Holiday Wishes
Hello to my five or six readers. I hope your holidays are filled with fun, family (unless you’d rather not have them around) and a few rare beers. And here’s hoping that 2017 proves to be a good year. Cheers!
A Trip to Good City
The owners of Good City Brewing – David Dupee, Dan Katt and brewmaster Andy Jones – were kind enough to invite media folks to their place last Thursday to get a preview of barrel-aged Density Imperial Stout. The tasting in the brewing area of Good City turned into an impromptu discussion about the state of craft beer in Milwaukee. Journal Sentinel beer scribe Kathy Flanigan, Wisconsin State Journal beer writer Chris Drosner and I shared our thoughts with the owners in what turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining talk with plenty of interesting takeaways. For example:
- Good City is planning to add a canning line in a few months. The brewery’s first canning run of Motto Pale Ale was done last week by a mobile canning contractor.
- The next barrel-aged brew in the works is the Lord Lyon Scotch Ale, which should be released in March. Expect more during 2017.
- The staff at Good City has pretty much remained unchanged since the place opened in June. “I’m really proud (of the fact) that everyone who started here is still here,” explained Dupee. “It’s bigger than the three of us.”
- We all agreed that Milwaukee’s current brewery boom is good for everybody. “It’s a nice camaraderie (between brewery owners) and I think everyone really wants to do things well,” said Katt.
- Concerns that the Milwaukee craft brewery scene has become oversaturated are decidedly premature. Milwaukee was seriously lagging before the 2016 brewery explosion and there’s room for more.
Barley Pop of the Week
Good City Brewing’s first barrel-aged beer is a winner. The brewery unveiled its limited run of Density Imperial Stout aged in Elijah Craig barrels to a crowd on Saturday. Judging from a quick (completely unscientific) survey of the Untappd app, people gave it rave reviews. The beer has a nice dark chocolate and subtle coffee flavor, and it’s not overly sweet or boozy. Good City has created an extremely smooth stout after just a few months of barrel aging, and that’s a feat that isn’t always easy to accomplish.
Quick Taps
Beer guru Tom “Grynder” Ciula posted the list of his favorite beers, tried for the first time in 2016. The list was big, but the top three (from first to third) were Barley John’s Old 8 Porter, Toppling Goliath Imperial Golden Nugget IIPA, and Avery Tweak Imperial Stout.
Paste Magazine posted an interesting infographic about predictions for craft beer in 2017.
In related news, the Brewers Association posted its 2016 Craft Beer Year in Review.
Events Brewing
Monday, Dec. 19: Draft & Vessel (4417 N. Oakland Ave.) hosts a beer swap at 6 p.m. Wrap up a bottle, six-pack or four-pack (with a maximum price of $15) and add it to the pile. Bringing beer gives you the right to snag one for yourself.
Monday, Dec. 19: Burnhearts (2599 S. Logan Ave.) hosts its annual Christmas party starting at 6 p.m. A creepy Santa will be there and that alone makes it worth going to.
Tuesday, Dec. 20: Comet Café (1947 N. Farwell Ave.) hosts the 10th annual Holiday Craptacular at 9 p.m. Expect drink specials and prizes, highlighted by a grand prize of 12 cases of Lakefront beer.
Tuesday, Dec. 20: Story Hill BKC (5100 W. Bluemound Rd.) is tapping a barrel of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA at 4 p.m. The place will also be selling bottles of 120 Minute, Raison D’Extra, Higher Math and Immort Ale. All are big beers, perfectly suited for winter.
Wednesday, Dec. 21: To mark the darkest day of the year (aka: the winter solstice), ABV Social (11200 W. Burleigh St., Wauwatosa) is hosting a barrel-aged tap takeover. The list includes treats from the likes of Founders, Central Waters, Surly and more.
Wednesday, Dec. 21: Romans’ Pub (3475 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) celebrates the darkest day by pouring New Holland Dragon’s Milk variant, including the only barrel of Tripper Noche ― an imperial stout aged in Jose Cuervo barrels ― in Milwaukee.
Wednesday, Dec. 21: Try samples from 3 Sheeps at Discount Liquor Milwaukee (5031 W. Oklahoma Ave.) from 3 to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 21: Get festive with the Milwaukee Beer Society. The group is sampling holiday beers from 6 to 9 p.m. at Best Place (901 W. Juneau Ave.).
