Carolyn Fath
Over 100 breweries and more than two dozen cheesemakers took part in the Seventh Annual Isthmus Beer and Cheese Fest on Jan. 16.
One mark of a maturing beer festival is the number of beer choices, which easily topped 450 different brews. While there were plenty of well-known brands in that mix, a sign that the fest has become a premiere Midwest beer event is the attention brewers gave to making special beers just for the festival and/or debuting new beers for first time. “It‘s great to see all these one-offs and special beers that were made just for the fest,” said Scott Manning, brewmaster at Madison’s Vintage Brewing Company and the Woodshed Ale House in Sauk City.
Robin Shepard
MacCloud from Woodshed Ale House.
Manning is one you can depend upon to bring unique creations to a fest. And this year he didn’t disappoint. His smoked Scottish ale, called MacCloud, with its smooth peaty background, was as inviting as a fine single-malt Irish whiskey. It was firmly atop my ultimate favorites of the day, a beer that I hope will become more than just a one-time offering.
Likewise, Wisconsin Brewing Company brewmaster Kirby Nelson unveiled a pilot batch of a strong Belgian ale called Orelia that had been dry-hopped with Amarillo. As Nelson poured me a sample, he alluded to my penchant for hunting down strange and new brews: “It’s the kind of one-off shit you will enjoy!” Well, Nelson was right, I did like it — and from a quick survey of others standing around his booth on Saturday, I wasn’t the only one impressed with Orelia’s hoppy edge to a yeasty Belgian ale.
Robin Shepard
Among my other favorite brews of the day:
I couldn’t help but stand around the Hop Haus booth for a second sample of Magic Dragon double IPA, a beer that I also had on my Best of 2015 list. And Pearl Street Brewery from La Crosse came with a jalapeño-laced keg of Linalool IPA, a beer made with a wild Wisconsin hop.
Among those in the extreme beer category was Red Eye Brewing’s Hot Mess Version 1.1, a watermelon malt liquor. This unique elixir from the Wausau brewpub was thick, almost sticky sweet with watermelon flavor and a lot of alcoholic warmth at 7.4% ABV. There was a lot of buzz from festgoers about this odd concoction.
When attending a fest you have to be careful not to sample big strong beers all day. Luckily, Brad Stillmank from Stillmank Brewing in Green Bay brought his newest beer, a light, flavorful golden ale called Tailgater. Too bad the Packers’ season has now ended, because this beer is appropriately named.
Robin Shepard
Another standout among the limited pilot batches was Pigeon River Brewing’s Ginger Beer. This small brewery from Marion bottles in-house. This beer was rather humbly identified with yellow-green cursive handwriting reading simply “Ginger Beer” on plain brown bottles.
Hillsboro Brewing was a welcome addition to this year’s fest. While the brewery has been offering its beers since 2012, they rarely turn up locally. My short list of favorites from this southwest Wisconsin beer maker included Snappy IPA and its flagship amber called Joe Beer.
The fest also attracts more than just local breweries. One of those, Ten Ninety Brewing Company from Chicago offered a memorable imperial porter that featured rich chocolate maltiness, with a background of coffee-espresso and heat from cayenne pepper.
Carolyn Fath
Furthermore's newest year-round beer, Black Cloud.
Of new beers debuting at the festival, one worth watching for in the next few weeks is Bent Kettle Brewing’s Disregard, a yeasty and earthy biere de garde. Furthermore Beer gave a sneak peek of its newest year-round beer, a black Belgian ale called Black Cloud. And brewmaster Page Buchanan from House of Brews offered his latest, a doppelbock called Jailhouse Bock. This is the first lager from House of Brews, and it marks a new direction for the brewery. Watch for it to appear in 22-ounce bottles for the first time come February.
Carolyn Fath
Sarah and Marsh from Sitka Salmon Shares.
My best beer and cheese pairing of the day was the combo of Lakefront Brewery’s limited-release Black Friday 2015 with cheddar curds from Milwaukee’s Clock Shadow Creamery. It was a simple, straightforward partnership in flavor between two iconic foods. A close second to that culinary pleasure was Potosi Brewing’s cherrywood porter called Ember and Alaskan smoked salmon from Sitka Salmon Shares.
