[Trubmeisters] Malt / Brewery Tour Review
Date: 2002-01-21 13:43

On Saturday Jan 19, 2002, I took a bus trip with the Sin City Suddzers. 
They started in Sheboygan, and worked their way to Green Bay.  This is a
log of the days events.  I had a stuffy nose, so there will not be a lot
of aroma discussion.  Sorry!

First we went to Briess.  We toured the malting facility.  The details
in making a grain into a malt is surprising.  They take about 10 days
from start to finish for each grain.  I never realized how much they let
the grain sprout.  The sprouted grains had half inch long hairs coming
out of the end of each one.  There were long troughs with mixers that
kept the grains from rotting while they sprouted.  Once they are done,
they send them through a drying phase.  That room smelled fantastic!
They said out of the hours of drying time it was a matter of just a few
minutes between a pale malt and a chocolate!  Once the malt is dried, it
gets stored in a giant silo that is over 100 years old.  It is solid
wood, and they used a couple million board feet when it was built.  Very
old, but stable looking.  There were conveyors in the basement that
carry the grains from the bottom of the silos to their destinations.  At
the end of the tour, we saw how they keep samples of every lot and make
a teeny batch of beer from it.  They do that so they know the quality of
each lot before it goes out.  Impressive operation.

After the malting plant, we went to the warehouse.  Briess is building
an extract brewery.  It was so much like a beer brewery, that I had to
ask why they stopped before fermentation!  They have a great looking
facility that should be ready to make concentrated beer very soon. :-)
They also have a 1 barrel pilot plant.  A homebrewers playground with
all the cool tools one would need to make a keg each month.

Next we went to Rolands.  We walked to the new brewery.  He has bought
half barrels from Wisconsin Brewing, and is shipping them around the
state.  I do not recall any place in the Milwaukee area.  His facility
is pretty modern.  Still a single person operation, but the equipment
was built for making beer.  (Unlike many WI brewers who modified dairy
equipment.)  He uses a single strain of yeast, and warned us that all
his brews have a diacetyl taste to them.  But insisted he wants his beer
to taste like that.

We were behind schedule, so I only had time for a couple of beers.  I
started with the Calumet Dark.  The diacetyl we were warned about was
there.  I didn't personally care for it. The brew had good head but it
did not last very long.  The body was medium and had a dark brown color.
Holding it up to the light was hard to see through, but some light did
get through.  There was a rich roasty flavor that I really enjoyed.  If
it didn't taste like butter, it would have been a great beer.  The
second beer was called Total Eclipse.  It had a beautiful ruby color.
The head disappeared soon after pouring also.  He needs some Nitrogen
for the taps. :-)  The flavor was very malty and roasty too.  The hops
were well balanced.  I really liked this beer.  The butter flavor was
mild, and barely noticeable.  Much better than the Calumet Dark.

We drove on to Appleton.  Fox River Brewing was our lunch destination.
I had some Italian dish called a Nest of some sort.  It was very good,
and filling.  The others at my table had the cheeseburger.  It was
giant, and they said very satisfying.  But, this is a beer review, not a
food one.  When visiting a brewery for the first time, it is most
satisfying to see a sampler on the menu!  All four people at our table
ordered one.  Here are my notes from lightest to best .. er, I mean
darkest. :-)

Fox Light
This beer is as light as it gets.  One could say it was a great American
style lager.  I would rank it near the best I have had!  Well done for
style, but not a homebrewers delight. ;-)

Winnebago Wheat
Hang on to your hats fellow fermented beverage aficionados.  I actually
finished this whole sample!  The wheat character was mild, and not
chunky.  For you wheat fans, this would be a wheat light.  But for me,
it was actually a beer I enjoyed drinking.  The body was decent, but a
little light for a wheat beer style.  (Yeah, you just heard me say a
wheat beer was not that bad. )  Oh, yeah, it was served with a lemon.  I
did squeeze it half way through, but the lemon then over powered the
rest of the flavor.

Paine's Lumberyard Pilsner
This beer had a really great head on it.  Surprising for a Pilsner.
But, it was also too bitter for the style.  Not that a homebrewer would
mind though.  My first word was "weird".   It had a flavor that I simply
could not nail down.  I should have had a second one so I could narrow
it down enough to describe, but you know me.  Pilsners are low on my
priority list.  The body was good for the style.  All in all, a good
beer, but not a Pilsner style one.

Buzzin' Honey Ale
Honey ranks up there near wheat in my diary.  This was a clear beer with
no head.  It was lightly carbonated and tasted stale.  The others at the
table disagreed, so maybe it was just my taste buds.  The body was
pretty good for honey.  This is the only beer I would not have asked for
seconds on.

Winter Rye (Specialty Beer)
Rye is an acquired taste.  I thought this one was pretty good.  It had a
decent head, and full mouth body.  The flavor was absolutely rye, but
balanced with the hops and other malts.  Not my favorite, but worth a
second try.

Fox Tail Amber
My wife likes to tell the story of our first homebrew.  It was an amber,
and was so bitter that she still hates ambers!  Of course, the floaties
in it may be part of the dislike issue too.  I recall it as being a
pretty good beer that just didn't last long enough. :-)  Anyhow, the
Amber at Fox River had a medium head, but it remained to the last
swallow.  It was very well hopped.  Probably the hoppiest of the bunch. 
The body was rich and full.  I would say most homebrewers would pick
this as the best beer.  (But, I am not most homebrewers.)

Caber Tossing Scottish Ale
Now we're getting to the "real" beers.  This took the 2000 GABF silver
medal.  I can tell why!  Excellent balance of hops and malt.  A great
example of a Scottish Ale.  Add a small amount of body, and it would be
a gold medal winner. :-)  I had seconds of this brew.

Titan Porter
They rotate between this beer and a Trollycar Stout.  You all know I
could have tasted both, but only got the Porter. :-(  It had a roasty
aroma.  The first beer I was able to smell anything from, so it must
have been really strong.  The head was nice, and stayed to the end.
There was a slight sweetness in the finish.  I like that in a porter.
We took a growler of this home.

The service was pretty good considering they were packed!  They treated
us very well, but we did not have time to do a tour.  The brewing
equipment is in plain site, so it was not a big deal.  I would like to
have tried the stout, but it was not on tap.  There was a confusion on
our beer order.  Someone else got billed for our beer, and then they
doubled the order.  We ended up with 2 growlers, and two more Titan
Porters to drink!  Darn, don't know how I will live with myself after
that!  I have to thank the guy who ended up paying for it too.  I owe
you.

After that it was off to Green Bay.  We stopped at Title Town brewing.
My wife and I each had a beer and shared.  Mine was a Belgian Triple.
It had a very sour taste.  Even the 9% alcohol couldn't cover it up.  I
did not like it very much.  My wife had a Bridge Out Stout.  It too had
the same sour taste.  I couldn't help but wonder if they didn't have an
infection in their brewery.  Some one must have liked the beer, because
there were a lot of people there.  The brew master took us on a short
tour of the brew kettle.  It is a small room visible from the main bar. 
We asked a lot of questions, and then drank more beer.

Right across the street is Hinterland Brewing.  A short walk there, and
I was enjoying a Barley Wine!  It had a pine like taste to it.  Not sure
what caused it.  It wasn't bad.  I kind of liked it.  It just caught me
off guard.  The alcohol was masked quite well with the malt and hops.  A
nice balance.  My wife had a Winterland Porter.  It had a pretty low
head and low body.  Not as malty as a porter should be either.  Both
were still better than Title Town's beers were though.  We did not tour
the brewing facilities.  The bar and dining area were very dark and
modern.  They have leather couches to lounge in, and paintings on the
wall that were not of anything recognizable.  Or, maybe I was just to
drunk to tell!  A giant moose was jumping out of the mantle above the
fireplace.  We were kicked out because someone had reservations for our
table. :-(  We sat at the bar for a while till it was time to head home.

The ride home was interesting too.  The driver had finally gotten the
TV's to work.  Although the picture was shaky, that did not keep the
fellow beer drinkers from various rounds of "The Bears Still Suck."
There were a few growlers passed around between stops, and that
continued on the way home.  We pulled into the parking lot without any
problems.  All in all, a great adventure.  Well worth the money and
trip.

Let's do it again some time.  How about Madison in a couple of months?
:-)

I took a few pictures with my freebie camera.  I'll post them soon and
forward a link to them for all to see.  I know some of the Suddzers took
pictures too.  When I find out a link to them, I will let you know so
you can visit their site too.  (Hint, Hint Bill!)