The best of the best at the 2018 Isthmus Beer and Cheese Fest

A roundup of memories and favorites

by

New beers were easy to find at the 2018 Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival, held Jan. 20 at the Alliant Energy Center.

Brewmaster Kirby Nelson of Wisconsin Brewing was pouring Cupid’s Envy, a coffee-infused porter barrel-aged with toasted coconut. The brewery isn’t officially releasing it until next month. Another standout debut was Fanny Pack from One Barrel Brewing, an IPA made with Chinook hops; it joins the brewery regular year-round lineup in February.

Northern Method from Potosi Brewing Company and Integrator from Next Door Brewing were two new doppelbocks that captured a lot of attention. And Capital Brewery’s Dark Doppelbock also generated some buzz; it’s a beer that the brewery hasn’t made in a couple of years. Brewmaster Ashley Kinart was offering it alongside a special limited fest-only firkin of doppelbock that had been conditioned with maple wood spirals, lending it a soft woody sweetness.

“Everybody has an opinion of the perfect beer and cheese pairing,” said Bill Hanson, co-owner of Arena Cheese. Hanson was one of about 20 cheesemakers at the festival. His booth was next to the booth of Tom Porter’s Lake Louie Brewing, which also calls Arena home. One of the best beer and cheese combos of the day capitalized on that proximity, pairing Porter’s 834 IPA with Hansen’s colby jack. That 834 IPA was introduced as a new beer at the fest. It’s intended to replace Arena Pale Ale in the brewery’s regular lineup, and its name is a tribute to Arena’s population of 834.

The fest has also become a launching pad for new breweries and breweries looking to expand into the Madison market.

Of the 130 breweries participating, about a third were attending for the first time. Working Draft Beer Company of Madison was among them. Brewer Clint Lohman offered four beers: two hazy IPAs, an imperial Maibock and a rye Scotch ale. “We brought things that is indicative of who we are as a new brewery,” says Lohman. Working Draft is so new it hasn’t officially opened yet, but it’s planning to have its taproom on East Wilson Street ready for visitors in March.

Also among those new to the fest was the Ahnapee Brewery from Algoma. Brewmaster and owner Nick Calaway doesn’t currently distribute his beers in Madison. He’s using the festival to generate greater awareness of his beer with the hope of easing into the market within two or three years. “People are really looking for new beers, the ones they haven’t had before,” he says. Calaway must have had that in mind when he decided to serve Fun Guy, an English brown ale made with morel, porcini, lobster, oyster and boletus mushrooms that was malty, earthy and musty, due to the influence of the fungus.

Among the festival’s non-Wisconsin breweries that captured well-deserved attention was Blackrocks Brewery from Marquette, Michigan, with its 51K IPA. It also offered one of the most sessionable hoppy beers I had during the day with the dry-hopped cream ale called Grand Rabbits. Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing pleased with White Monkey, a Belgian tripel aged in white wine barrels. It was right up there with my favorite tripels of the day — a list that also included Birdseye from Waukesha’s Raised Grain Brewing Company.

Among the longest lines at the festival were those waiting for the beers from The Brewing Projekt of Eau Claire. Its hoppy variants of the IPA Dare Mighty Things allowed for direct comparison of different hop choices in the same base beer. Brewmaster Will Glass also brought along the brewery’s newest hazy IPA called Resist.

Milwaukee’s Third Space Brewing brought Upward Spiral, a West Coast IPA, one of my favorite hoppy beers of the day.

The number of unannounced, surprise beers at the fest has grown. All festivals have hidden gems, but here, it seemed that one-offs and festival-only beers were everywhere. Among my favorites came from Vintage Brewing’s Scott Manning who had a cooler under the booth’s table that contained a half-dozen growlers, all beers not mentioned in the program – you had to know to ask. His Rockabye (a.k.a. “and good night”), an 11 percent ABV rye wine aged for six months in rye whiskey barrels, was one such beer. It hasn’t been served in the Vintage pubs yet, but you may see it turn up this month.

Potosi had tucked away a few bombers of Inner Sanctum, which wasn’t on listed in the program or on the serving posters.

Perhaps the rarest unexpected find was a single champagne bottle of Lakefront’s 30th anniversary eisbock. It’s a doppelbock that’s then frozen, which increases its strength. Lakefront produced just 5,000 bottles sold at $30 each. Scoring a sample at the fest was truly special.

As the day came to a close, it was difficult to pick a favorite. I found myself going back for a second pour of Ahnapee’s Brut Force, a dark amber Belgian ale with dark fruit sweetness and alcohol warmth. Ahnapee is a brewery to watch for if you’re headed up to Door County, or look for it in local tap takeovers or during this spring’s Madison Craft Beer Week. Taking a second sample seemed a little greedy, but it was great way to toast another successful beer and cheese fest.