On Saturday, August 9th, I attended the Great
Taste of the Midwest in Madison WI.
Always held on the second Saturday of August, the festival features over
100 brewers from 11 different states serving over 1000 different beers. For $60 you are given a very cool commemorative
glass (yes actual glass) and have five hours to sample as much as
possible. Tickets go on sale the first
Sunday in May and sell out within a few hours.
There are two ways to acquire tickets.
One is to drive to Madison and go to one of the 7 or 8 bars and liquor
stores selling them. Tickets go on sale
at noon, so it is a good idea to get there the night before and camp out. 5000 tickets are sold this way. The other method is through the lottery, 2000
are sold this way. If you are like me
who didn’t win the lottery, you hit up your friends who did. My plan this year was simple, visit brewers I
like and ones I want to try. I avoid the
“big guys” like Bells, Goose Island, Three Floyds etc, because the lines are
too long. Favorite beers from this year
include Right Brain (Traverse City) Spinal Tapper (IPA), Pipeworks (Chicago)
Simcoe (a big tasty Imperial IPA), Solemn Oath (Naperville) Pyrros (Farmhouse
Saison) and Dryhop (Chicago) Imperial IPA.
This year the brewers that attracted the longest lines were Toppling Goliath
(Decorah, IA) and Perennial Artisan Ales (St. Louis). If you are thinking of going next year, plan
on arriving at least the night before.
Great Taste Eve features many of the downtown Madison bars hosting
pre-parties with special tapping’s. Next
year’s event is Saturday August 8th.
Next up is the Detroit Beer Festival on October 24th and 25th
held at the Eastern Market.
