Friday, August 7, 2009 by Steve.

Our tour is off to an excellent start! Dan welcomed us to Rush River Brewing to start our day. We had a great introduction to their brewing process, and enjoyed some samples of a couple of their limited production brews - Double Bubble Imperial IPA and Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.  A couple of their best!  Joe calls it nice and crisp. Jan agrees and adds that it was more flavorful than many big IPAs.

 Rush River produces unfiltered non-pasteurized beers and have concentrated on the Wisconsin and Minnesota market, reaching from St. Cloud to Milwaukee.

On to Chippewa Falls!

Friday, August 7, 2009 by Jim.

Stopped for lunch at Northwoods Brewpub in Eau Claire.  We were joined by our first groupie, Dave P!

The food was great, all the way to Norske Nook pie!

The beer was somewhat moderate - more details when we get our reviews compiled.

 On to Black River Falls!

Friday, August 7, 2009 by Steve.

A great stop at Sand Creek.  They fit a whole lot of activity into a moderate size space.  Had a nice group tour, led in part by Todd, one of the owners. The brewery has quite a history as far as the founding family is concerned, and the facility has seen many different uses, from the orginal brewery to turkey processing to the manufacture of parts for land mines. Thank goodness, they’ve returned to their roots.

A nice tap room provided some pints for us to bring with us on the tour. Delicious options from Wild Ride IPA to Oscar’s Stout to Special Reserve Scottish Ale. After the tour, we tried a sampler, offering a full selection including a special Belgian Ale that is aged in Bourbon barrels.

I foresee a return trip sometime.

Friday, August 7, 2009 by Steve.

Outstanding -what a finish to a great day!

Jeff Glazer from Madison Beer Review was kind enough to meet with us at the Grumpy Troll and share a pint. It was great fun!

The beer was awesome. The food was great. At this hour of the night, this is getting noticeably harder, so maybe more detail tomorrow.

Curly’s Scottish Ale, Maggie Imperial IPA and the Imperial Stout - awesome!

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Steve.

Good morning! After arriving at Inn on the Park in Madison, we met James (Dan & Jan’s son) and some of his friends for a pint at Brocach Irish Pub.  A nice end to a full day. Considering that we didn’t know how this event was going to fly, I think the first day went great!

Highlights of Day 1? Rush River’s Double Bubble Imperial IPA was a fave for many of us. Sand Creek’s Oscar’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout was another. I also would add Sand Creek’s bourbon-casked Special Reserve Belgian Ale and Grumpy Troll’s Maggie Imperial IPA and Curly Scottish Ale.

It was great to have Jeff Glazer from madisonbeerreview.com meet with us too. I know he’s got a busy weekend with the Great Taste of the Midwest. Everyone enjoyed visiting with him. And thanks for the mbr t-shirts, Jeff - I’ll wear it with pride!

Another fun part of the day was having people ask how much it costs to join the tour.  I think we need to consider how this might evolve!

It’s time for breakfast! 

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Steve.

Our day started at New Glarus! We stopped by the old facility, and in spite of the fact that it was locked up, we took an opportunity to nose around. Then, on to the new brewing facility. By far, the most attractive desination we’ve seen so far. Truly pristine, having just opened in June. We were a little sorry they didn’t have their audio program ready for the self-guided tours, so we were kind of set free to wander about. It was nice and low-key, but maybe too much so.

Then, it was on to the tasting room!  Now that was a good experience. We ran the gamut from Totally Naked to Unplugged Barley Wine.   Reviews were very positive, though individual taste preferences were coming through. We all found our favorites!

They also have a Beer Depot where a few purchases were made, including a case of the coffee stout and their limited production golden ale. 

[Note] See Katy Carey’s comment - New Glarus has been brewing at their new facility for a couple of years - they just opened to the public recently.  Thanks, Katy!

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Steve.

Capital Brewery! We had a private tour by Rocky, which was great. Even though they were short-handed due to the Great Taste of the Midwest, they were very receptive and hospitable. A good introduction to Capital’s history and curent offerings.

 As we’ve seen everything from virtualy a two-man operation to the corporate brewery, Capital fills a nice middle ground. They are getting into some decent output numbers (22,000 barrels plus) but still have a good “personality”. 

We sampled to our hearts content, including an experimental version of their wheat beer made with Belgian yeast. Another was their “Supper Club” which captures the American lagers of their glory days. All agreed that they nailed it, but not al agreed that it was nccessarily a good thing. 

As with any of our stops, we met others that are enthusiastic about beer, including a new friend from Chicago that had reached 8 breweries in 2 days and now thinks he’ll try hitting 12 or 14 in 2 days just to lock the record.  We wish him luck and look forward to the news!

 Lunch time -Ale Asylum, here we come!

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Jim.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Jim.

Sunday, August 9, 2009 by Steve.

Sunday, August 9, 2009 by Steve.

After a dinner of gyros at the Parthenon on State Street (gotta live the Madison lifestyle), we arrived at the Great Dane, finishing our brewery tour. 

The Great Dane is a fun place to be. Very busy spot, including a full restaurant.  The brewing operation isn’t all that glorious, tucked away in the basement, but boy can they churn out the beer!  We had a few pints, and then came the sampler - a heart-stopping presentation of uncountable varieties!

The beers ranged from a very smooth stout to a nearly clear pilsner. Some were delicious, a couple were a bit suspect. 

We played some highly-competitive table-top shuffleboard, enjoyed the rest of the night, and ambled back to the hotel very satisfied with the weekend!

Sunday, September 6, 2009 by Steve.

Yes, the 10 in 2 Tour is complete, but there are so many unvisited locations! I decided to post our recent visit to South Shore Brewery in Ashland.  It features a very nice restaurant (actually two restaurants in one) and a nice variety of brews.  I had their sampler, which included some of their staples which they also bottle, along with a couple new variations. 

My initial response was somewhat lukewarm, but after thinking a bit, I need to give them some credit. All of their offerings are decent  - a couple solid stouts - the Rhode Scholar is a nice, almost bitter stout. The second option (the name escapes me) was a little smoother on the finish.  Their pilsner was actually quite good - it was a bit sour, much like the Czech pilsners, which I do enjoy. The sampler also included an herbal cream ale, which was more interesting than delicious, but it wasn’t bad. Not a lot of beer flavor but not overly herbal either. And finally, my favorite of the bunch, was the Pale Ale. 

 Aside from the pilsner and the herbal cream ale, most of the beers were pretty standard - very drinkable but not “oh my gosh, I gotta get a growler”.  I think perhaps the 10 in 2 spoiled me.  The tour featured so many variations that we now know there is greatness out there.

 Deviating from the beer, the restaurant is incredibly attractive - we just had snacks but I woundn’t mind going back for a meal. And Ashland is a pretty quaint little town as well!