building. Large glass floor-to-ceiling windows on three of its four sides allow for ambient light during the day; at night, the lighted dome of the Capitol dominates.
The main bar has 36 tap lines serving beer, kombucha and wine. Old Vintage beer kegs were cut in half and welded end-to-end to become the back support for a crowed wall of tap handles. A smaller second back-bar with windows facing South Livingston Street is known among the servers as the jazz room; it has a more intimate feel, with large booths and a tin ceiling. It’s a quieter space for conversations, or perhaps contemplating the world of mixology.
Tangent is opening with at least 10 exclusive beers, brewed by Vintage brewmaster Scott Manning. At Monday’s soft open, early favorites included Kveik, a cloudy golden Norwegian farmhouse style ale that falls between a saison and German wheat beer; Plimsoul, an approachable sour with hints of plum; Unscripted Pils, with wonderful herbal hoppy accents; Amble On, a traditional Vienna lager; Firebrand, a smoked weizen with deep amber color and a sweet campfire smokiness; My Name is JoeNess, a Scotch Ale made with a proprietary blend of Nicaraguan coffee selected by Manning from John Joseph Coffee of Sauk City; and Unscripted Pils, a crisp, clean German pilsner.
The Kveik is an ideal pre-meal beer with its light body and slightly sweet yeastiness. The clean, malty Amble On pairs perfectly with the menu’s maple marinated chicken. And for dessert, a 4-ounce glass of Late to The Party, a sour ale, had waves of flavor that included hints of coconut, cheese and tartness (yes, and that was just the beer). Tangent will be open for lunch as well as dinner; the menu items largely fall in the $12-$15 range.
