Robin Shepard
Beer in a glass on the bar at the Great Dane.
The Great Dane has been making good use of cherries recently. Following July's Bourbon Cherry Ale, a Flemish sour cherry ale is on tap now at most locations.
Even though it’s still summer, Oktoberfest season is well underway. Local beer coolers are already packed with a number of Wisconsin-made Märzens. Among new ones this year is Edtoberfest from Karben4. It’s been in the tanks since early July and was just packaged, so six-packs of 12-ounce cans ($12) are hitting shelves now. It is a traditional lager featuring a German malt bill that gives it smooth, bready sweetness with a clean, balanced finish. And it’s pretty easy drinking at 5.8% ABV. The beer is named after a long-time customer of the taproom. Karben4 is also re-releasing Ale Asylum Oktillian this fall. Ale Asylum closed last summer and Karben4 acquired the Ale Asylum brands last March. Oktillian hasn’t been offered for a couple of years..
Starkweather Brewing's Sweet Heat Rhubarb is a gose, a light-bodied golden ale infused with coriander and sea salt. Brewmaster Peter Schroder also added rhubarb donated by neighbors of the Atwood Avenue brewery and scorpion peppers grown at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The light rhubarb notes lend tart sweetness while the heat from the peppers lingers lightly, building slightly on the palate over the course of a glass; the beer finishes at 4.7% ABV ($7.50/glass). Schroder also celebrates his birthday this month with a rye lager called Peter's Always Ryte. Its aroma recalls spicy rye bread.
The beer list at Madison’s Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company has been featuring Door County cherries lately. In July, there was Bourbon Cherry Ale ($8/glass and $13/crowler). The limited release is a medium-bodied, dark amber Scotch ale, aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. The malts, and the barrel’s character of vanilla and oak, combine nicely with the soft sweetness of the fruit. If it’s gone by the time you read this, next up is a Flemish sour cherry ale fermented with Brettanomyces. This ale has been aging for more than four months and should have the wonderful wild, tart qualities that make Flemish red beers so special. Look for it by mid-August.
Tickets for Great Taste of the Midwest sell out months in advance, but craft beer enthusiasts don’t need to attend to experience some of the benefits. Many breweries brew special beers for the event — like this smoked Export-style lager from Working Draft that will be tapped during the brewery’s Great Taste Eve Party on Aug. 11 ($6/glass). The brewery’s Clint Lohman offered me a taste from the fermenter in late July and if you are a fan of rauchbiers you’ll want to try this one. For those who enjoyed Lohman’s smoked helles last summer, this latest version is a little bigger in alcohol at 5.7% ABV, richer in maltiness, and a brilliant golden color. It is smooth and crisp like a pilsner, only with a whiff of campfire in the aroma and finish from German beechwood smoked malt. And Lohman isn’t stopping there; by September he’s planning to release a smoked wild rice lager in cans.
