I Survived Milwaukee Beer Week
But just barely. Kudos to everyone behind Milwaukee Beer Week, which ended last Friday. Events all over Milwaukee gave beer aficionados (and barley novices) a chance to sample some pretty amazing beer.
The highlight for me was last Wednesday. Central Waters took over the tap lines at Burnhearts (2599 S. Logan Ave.) and a throng of fans showed up. The main reason? Central Waters 1414 on tap. The extremely rare imperial stout, aged for 14 months in bourbon barrels, was rich, complex and nothing short of sensational. Central Waters also brought along an experimental 16th anniversary stout, another tasty selection with a sweeter flavor enhanced by the addition of molasses.
Affable Central Waters co-owner Anello Mollica mingled with the masses (these brewery guys often achieve hero status among the beer geeks) and drinkers enjoyed getting the chance to sample a rarity.
The Central Waters event would have been enough, but Milwaukee Beer Week is about gluttony. I ended my night at Stubby’s Pub & Grub (2060 N. Humboldt Ave.) where Goose Island was the guest of honor, and I finally got the chance to try Bourbon County Stout, another hard-to-find barrel-aged brew. My traveling companion and I sampled the standard Bourbon County Stout and the Bourbon County Coffee Stout. Both were delicious, and it was nice to know I could check two brews off of my beer bucket list.
To be able to try just the Central Waters 1414 would have been enough to make my Beer Week, but taking a trip to Bourbon County was icing on the cake. Thanks to both Burnhearts and Stubby’s.
Madison Craft Beer Week
Madison Craft Beer Week starts on May 4 and ends on May 13 (making it an extremely long “week,” but calling it “Madison Craft Beer 10-Day Event” is a little tough to say). It’s another event-filled tribute to craft suds. Check out the events calendar and make the trip west for a day or two.
Barley Pop of the Week
Big surprise, Central Waters 1414 isn’t just my beer of the week, it might be the beer of the month, year, whatever. A dark snifter of the stuff skillfully balances flavors of dark chocolate, roasted malts and bourbon. I feel like a better person for trying it (OK, that might be an exaggeration, but it was ridiculously good). Central Waters continues to excel when it comes to barrel-aged beer.
Quick Taps
Sprecher just announced the limited spring release of Hooligan English Pale Ale. A release party is scheduled at the brewery for May 17, but the time has yet to be determined.
I missed Dark Lord Day, the wildly popular one-day annual unveiling of Dark Lord Imperial Stout at Three Floyds Brewery in Munster (Ind.) on Saturday. Maybe next year I’ll be lucky enough to get tickets in the minute before they sell out.
Events Brewing
Tuesday, May 1: Head to Erv’s Mug (130 W. Ryan Rd., ervsmug.com) for a beer dinner with Capital Brewery. Call 762-5010 for more information and reservations.
Friday, May 4: Tallgrass samples and “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous” (aka: Schlitz) tasting at Discount Liquor Milwaukee (5031 W. Oklahoma Ave., discountliquorinc.com) from 4 to 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 5: Three Cellars (7133 S. 76th St., threecellars.com) is sampling “To Style” beers. Show up to find out what exactly that means.
Sunday, May 6: Mix in a little shopping with your brewery tour at the Sprecher Vendor Fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sprecher Brewery (701 W. Glendale Ave.). You can pick up a gift for Mother’s Day from vendors like PartyLite, Mary Kay and the Pampered Chef while sipping Sprecher. Nice combo. Call 964-2739 to reserve a spot.
