August 10th was the date for the 27th
annual Great Taste of the Midwest. If
you are not familiar with the Great Taste, it is the biggest beer festival in the
Midwest with over 100 breweries and probably close to a thousand different
beers to try. Always held on the second
Saturday of August, only 6000 tickets are sold.
I know that sounds like a lot but tickets always sell out on the day
they go on sale. Approximately two
thirds of the tickets go on sale the first Sunday in May at various locations
in Madison, WI and at Tyranena Brewing in Lake Mills. The other third are sold via lottery. In order to secure tickets, getting there the
night before is usually required as most ticket outlets sell out hours before
they go on sale. The Friday night before
the Great Taste has become a big event as many Madison bars hold pre-parties
hosted by area brewers. These usually
include tap takeovers and the introduction of special beers, many not available
anywhere else. We began at one of
Madison’s newer brew pubs, One Barrel Brewing.
They are small, producing only a few beers on tap at a time. I had the Behemoth, a big IPA coming in at
9.5%. Next was the Essen Haus for the
Revolution party for their Anti-Hero IPA and A Little Crazy Pale Ale. Next was the Blue Moon for the Oso
Party. Oso, from Plover Wisconsin is one
of our better breweries. The next day
and finally it is time for the Great Taste.
Gates open at one but the line starts forming pretty early. Once inside, it is unlimited sampling (2 oz.
pours) for five hours. Highlights for me
included Solemn Oath (Butterfly Flashmob – IPA), Kuhnhenn Brewing (DRIPA –
Double Rice IPA), Flat 12 Bierwerks (Funk-o-Dile Dundee – Belgian Pale Ale) and
from Chicago DryHop (The Devil Jumped Up – Belgian IPA). The local winner was the House of Brews with
their Rye Barrel Aged Dulpexx Double. For
me this festival was all about the Illinois breweries, going to old favorites
and trying new beers. I tend to miss the
Michigan Breweries (except Kuhnhenn and Dragonmead) because I will be going to
the Detroit Beer festival in October. It
is second only to the Great Taste and you don’t have to camp out to buy
tickets.
