Flying Dogs and Dogfish Heads at D'Agostino's Pizza in Glennview

Enter Flying Dog's Doggie Style Pale Ale, a wonderfully aromatic, hoppy creation, 35 IBU, with all the right colors, head and lacing, however watery.  Yes, I said watery because I just finished one of Sam's cheesy hop monsters, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which you'll see below. 

Let's be real-- Flying Dog's Doggie Style Pale Ale is not a beer I would pour out of bed instead of say, quenching my thirst and cleaning my pallet after some "amazing and delishious", pairing*, however torrid.  No, certainly not.  Moreover, at 5.50% ABV, you may need the hair of this dog that bit you, if your beer goggles were as foggy as they can get sometimes for you young guns.

Make no mistake, Flying Dog makes a yeoman's Pale Ale here (well, in Maryland), a descriptor that maybe has the marketing department there spitting at their screens right now (sorry dudes).  This is a beer company that uses a quote from Hunter S. Thomson to market it's grain juices, so for that alone, there are some who'd overlook any thin, watery aspect that just works like hell to hold up the massive hopped qualities. Northern Brewer, Cascade, Simcoe and Citra certainly carry the day here, however thin the application of 120 Crystal maltz, yo. 

The unwashed hoards at Beer advocate rate this beer an 82, which is perhaps understating the case by several basis points, where as I'd side with the Bros who are closer to the mark at a "Very Good" 85 if not just shy of Outstanding:

 http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68/1213

You'll find the website here:
http://flyingdogales.com/beers/doggie-style-classic-pale-ale/

These things also depend on viable, easy to access alternatives in the cooler, on the tap or in the bottle fridge at the pub that make one beer easy to replace at the same or lower cost, or what economists call... I forgot.  Well, not the pedantic economists who teach economics, anyway.


Now coming off a Dogfish Head 60 Min !PA, just as the thin crusted pizza arrived at D'Agostino's, well, I felt more like I needed two Doggie Styles to meet the task, where one more 60 Min IPA would have rebooted the entire half pie I scarfed down like a human dumpster, which by the way, is a great product in a town like Chicago, where everyone feels their post WW2, Apple Cobbler style pizza is the only way to make apizza, a notion that goes over about as well as rooting for the Bears when the Pats, Giants or Green Machine are playing in places on the East Coast, like Providence, New Haven, New York or Philly (I'm officially leaving Boston out, because it's typically Greekish pastry crust, which I suffered for near a decade, makes Beantown maybe the biggest pizza letdown city in the nation. However "creative" that pizza just awful... even in the storied, quant North End... most of Florida's pizza is better at this point).

If you really enjoy the mad flavaz of hops, Dogfish 60 Min IPA is creative too, in the Joan Miro or Charles Mingus way, not the refried, double dipped, rancid peanut coated Hostess Brand Twinkie way.  Dogfishhead offers this information-- 60 Northwestern hop additions over 60 minutes, so it's a need to NO! basis there.  And at 6% ABV at par, this beer it's just the hair of the dog they sometimes bites, but a genuine glass of "this way out" if your Bros are all rocking like it's Milla time, circa the "less filling" years (1970 to 1982).

Nevertheless, I'm not spilling secrets here.  If you go to Beeradvocate, where they "respect beer," you'll find Dogfishhead 60 Min rates a 92, which is squarely in the fan boy zone, which is right on the monzey.  I'd give it an Avogadro's Number and leave it there, without trying to split this or that errant hair, while going on and on and on about the relative merits of 60 Min's lacing verses Doggies Style.  Here:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/6108

More, less revealing data from Dogfish Head's site for 60 Min:
 http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/60-minute-ipa.htm

And finally, let's take a minute or less to go on and on and on and talk about the magical and mystical, protein rich maltz in a clean glass trick topic of endless fascination and fabrication, also known as "lacing" among the self styled geeks who feel they need to say something more when they wet their beaks in order to "respect beer".  

But why talk when you can see an empty glass of Dogfish 60 Min on a bar like aunt Becky's Irish linen, right?

No offense to the aunt Becky or the Irish on that last bit, you know it's all fa da lulz.

Clearly, Milwaukee Abides Lebowski Fest, 2013, Night One at Cathedral Park

Along with the Mayor and all his friends, a lot of folks showed up in downtown MKE for the screening of The Big Lebowski, with many in costumes.  White Russians were served, along the big grain sodas, and  Lagunitas and MKE Ale House's Louie's Demise on Tap from Craft world.

Again, well done Dudes, Walters, and more than a few Maudes, Jesuses, Valkyries, and even several Jackie Treehorns walking around the Cathedral park before dust, when the movie started. Sadly, we spied no Donnies, perhaps because he'd be out of his element. Still, we missed him.  And yes, there was a guy dressed as Dude's landlord, wrapped in vines, while doing the scenes in his arty dance show (!)

It was hilarious to see people dressed in tribute, even before the big contest on the following night at the AMF lanes in MKE.

#MilwaukeeAbides Lebowskifest Begins

Lebowskifest-- Milewaukee begins today with "a liquid lunch" of White Russians at the Pabst Theater downtown, which will be followed by a free showing of The Big Lebowski in Cathedral Square, and music by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down tonight, as well as a Lebowski-Oke Karaoke party at the Newsroom Pub (across from Pabst Theater).

The fans showed up dressed like characters from the movie, which was funny. and fun to see folks very much into the spirit of the thing. And there was a little live music, which was done by the time I got there at 1:30pm.
The White Russian at Pabst Theater was very nice, smooth, creamy and well balanced with both the Mexican and the Russian part.  It was outstanding, really.

The photo here shows the remaining festivities, including Bowling night on Saturday at AMF Lanes on 7505 Oklahoma Avenue, in MKE.  That'll last until 2am, and will be followed by a "Hangover brunch" at some very nice places, run by the Lowlander restaurant Group places, including Benlux in the Third Ward.

For ongoing detail, I'll be looking to #MilwaukeeAbides on teh twitter...

New Belgium Film and Beer Fest in MKE

Last night the New Belgium Film and Beer Festival was as fun and hilarious as it was tasty and interesting.  

The short film clips started at dusk on a giant inflatable screen, and began with a short about the members of The Overpass Light Brigade, a notorious local activist group that's famous for staging protests on highway overpasses, using distinctively, non-commercial messages, such as "end outsourcing". 



The film showed some of their work, as well as interviews with people who get out and get it done.  You'll find information about The Overhead Light Brigade here:
http://overpasslightbrigade.org/

Their prior film won an award, showing their fight against Gov. Walker's dirty tricks in Wisconsin.

Another hilarious group of activists who were were Underwear bicycle riders, who showed up in underwear on all sort of bicycles, large and small.

You'll find the underwear bicycle rider's back story here:

http://mkebke.com/2013/06/10/milwaukee-underwear-bike-ride-on-thursday-613/


The beer here was also just plain #epic too, ranging from New Belgium's canned favorite trademarks, such as Ranger India Pale Ale, Fat Tire Ale and 1554 Black Lager, to this year's small batch, one off brewing ideas, ranging from crazy curry coconut weiss beer, to barrel aged brown sour, and an even high gravity dandelion bittered ale in place of hops, harkening back to the days of before hops, when Europe's churches charged brewers for the use of gruit to spice beer.


These other small batch, one off beers were interesting and extraordinary, leaving much to take notes about.  Paardebloem, for example is a blonde ale that starts off life with a massive amount of sugar, according to the company's third longest serving employee, who allowed himself to be corned up in the company's "Hop Kitchen" tent. 

I asked him about the brew, mentioning that I've made a few dandelion beers.  He explained how New Belgium has made several commercial dandelion beers over the years, and the secret of the flavor here is derived by adding the dandelion late in the process at low temperatures to retain the vegetative flavors from the oils that aren't altered at lower temperatures, making it spicy, dry and balanced well against rich malty flavors, rather than hoppy.  Peppery notes abound. The beer was a collaboration with Salt Lake City's Red Rock Brewing. 

I'd give Paardebloem Avogadro's number, which is to say, its well worth seeking out.   


Two other super star beers were La Folie, a brown sour you'll see on the right (above the other beer's description), and Yuzu Berlinerweiss, a citrus Weiss, spiced by the Yuzu fruit. 

La Folie was extraordinary, and perfectly balanced malts to sours.  It's a brown, aromatic, beautifully sour, barrel aged brew that has a smoked flavor from being aged in French barrels. It's ABV is 7%, and IBUs are at 14.  They use Target hops here, and nothing else.  


It's made with wild fermentation, and lager yeasts. It's a beer that gets Avogadro's number too, my personal favorite of the night. The barrel aging adds a wonderful depth to one of my favorite styles.  La Folie suggests that Peekskill Brewery's Simple Sour would do well with barrel aging.

Yuzu Berlinerweiss has a wonderful light, cloudy color, with a thin froth, and a tart citrus flavor, which New Belgium attributes to the Yuzu fruit. It has a dry finish. It's on the left in the photo.


Pluot Ale was another very interesting brew for the occasion, which combines apricot and plum with brettanomyces for a golden look, nice frothy head, creamy flavor and mouth feel, all with interesting funky flavors of sweet banana and clove, all of which comes in a wild 10% ABV, with not more than 5 IBUs.

Pumpkick too was outstanding, good for an Avogadros number, featuring dark and orange color, nice froth, thick and dry mouthfeel, but hoppy and tart, unlike many of these seasonal pumpkin beers. Tastes of clove, and cinnamon.  If you look close at this photo, you'll see this short clip featured city backdrop in front of MKE's city backdrop, which was an interesting and funny snapshot to find on my phone today.

French Hop Aramis IPA was another interesting pull, directly from dudes manning the Hop Kitchen, where I get to chat with the MC, who said he was New Belgium's third hire, 23 years ago. 

Aramis IPA was hazy and frothy, with an interesting medicinal flavor, which I know is not a word that's often used in a positive way, but New Belgium pulled it off. It comes in at a mere (for New Belgium) 6.7% AVB and a gob stopping 75 IBUs, using one of my favorite hops, the Saaz, with Bravo and the namesake, French Aramis.  Astonishingly, this beer makes iodine tasty and delicious.  I could literally taste medicinal iodine that my folks used to use on my knees when I skinned them up as a kid, but also I tasted it well balanced with malty, dry ending. I still have no idea how it's done or why it's so damn good, but that's Belgium bier for you.

Finally, Coconut Curry Hefewiezen was an odd number, with a light color, creamy, dry mouthfeel, and at 8% ABV for its 17 IBUs.  It has a incense flavor, literally like drinking incense. It's a Charlie Papazian recipe, a home brewer with storied success.

New Belgium's Clip series heads south next for fall months, to cities such as Charlotte, Knocksville, Charleston and Ashville, which may be an effort toward building brand down south.  Most of the cities they hold these events are far away from 1st tier, or even 2nd tier cities.

I asked the employees whether any other Midwestern or Eastern states were considered before New Belgium decided to locate its new brewery in Ashville, NC (a grain salesman told me that upstate NY had everything they were looking for except low wage labor),  He said it was largely a transportation thing, with proximity to an East/West interstate corridor.  

 

Bitter Woman IPA by Tyranena Brewing at MKE Public Market

Tyranena Brewing brings you "Bitter Woman IPA", which the brewers explain via the label is made to honor "Aunt Cal", a local to Lake Mills, WI.

According to the bottle back story, bitter Aunt Cal would brag how she once dated Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who outlived both his wives and never wrote again after his second left him.  And Aunt Cal apparently had love letters to prove it.  It goes on to explain that she never married, which apparently made her as bitter as an IPA weighing in at about 68 IBUs and a 5.75% ABV.

Rub it in much?

When I drink this beer, I think I can hear the clock being set back on rights for "the ladies" about 5 decades... I kind of expect my own "Aunt Cal" to break in from the back room to take it out of my hand, waving a fist with her girlfriend, saying "Yes we can!  And who used to take you fishing you little prick!"  

Nevertheless, Bitter Woman IPA delivers the IBUs better than even Emily Dickinson (who wrote her own letters) could have ever imagine, appearing golden, clear and frothy on the pour, it's head abiding and thick. 

Aroma: However, there's not much aroma, which surprised me. 

Taste, is outstanding, if you're an IPA guy or bitter gal. Strong hoppy flavor without much aroma suggest that all the action took place early in the boil. 

Mouthfeel is thick and malty, which stands up to the hopped up bitterness, and it's well carbonated, to helps ensure that Bitter Woman does it right. 

The Tyranena Brewing site isn't really loaded with information, but nice graphics:

•  http://www.tyranena.com/wordpress2/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BitterWomanIPA.png

 
Here's the BA review of it, which comes in at 88 after over 500 tastings:

• http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/784/4902/?show_hads=Y

O'SO Brewing's Night Train Oatmeal Porter at MKE Public Market

Night Train by O'SO Brewing has a small head out of the bottle, that doesn't stay around long, but what a great beer.  Bursting with flavors, a texture and aromas, the full extent that I can only hope to impart with mere words (Caution; from time to time, I really like to use that old trope from the Middle ages, that goes: "words can not convey what I'm trying to impart").

Neverthelust, aroma, texture, flavor, after taste, it's all there, if you like the chocolate flavors of say, Bosco, Nestle's Quick or Ovaltine floating around in the stout neighborhood.  And I don't say that to mock, or belittle.  This is a comfort beer that's like a time machine, taking you back, far back, to your 7th grade science teacher, who used to call the whiskey he used to sip in the back room "Ovaltine" and keep it in an empty Ovaltine jar... no, that was just myself and my chums from XYZ Middle School in Unamed, NY.  But I'm sure you have fond memories of chocolate milk beverage, right?  How else would chocolate end up being the Wow Factor in every food product these days?  Anyway, I'd put this Night Train, high gravity porter with stout tendencies to you like this:

• Aroma: outstanding chocolate.
• Head: small and short lived
• Color: dark and stormy night train.
• Mouth feel:  rich, thick, malty, creamy
• Taste: outstanding, find you some. 

 
It's dark, creamy, rich and hopped up at 49 IBUs, which isn't easy to find, unless, like me you make your own "Black and Tans" using a solid stout and one of dozens of outstanding crazy IPA (such as Victory's Hop Devil).  These guys put it all in one bottle, albeit at an ABV of 7.2%, so go slow charlie, and if your driving, stick around awhile. 

Beer Advocate puts this beer at an 87, with 176 members weighing in, which should say something for an unknown brand, bucking the negativity one might expect when hens get together for beer gossip.   The Bros didn't get them any yet, so it's an N/A.  Here nor there, say I, as I highly recommend you sample you some, even if it means going to the website to find the nearest place you can git it.   

BA's review of Night Train:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16386/45260/?show_hads=Y


O'SO gives thanks and praise to Steven's Point Brewery, which has been operating since Abe, back in 1857.  So again, what does Wisconsin know about beer, right?

OSO's site:
http://osobrewing.com/ourbeer.php

Steven's Point:
http://www.pointbeer.com/

New Holland's Farmhouse Hatter IPA at MKE Public

I love this hoppy bastard, from start to finish-- all hops all the time, nose to toes.  

Sure, it's branded a Belgian-style Pail Ale...  but never mind the Mad hatter behind the curtain, or historical thoughts of Belgians, standing there with their candy sugars and wild yeasts to rescue a dying industry, then sending Pale Ale to India a few decades before the Belgian revolution in brewing, at the early part of the last century while Dadaist were riding their Victorian bicycles with ladies straddling the handle bars.  Just think Back to the Future dropping in to meet Belgian monks, loading up the English Navy on their long trips to India with skunk flavored beer concentrate.

Look, I don't know, I'm not David McCallough or Alistaire Cooke, and we have no budget to hire Ray Daniels to provide historical context here.  Let's say it's confusing and leave it at that. 

Don't make a big deal out of it.

Nonetheless, this beer is epic, whether or not the tasting lords and ladies at Beeradvocate agree, where they give it a mere 85 or very good, vs. Outstanding, which is where I'd say it lands. 

Wrong!  90, AKA, OUTSTANDING. 

What is so G-damn wrong with grade inflation when you compare to the bitter, carping vanity of tiny differences?   Riddle me that Bat fans.  If you like hops, this beer is right up your Belgian, IPA bowling ally way. 

It's thick, malty, balanced with strong hops and not insignificant ABV at 5.07%.  The head is frothy and long lasting for something without a lot of wheat protein to hold it up. 

The aroma?  Hoppy.
The taste? Hoppy.
The mouth feel? Hopp....no, slightly rich and malty for any farmhouse experience, but maybe hence the Mad Hatter allusion. 
Color? Beautiful gold-amberish, clear.

Reminds me of Blue cheese, or sharp cheddar, and why not, this is the mid-west.
 
 Conclusion: go git you some, son.



 . 

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweiszen

That was a wonderful remark, in the words of Van Morrison, and so is this beer. 

Beer Advocate reviewers love it like Elvis, so I'm not sure I should have reviewed it.  I liked yesterday's Wisconsinite marginally better, so I'm at odds with Beeradvocate.com reviews on that one.  But we do agree on this-- this is a great Hefeweizen. 

How great?

My guess is that this beer makes VPs and the salesmen who are pushing out AB ImBev's Leffe sweating if not shadding in their shorts as we speak. 

I'd give it Avogadro's number out of 5.

It's made by open fermentation, with enough wheat to make the head last a long long time, and ending up with a massive banana smells and flavors, that include citrus notes on the after taste, so if you're not a clove person, and you're someplace far from Jamaica, where these flavors are as common as sun stroke, you may want to get you some.  

This is just the the beer to take you there, without any of the taste of those clove cigarettes your girlfriend used to smoke and fumigate the room with back in the 80s. Smooth, thin mouth feel, light for a #craftbeer, at ABV of 4.8%, I'm thinking it would wash down a lot of sweet BBQ'd meats well, given that citrus profile.  

No, with this Kellerweis, the after taste is like a mouth full of those fresh limes all those Corona drinkers insist upon to fight off scurvy and maybe some other STDs on college campuses.  

It's outstanding. Get you some, somewhere. 

I Beercasted 3 times and kept losing the file on the upload, but finally, it made it, so I think there are two different beercasts of this outstanding Hefeweizen on my Ustream page.

Lakefront Brewery Wisconsinite Summer Weiss and Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale

Today's Beercast from the MKE's Public Market addresses two beer.

First up: Lakefront Brewery's Wisconsinite Summer Weiss, featuring locally sourced Wisconsin yeast, and so the yeast you can do it get you some and try it.  

Punny stuff, right? 

Okay, enough.  

Second up:  Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale, now in 8 packs, and why not? 

Let's cut to the big reveal: both these beers are outstanding.  And moreover, Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale comes in an 8 packs.  Now what?  See?  There goes your whole world wide view, like Berlin's wall coming down all around you, right?  Get used to it with these artful, awesome, adventurous, and ultimately epic beers for chasing the summer fun good times. Yes, there's fresh Wisconsin Weiss available to you all summer for the asking, and also, fresh Wisconsin Farmhouse Ale for that matter. 

I gave them both in turn an Avogadro's number out of 5, which should tell you a lot.  All you need to know if you know about Avogadro (if not you can stop reading here to go look him up).  We'll wait... okay, here-- go look: 

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro_constant

Was that didactic or what?  Don't answer that, it would be more pedantic than rhetorical.

At any rate, even at rates slower than the tip toe through the tulips this beer review has become, understand something you thirsty pre-alcoholics, geeks and freaks-- these beers have outstanding flavor.  The first, Wisconsinite Summer Weiss has an aroma and flavor of cloves, with banana notes, as it should according to the style's devotees, with none of the off flavors you may encounter from a Weiss with experience and history backstopping its brand (and maybe a multi billion dollar holding company), but nevertheless shipped far from the brewery, overseas to say, Binny's or Sam's on North Avenue in Chicago.  

What are banana notes?  Let's just say they are not unlikes Steely Dan's so called "Mu" chords, only in liquid form.  And Lakefront is kicking them out with this Wisconsinite Weiss, complete with native yeast strains harvested by the guy I buy my home brew supplies from, mail order, over here. 

• http://www.northernbrewer.com/

By every measure and those we scarcely can identify let alone measure with Avogadro's constant or other numbers, these beers excel from Froth, Color, Aroma, Texture (or whatever is Japanese for "mouth feel") to Flavor, which all hit their mark, if their mark was to delight the drinker with actual "amazing" and "delicious" that you're hearing about going on around you by word, but not so much in deed if you compare ciders to ciders.  

The beers are extraordinary, so the review is over, and you can stop reading now if you need to go get you some. Otherwise, I shall further address this "amazing free zone", which I know, it sounds grumpy, old and curmudgeonly if not Calvin Trillinesque to raise grumble and grouse over buzzwords, but sometimes you have to speak out or risk losing your soul, like a cog in a bureaucratic machine... okay, I'm not Max Weber, so I'm not sure where this is going, but if you don't speak, the bastards win, and we are all back to Soviet era accounting, waiting for new profiteers to cross boarders like rough riders to liberate us from the beer jails we've built to house ourselves.

Yesterday, a friend insisted that A-Rod was such an "amazing player" that maybe people shouldn't be surprised and object to the kind of steroid & adjuncts he used to break call kinds of records as a Yankee.  I heard enough!  I had to declare my communications going forward an "amazing- free zone".  

Sorry folks, you'll have to dig deeper to describe things around me from now on.  It's just that way, and it has to be for now.  Adjuncts, additives and impurities may not bother the overseas cartel beverage over-lords who bought America's two monopoly beer suppliers out from under the Wall street traders and market makers who waited an eternity for the laws of karma (and drug use) to shut down the great, great, great, actually no-so-great grandson of Bud's founder's son-in-law, but you won't have to put up with any impurities on my watch.  Okay, I beg your pardon, I just read "Bitter Brew" by William Knoedelseder, the outstanding practitioner of new Journalism who's famous for writing "Stiffed" about the connections between the music business and the Mob.  This latest read about the beer formerly known as the King of Beers is just as good (See, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062009265 )



In conclusion, both these beers, Lakefront Wisconsinite Summer Weiss and Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale would be amazing, were we not in this amazing free zone I've constructed out of virtual construction paper and tasty edible glue, but they are still both quite delicious, even if "delicious" is on a ear terror watch-list.

You'll find the websites for these fine #craftbeer selections from the great state of Wisconsin here:

•  http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/beer/seasonals/wisconsinite
•  http://www.lazymuttale.com/

And for a limited time, you'll find the live Ustream video in the box on the right.  After that, you'll need to go to my Ustream channel and look it up, until I figure out how to embed video in a blog page for good. 

Tall Grass Brewing Co.'s Pub Ale at MKE Public Market

So here's Tallgrass Brewing Co.'s Pub Ale of Manhattan, KS on sale now at Milwaukee's Public Market, which is in the fancy, history, hip part of town, down near the water.  

 

The beer is great, and I made a Ustream of the hole ordeal that you should be able to view in teh side on Writelou's Beverage TV station.   This beer reminds me of chocolate nibs, rich, smooth but not overly malty or think in the mouth.  It's very nearly an epic beer, and highly recommended from start to finish.  

 

Giant frothy head, medium brown and transparent in color, mild unhopped aroma.  Pub Ale is both mild and rich at the same time, like the can says: "to win friends and influence enemies", but apparently not enemies in those over seas boardrooms at SABCoors or AB Inbev, because they aren't making anything like this that I can think of... or buying anyone who does just yet...  since maybe Goose Island in 2010.  However, judging from the flavors Tallgrass unleashed here, there could be a road to Rio in their future when sales fly, follow and flock to the quality Tallgrass' Pub Ale offers and AM Inbev prints enough Wall Street funny money to tuck it into their portfolio. 

 

Okay, so enough raves, but I will say this-- their website quotes Dan Quayle, which is reason enough to pay it a visit:

 http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/about