Local beer geeks rejoice. Milwaukee Beer Week starts on Friday. There isn’t enough room on this website to list every event taking place from April 20 to April 27, but there are a few highlights listed below. Keep tabs on most of the festivities at www.milwaukeebeerweek.com (events are being added daily, so check back often).
Pace yourselves beer drinkers, Milwaukee Beer Week is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay hydrated, save up for cab fare, and don’t try to do it all.
The Milwaukee Taste of Great Brewers
Consider this April 20 gathering at the Harley-Davidson Museum (400 W. Canal St.) a kick-off party for Milwaukee Beer Week. Sample over 50 different breweries for an online ticket price of just $40 or $50 at the door. And oh yeah, the event includes a free commemorative pint glass.
Rumpus Room Tappings
Rumpus Room (1030 N. Water St., rumpusroommke.com) isn’t messing around during beer week. The highlights include a barrel of De Dolle Brouwers Dulle Teve on Saturday, April 21, Left Hand Smoke Jumper Porter on Sunday, April 22, and the coveted (and extremely hard to find) Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, scheduled to be tapped on Monday, April 23.
Discount Liquor Tastings
Discount Liquor is having at least one beer tasting (sometimes as many as three different breweries at a time) at both the Milwaukee (5031 W. Oklahoma Ave.) and Waukesha (919 Barstow St.) locations. Check out the packed tasting schedule (pdf) and pick a few days that work for you.
Firkin Friday
The ultimate pub crawl. Enjoy the fresh flavor of cask conditioned beers all around Milwaukee on Friday, April 27. Check out these brewers at the fine establishments all over town. See how many you can get to, but please do it safely.
12 p.m. – Oskars Blues at Comet Cafe (1947 N. Farwell Ave.)
1 p.m. – Summit at Stubby’s Pub & Grub (2060 N. Humboldt Ave.)
2 p.m. – Southern Tier at Rumpus Room (1020 N. Water St.)
3 p.m. – Southern Tier at Von Trier (2235 N. Farwell Ave.)
4 p.m. – Central Waters at Parkside 23 (2300 Pilgrim Square Dr.)
5 p.m. – Hinterland at Hotel Foster (2028 E. North Ave.)
6 p.m. – New Holland at Erv’s Mug (130 W. Ryan Rd.)
7 p.m. – Boulder at Sugar Maple (441 E. Lincoln Ave.)
8 p.m. – Sprecher at Tonic Tavern (2335 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.)
9 p.m. – The Livery at Burhearts (2599 S. Logan Ave.)
Barley Pops of the Week
Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery officially brought its beers into Wisconsin last week. I attended the launch party at Sugar Maple on Tuesday to sample the new arrival and can attest that the fellas from out east know how to use their hops. Bengali Tiger is a solid IPA and a fairly easy drinker. Resin packs a little more of a hop punch. The double IPA uses hop resin to create its strong but fairly even flavor. Bottom line: I liked them both.
Quick Taps
My fascination with barrel aged beers continues. My latest sampling was Boulevard Rye-on-Rye. It’s aged in Templeton Rye barrels and has one of the stronger booze flavors I’ve found in barrel aged beer. Good stuff.
Events Brewing (Pre-Beer Week)
Wednesday, April 18: Zombie Slam at the Comet Cafe (1947 N. Farwell Ave., thecometcafe.com). Bell’s Hopslam has pretty much disappeared from area taps, and Three Floyds Zombie Dust is equally hard to find. But at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Comet Cafe is tapping kegs of both. Oh, the choices you’ll have to make.
