Robin Shepard
A can of Vintage beer on the Vintage bar.
Black Walnut Pie is among the 2026 beers in Vintage Brewing's series of pie beers that are released for March 14 (pi day).
March 14 (a.k.a. “π" day) means it’s time for an annual slice of pie beers from Vintage Brewing Company. Brewmaster Scott Manning started the series nearly a decade ago and each year he offers at least four beers featuring flavors that bring to mind something special baking in the kitchen. Manning is adding a new one to the list this year called Black Walnut Pie, a strong brown ale with sweet, nutty decadence. “It’s the kind of pie my mom and her farm-raised siblings just oohed and ahhed over,” says Manning. The beer is made with walnut extract and brown sugar. Its character is similar to pecan pie, just not as sticky or gooey. It’s a full-bodied dark brown beer, and with slight warmth from its 8% ABV ($8/pint). This is a very nice dessert beer, and proof that you can drink your pie and eat it too.
Green beers for Saint Patrick’s Day tend to be viewed by craft beer enthusiasts as frivolous or sacrilegious. Green beer is also a derogatory term for beer that is young or poorly fermented — that is another issue altogether.
However, the Young Blood Beer Company embraces the green with flair. Brewmaster Kyle Gregorash’s latest beer for March is a unique concoction of kiwi, other citrus and the supplement spirulina, known for its vivid blue-green color. When spirulina is added to yellow beer, out comes a green elixir that even a leprechaun might find hard to resist. Young Blood’s Leprechaun Say "YEAH!" is a bright kelly-green sour ale with citrus sharpness. It finishes at 6.5% ABV ($8/glass and $17/four-pack).
Big beers like barleywines often get tagged as being winter beers. However, I’m a fan of a well-made barleywine at any time, with their complex blend of roasted malty caramel and chocolate notes. The best ones have a subtleness to the layering of those flavors. Starkweather Brewing recently caught my palate with Andre The Giant, a barleywine made with a heavy amount of rye. Brewmaster Peter Schroder based it on his early homebrewing recipes and named it after his youthful fascination with Andre the Giant, the professional heavy-weight wrestler from the 1970s and ‘80s. The rye in Andre really adds depth to Schroder’s barleywine, complementing the bready, toffee notes with dry spiciness. Drink up after dinner or as a nightcap; it finishes at 9.3% ABV ($9/goblet or $22/crowler).
Giant Jones Brewing of Madison recently teamed with Sunshine Brewing of Lake Mills to make a beer that’s already on my short list of best of the year so far. Both breweries are known for making Belgian beer styles, and the two came together in February for the Madison Area Craft Beverage Producers’ Blind Date program that matches breweries at random to make a beer. Their creation, Biére Brut, is similar to a Belgian golden strong ale. It features the same Belgian yeast strain used by La Chouffe Brewery. That yeast immediately makes itself known with its musty floral aroma. The beer is also made with raw buckwheat which gives it toasted almond sweetness and a light, dry, spicy finish. “We wanted to try something new and different for both breweries,” says Caleb Meinke, brewer at Sunshine. For Jessica Jones of Giant Jones, using buckwheat was a game changer: “I’m really excited about how spice forward and complex it turned out because of the buckwheat.” If you are wondering about the term brut, as with a wine brut, it calls attention to the effervescent qualities and dry finish. This is a great beer, one not to miss, especially for those who appreciate Belgian yeast profiles ($8-$10/bottle).
