Great Taste of the Midwest

By James Lee Ellingson

I made my second pilgrimage to the Great Taste of the Midwest, the very best beer festival anywhere. The 11th annual festival was held in Madison's Olin-Turville Park. The weather and the setting were perfect for quaffing--high clouds with an occasional spritz of rain and a bit of a breeze off of Lake Monona.

The Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild have organized this fine event every year since 1987. While the number and quality of beers has risen each year, the MHTG have limited ticket sales to keep the event fun and very civilized for the beer-savvy and open minded attendees. Proceeds from the 3900 tickets sold go to Madison community radio station WORT. Unlike more profit driven festivals, the focus of this 99% volunteer event is on the beer, the breweries, and the enjoyment of the attendees. Kudos to MHTG!

Seventy-five breweries attended, serving over 300 different beers, mostly on draught. No tickets and very short lines served to encourage attendees to try new styles of beer, which were served in unlimited 2 oz samples. There were many variations on the standard pale ales and porters, as well as uncommon treats like Belgian lambic-style gueuze and witbier, Kölsch, maple, and smoke beer. "The Quality is UP!" was the general consensus of some long time Great Tasters, a fact reflected in the industry at large.

1st Annual

Ellingson Awards

And now it's time to hand out the "awards"!

Three Floyds' Alpha King edged out some noble efforts from Goose Island, Bell's, Flossmoor Station and others for the Hoppiest Beer at the Taste. Honorable mention goes to Goose Island's Honkers Ale on hand pull.

The best Fruit Beer was an easy winner. Many were good, but the award-winning New Glarus Belgian Red was in a class by itself. Roger Deschner described it as like being "...pelted with cherries... One of the world's unique beer drinking experiences." I enjoyed the intensity, the complexity and the near perfect balance between sweet and tart.

Best "Adrenaline Rush" and "Bigger is Best" both go to Bell's of Kalamazoo. The opening and pouring of the 9 liter champagne bottles of commemorative brews led to something akin to a rugby scrum. The crowd was well aware that there would be plenty of beer for all, but swarmed Larry Bell for the sake of bonding. The huge Expo Stout was wonderfully complex, and looked great plastered all over Larry's face as he took a hit off the end of the bottle. Good thing they had a dunk tank this year so Larry could get cleaned up.

Best of the pico breweries goes to Endehouse in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Their 2bbl "Frankenstein" system has been up and running for just a year, and their nice roasty porter and hoppy IPA were both solid. Honorable Mention goes to start-up brewery Circle V and their excellent Pacer Pale Ale.

Top honors for best looking and functioning portable bars go to St. Louis and Boulevard, respectively, from the 'Show Me' State. The former had a Great Midwestern flair of stained wood nicely decorated with stalks of barley, while the latter featured a brass tap rail, rinsing of your glass and a very Irish dry stout and very English 10 Penny Bitter, both pushed with nitrogen. SLBC had the only "Brewster" on the program, Sara Choler, and her Belgian Wit was spot on! Honorable mention goes to John Isenhour's "Not Joe's Brewery" and their porter spewing gargoyle.

Most timely hand-out goes to Schreier Malting for the pens used by many for tasting notes. Thanks, Kelly Kuehl!

I'm proud to say that the Minnesota micros had a strong showing. Summit Hefe Weizen, James Page Kölsch and Lake Superior Special Ale were each mentioned as standouts by several Great Tasters. The Madison brewpubs were well also represented. The Great Dane's Pilsner and American Pale Ale were outstanding, as was Angelic's Bitter and J.T. Whitney's Weiss.

Next year's Great Taste of the Midwest is scheduled for August 8th and is well worth the trip to Madison. Tickets will go on sale May 1 1998 and will most likely cost $18 again.

Copyright 1997, Great Lakes Brewing News. No material herein may be reprinted without permission of the Great Lakes Brewing News Distributed On the W3 For personal, non-commercial enjoyment and use only. Cheers!