Summit Beer Review…and BREW DAY!

There's a special feeling in the air…the wife and kids are getting out of the house…it all adds up to one thing: BREW DAY! Like the proverbial ant, toiling away to prepare for a long winter, we're brewing 10 gallons of our flagship Bearded Man APA today, and 5 gallons of Christmas Milk Stout (a first for us). Cross your fingers.

And Ben is back from the land of cheese (congratulations, Sean and Holly Kitchell) and brought the family over last night, bearing gifts from New Glarus and Summit Brewery. Here's my takedown:

• Summit Octoberfest: Good. A little hoppy, bouncy with a fruit flavor I couldn't quite identify (citrusy, I guess). Good for a fall session beer.
• Summit Kolsh: Nice, but not crazy good–the Guild's kolsh is better, in my humble opinion. But not bad, light with a slightly spicy finish. Reminds me a lot of Schlafly's Kolsh.
• New Glarus Pils: Very good Pilsner, smooth and full-bodied enough that you know you're not drinking light beer. Superior to Boulevard's Pils in terms of flavor and body, and that's saying something.

Follow-up to last weekend: The Scottish Ale is much improved, keeps a head and has a very nice smoky taste, though I still think it could be a bit more substantial. The Stout is as good as it's going to get, which isn't to say it's not good, but it came out more like a porter than a stout, IMO (but drinkable, certainly). And the Hefe–you'll recall it was split into two batches–drew mixed reactions. Batch 1 is perfect, exactly what a hefeweizen should be, and Batch 2 is potentially contaminated, so if you hear the sounds of a man crying when you pass my house, it's me pouring a case of bad hefeweizen down the drain.

All told, it's nice to have Ben back, nice to be brewing again, and nice that I still have a six-pack of New Glarus offerings in my fridge. Next review will discuss NG Spotted Cow and Alt Bier.

Wisconsin Pilgrimage

So I returned from the promised land Sunday. Have to say Wisconsin is a wonderful place. Beautiful trees, cheese curds, sausage and sour kraut, polka, and most importantly beer! Was able to pick up a six pack or five of New Glarus beer which we hope to enjoy this Saturday at our next brew session.

I do have to say though that the Leinenkugal's visit was a dud. Not only did they divulge that their beer is made with corn as a significant portion of the gain bill (to smooth out the flavor we were told - what a load of hooey) but all their "flavoring" from coriander, orange peel, berries, and lemon are extract added to the bottle post fermentation. Throw in the fact that the free samples are limited to two (2!!) 7 oz. sample glasses makes for a disappointing afternoon. They bill themselves as a "craft" brewery since they still do some things "by hand" and then proceeded to show us on the tour the entire automated brewing process. The only "hand" added ingredient was a 5 gallon bucket of hops. The old brewery building was cool and the two copper kettles were pretty neat. But overall I would have to say the tour was a bust. Think I will pass on the Leinie's the next time I am at the liquor store.

Did stop at a pretty cool microbrew in downtown Minneapolis - Town Hall Brewery - on the way to Wisconsin for lunch. Enjoyed their West Bank Chicken Club and their Smoked Porter seasonal. Very good. Especially since the weather was 40 degrees and drizzle. Set the mood nicely. Picked up a growler of their IPA and Tripel that were enjoyed later in the motel room. After lunch visited the Mecca of liquor stores - Surdyk's in Minneapolis. At some point, any passionate beer and wine aficionado must come here. Was able to pick up several sixers of Summit beer out of Minneapolis - again will be enjoying some of these this weekend with Matt.

To top it off, what would a trip to Wisconsin be if not for the champagne of beers - Miller High Life?! Was able to enjoy many of these at the wedding - which, yes we did make it to. All in all, I would count this as a successful trip.