A Year in Beer

I'm down with looking at beer and food all day, everyday for a year. Especially these wonderfully drawn pairings. Artist Heidi Schweigert's Beer and Food calendar is $24 on Etsy. Find it here

The Weekend: Firkin Fest

When you're in the midst of finals and its crazy town hot outside (see the lack of grass above), you should just give up go to a beer festival.

Milwaukee Firkin Fest was this past Sunday in Cathedral Square. There were 36 breweries/microbreweries/brewers guilds sampling a few of their beers, one of which was a firkin. What's a firkin? It's a quarter barrel keg of beer without the negative pressure which allows for a beer that harnesses full flavor but doesn't preserve like a normal keg. So some beers taste better from a firkin because there's less foam. My favorite find was the Halcyon Daze from Tallgrass Brewery- oh man. good. Although the best find may have been the beer schwing for $5. There's another beer tasting on the lakefront next weekend - Milwaukee Brewfest.

It was a nice break from studying and getting all stressed out and schtuff. Who needs that?! Now, back to life, back to reality.

Pint In Hand: Lakefront Brewery Wisconsinite

We've been drinking a lot of Wisconsinite this summer. In addition to having a stellar name, everything in it, from the hops to the yeast is all grown in Wisconsin. Being a summer weiss, it's a lighter, fresher and clean summer beer. It has paired really well with the summer salads and grilled chicken we've been eating on our patio. Cheers!

Pint In Hand: Left Hand's Good JuJu

Here's me sending some good JuJu for everyone watching the Superbowl today. I thought the name of Left Hand Brewing Co.'s seasonal beer, Good JuJu would be a good compliment to all the finger crossing going on during the big game. Brewed for the upcoming Mardi Gras season, it's a pale ale brewed with ginger root. Unlike most spiced beers, this one is pretty palatable. It has a mild ginger freshness along with a good base of balanced hoppiness and maltiness so it goes down pretty smoothy. I give it a thumbs up.

Pint In Hand: Fox Barrel Pear Cider

There were many, many beers to try at the Brewfest on Saturday, but I really enjoyed sipping my ol' favorite, Fox Barrel Pacific Pear Cider. In the nearly 100 degree heat, it was the coldest and most refreshing out of everything there. Most craft beers are darker and a little heavier which is great for taste, but not for the heat. To preserve the flavor, the darks like porters to brown ales are served a little less than cold so that you can taste the flavors better. This is not what I wanted on Saturday. I was ready to put ice in my beer. So, the pear cider was perfect. Cider is not a beer because it's not made with the traditional barley and hops. But, because it's a liquor, it gets very, very cold. And the subtle light fruitiness was perfect for a nice summer day.

The Weekend: Milwaukee BrewFest

Pop Chart Lab Beer Poster, $25
(click for larger image)

Finals are over! And what better way to celebrate than with a beer. The Milwaukee BrewFest is going on this Saturday on the lakefront. I have always thought that Milwaukee needs to embrace its beer culture and make this city a destination for beer tourism. And this is it. It's the second year for the BrewFest, but the first year I'll be going. There is a long list of breweries to visit and taste. I'm anxious to try some of Abita's new beers.

And there's even a BrewFest Queen contest! I know, really. My money is on Ruthie B. Ruthie blogs over at Newaukee and friend and old co-worker. So yeah, she's pretty much awesome. And she really does love beer. It's true.



The BrewFest starts at 3pm Saturday, July 30th at the Old Coast Guard Pavillion on the lakefront, near the Milwaukee Yacht Club. Over 100 craft breweries will be there along with food vendors like Fuel Cafe and Crawdaddy's. Here's the list of activities from their website:
* Musical performances
* Home brewing demonstrations
* Exhibits from Museum Of Beer & Brewing
* Keg barrel race, bingo and ring toss
* Crowning of 2011 Miss Brewfest
* A variety of food for purchase from local restaurants and vendors
* Local artist and craftsmen
I really like how they have a special designated driver ticket for $15 that gets you a brat or hot dog and 3 tickets for either soda or water. Good job, guys!

This weekend is pretty busy - Tour de Fat is going on in Humboldt Park, Brady Street Festival, WMSE Backyard Barbeque and German Fest are all going on this weekend, too!

Backyard Discovery: Milwaukee Brewing Company Tours

The Milwaukee Brewing Company is no newbie to the Milwaukee Craft Brewery circuit. You may be more familiar with their pub, the Milwaukee Ale House, where they serve their famous beers such as Louie's Demise and Pull Chain Pale Ale along with tasty grub alongside the Milwaukee River. So when the guys at Milwaukee Brewing Company/Milwaukee Ale House wanted to expand their beer manufacturing and spread the love (in beer form) to neighborhood taps, pubs, and bars, they opened the Milwaukee Brewing Company Brewery on South 2nd Street in Walker's Point. Inside, they're cranking out bottles, kegs, and their newest addition, cans, day and night.

You may think cans are just a throwback to old days, but they're quite eco-friendly. Cans cost less and are faster to manufacture, weigh less for shipping, and are more easily recyclable so in sum. Their carbon footprint is tiny compared to that of bottles. Milwaukee Brewing Co. also reuses enough restaurant corn oil to fuel their repurposed generators. Enough so they can function completely off the grid for several days straight. Well done, dudes.

On the tour, you'll see some of their sustainable production along with the steps of the brewing process. I enjoy the Lakefront tour immensely, but the Milwaukee Brewing Company tour is like the old Lakefront tours when you drank out of glass pints, got to see the equipment in use, climbed up to the mash bin, and were allowed to drink more than 4oz at a time. If you're into craft brewing or just darn good beer, this is the tour for you.

Tours for the public cost $7, run on Fridays 5pm and 6pm and Saturdays 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm, and come with a token for a free drink at certain neighborhood bars.

I was there a few weeks ago and caught a few iPhone photos. The tour was great and I not only got to drink plenty of my favorite Flaming Damsel beer, but got to try their new Godzilla beer running in limited seasonal batches. It's an Imperial Belgian wit steeped with Rishi green tea (!!!!) and chamomile flowers. A tea infused beer is amazingly good. Trust me on this. Or try it for yourself!

Beer Flights

Sara's Beer Flight

1st: Fox Barrel Pear Cider: a great crisp clean taste like a D'Anjou pear, similar to a Reisling wine, only a beer.

2nd: Crispin Cider Desert Noir: Another cider ale with sweet prickly pear and agave flavors, a little woodiness from the oak barrel aging.

3rd: Anderson Valley Summer Solstice: Like a not-too-sweet cream soda in your nut brown ale.

4th: North Coast Brother Thelonious: A perfect dark belgian-style abbey ale. Dark and rich, not heavy.


After sipping a quality microbrew, it's hard to pick up a Miller Lite again. When Sugar Maple, a craft beer mecca, opened near our house a few years ago, I rejoiced. Sixty taps of revolving hard-to-find microbrews line the bar. So, if you don't recognize the breweries or the brewing styles, the best way to tackle the taps it to order a beer flight, similar to a wine flight. You pick any four 6 oz beers from their menu and start tasting. I usually try to order from lightest to darkest or sweet to bitter - the bartenders are really good for suggestions. Some microbrews are really strong, smoky, or spicy, or so bitter you spit it out, so getting the smaller sample size is a safer bet then laying your finger down and hoping it lands on something good.

If you don't have a Sugar Maple type of bar nearby or a bar that offers beer flights, some stores offer single bottles of microbrew or table bottles. With a group of friends, or dinner party, make your own beer flights and see what everyone likes.

P.S. You know I like my cheese, but cheese pairs beautifully with beer.

Pint In Hand: O'so The Big O

Although its name is a little crass, this Wisconsin-made beer is mighty fine. It has some nice citrus notes make it great for spring and because its robust and amber-y weight doesn't make it a full-on summer beer. If you're in the Milwaukee area, you can find this at most grocery stores and specialty liquor stores. If you're in greater Wisconsin, see their distribution list. And of course, if you ever happen to be driving north and find yourself outside Stevens Point in a little town called Plover, you can always pick up a case at the O'so brewery. So put on your O-face and drink up!

Pint In Hand: Ommegang Cup O Kyndnes

One of my favorite things about my neighborhood, Bay View, is that microbrews and specialty brews are a staple. Honestly, it's hard to find Miller Lite around here. The mecca of this niche is Sugar Maple. The menu changes often, the sixty taps are always on, and the selection is hard to match. Last night, I tried Ommegang's Cup O Kyndnes--their dark and smoky fall seasonal scotch ale. It's definitely a beer you sit and enjoy to taste all the unique flavors. What interesting beers have you had recently???

Time for Tea: collecting cheese boxes

I love looking through all my different teas and trying picking one out (Cold days like today call for Darjeeling). I keep my single tea bag packets in old wooden cheese boxes that I find at Antique stores or Flea Markets. They are the PERFECT width. My favorite boxes are the old Pabst boxes, although they're harder to find. The breweries in Milwaukee used farms west of the city to grow the hops, barley, wheat, etc. When prohibition hit, Pabst switched gears and used their land for dairy-farming harvesting malt for malt-syrup instead. Back then, cheese was sold in 5lb boxes--who eats that much cheese? But now, I use them for tea bag packets and organizing desk supplies.

Belgian Beer and Gourmet Cheese Pairings

In Wisconsin, we love our beer, but we also love our cheese.
Yesterday, me and fellow blogger, Katie, from Haute Apple Pie went to the "Belgian Beer Session" at Sugar Maple. Here are the beer and cheese pairings that they gave us during the lecture and tasting. I loved how well the flavors of the beers matched and complimented each cheese. This would great for a small get together, appetizers, or maybe for when the dudes are over for football. It's hard to convince them not to order pizza or wings, but this might pass.



(Top to Bottom)
1. Domaine Du Page French Style Country Ale from Two Brothers Brewing Co. + Edam cheese
2. Hennepin Farmhouse Saison from Ommegang Brewery + Asiago cheese
3. Stone Cali-Belgique from Stone Brewing Co. + Gorgonzola cheese
4. Matilda Strong Belgian Pale Ale from Goose Island Brewery + Pesto Havarti cheese
5. Chimay Rouge from Bieres de Chimay + Cherry Cheddar cheese

Decorating: Home is where the bar is

Photos (top to bottom): Nina Gottlieb, apartment therapy, pottery barn, glenn dundas on flickr, apartment therapy, tori mellott

P.S. Beer week is almost over, sign up for the giveaway by Tuesday.

Weekend: Homebrewing

Matt just finished the bottling process for his amber ale homebrew. Now it waits bottled in our basement until it's finished. Homebrewing takes a good initial investment for all the supplies and equipment but after that, you're ready to brew. And with stores like Northern Brewer in the area, it's easy to experiment with everything from ales to meads. Yes, we like our beer in Wisconsin--so much that we'll make our own.

Want to learn more about brewing? Start off with the Lakefront, Sprecher, or Miller brewery tours for the basics of brewing. Then take a brewing class with the Beer Barons of Milwaukee, a local homebrew club. Trust me, it can get as complex and as extreme as you want (like Discovery World's class on recreating an ancient Turkish beer recipe), but that's half the fun. After all, you're basically doing one big chemistry and physics project. So grab a lab partner and let's drink!



Northern Brewer (1306 S. 108th St.) is on south Hwy 100 in West Allis and open M-F: 10-7, Sat: 10-5, Sun: 12-3

Decorating with beer: Bar stools

Flo stool by Patricia Urquiola for driade via apartment therapy

Marais stool from DWR

Elle Decor

via apartment therapy

Martha Stewart

decorpad

Cottage Living

99 Bottles of Beer on the door

These beer bottle doors can be found in lower level lounge at The Blatz Condos (270 W. Highland). Johnsen Schmaling Architects rehabbed the entire Blatz Brewery several years ago and added a lot of cool features to the now condo building, including these doors, a pool, and very sleek lobby and concierge desk. The bottles were apparently found in the basement and were leftover from the old brewery. I love that they kept some of the history of the building yet made this incredibly modern and translucent door. Very cool.

Daily Fix: Winter beers

When the snow starts falling, I love staying inside and hanging out at home. Here are some of the winter seasonal beers that have been keeping us company....

Upland Winter Warmer

Captital Winter Skal

Lakefront Holiday Spice

Corsendonk Christmas Ale

One of our new discoveries was Shiner Holiday Cheer. There weren't any bottles left to take a photo.