The Great Taste of the Midwest

Aside from her natural beauty and that je ne sais qoi charm, Madison plays host to the second largest beer festival in the U.S.: The Great Taste of the Midwest. This year, five gigantic tents and a few satellite cabanas housed over 120 breweries serving some 500 beers from 11 Midwest states.

The party began at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Olin Park, about a mile from the Capitol building. The din of 3000 bon-imbibants melded with the music from the folk and bluegrass bands scattered among the tents, providing a carefree, jovial soundtrack for the full five hours of drinking. Even the sun decided to make an appearance late in the day after severe negotiations with heavy, gray clouds. Not even Helios himself would miss the Great Taste.

Ales were so in this year. Belgian Ales and IPAs seemed to predominate, though emissaries from every style were poured with wild abandon. A "Real Ales" tent was devoted specifically to cask-conditioned, unfiltered ales served at cellar temperature. Instead of being pumped from a conventional beer engine, they went ultra-old-school and used gravity for pour power. To expedite the serving process, each cask was marked with a number. You'd hand over your glass, bark out a number, and a server would quickly disappear to fetch your beer from the racks like a crazed librarian on a search for the public library's last copy of Twilight at the behest of a bawling tween needing her fix. I'm sorry; I lost control of that metaphor, and I apologize for anyone hurt in the process.

The "Real Ales" tent was real tasty all right, but the real action was at the Brewers' tents, where current inventory, special releases, SWAG, and merch were all up for grabs. The festival's program featured a map and key for navigation purposes, allowing us to easily locate our old standbys and promising candidates. Strategy is key. Here's your chance to talk to the brewers a bit, make some banter in line, and get a feel for what a brewery is all about. You can't waffle and dither and temporize with your crippling indecision. This isn't for petal pickers and nail biters. Choosing a brewery and specific beer after an arduous deliberation process can lose you valuable time, and you'll leave with a head full of regrets and a bloodstream full of sobriety. Thus, taking time to review the program before a festival will help maximize your experience. Fortunately, I just consulted with Dylan, who, possessing a media pass, was able to initiate the drinking process 2 hours before everyone else. His advise enabled me to hit the all-stars immediately before they became too popular (and before the alcohol/hops tempered my tastebuds). So, like many successful men before me, I simply had to stand on the shoulders of Jews. I mean giants.

Still, you don't need to be Eddie Carmel with a Magellan GPS to find your way around a beer festival. Most breweries had some great offerings. The crowd favorites--Bell's, Founders, Goose Island, Three Floyd's--took to the field with their predictably impressive selections on tap. I had a quasi-"Saint Theresa" moment during the 2:30 p.m. release of Three Floyd's 2008 Dark Lord. It can best be described in one word. However, I generally tried to avoid the usual suspects, given my familiarity with them. I was in the business for something new and possibly a little crazy. Thankfully, a few new faces were able to knock me out with their consummate stylistic renditions and, in some cases, heretically unorthodox recipes.

A beer festival's quality indicator is incontrovertibly a long line, and one particular brewery had a disproportionately huge brew queue. As many as 30 people waited patiently behind this brewery's table while other brewers' taps sat forlorn and idle nearby. Obviously, there had to be a reason for this gravitation, so I, too, waited in line with baited breath just to see what this hubbub was all about. When lips finally touched liquid, I knew that this was the festival's MVP. So, ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you, the blue ribbon winner at The Great Taste of the Midwest, Kunhenn Brewing Co LLC.

Kunhenn's, a microbrewery from Michigan, is owned and operated by the Kunhenn brothers (families really know how to brew; just ask Three Floyds). They bill their brews as "Out of This World," adopting a little green alien as their mascot. Their approach to beer can be best described as weird, wet, wild, and fun...with a dash of sophistication.

Kunhenn's distribute locally in Michigan out of a brewpub which carries their wine, mead, and an outstanding array of craft beers. They offer classes for brewing a batch beer or making wine on premise, enjoining their customers to not only get a fish, but learn to catch one as well. Their ascendancy in the Michigan Craft Beer scene owes to unbridled inventiveness and a fantastic assortment of great-tasting beers that draw loyal followings. Speaking of beers, here's where we start the crazy talk.

ET's Reese's Pieces Stout. Inky black with a dark, sand-dune head, this strange brew's peanut-buttery-chocolate nose perfectly replicated the scent of my roommate's Reese's Puffs cereal I had eaten that very morning. The taste was akin to Hershey's chocolate syrup with suggestions of coffee, leaving the peanut butter component to your olfactory glands only. It was heavy, and delicious, and weird. Love at first sip. Oh, I almost forgot: to top off the whole experience, they dropped dry ice pellets onto beer's head, releasing an eerie white mist. Drinkers emerged from the tent with what seemed like the extraterrestrial nostrum from a Star Wars apothecary.

Alien Ale. A pepper beer infused with three different kinds of pepper. While not as gentle as The Grumpy Troll's Slow Eddy or as aggressive as Great Dane's Tripepper Pilsner, it's a fresh mouthful of jalapeño that answers the question: ¿Que?

Creme Brulee Java Stout. Can life get any better? 4 out of 5 optimists say "No." I did not try this beverage, as the keg was kicked half-way through the festival, so I have no authoritative comment. But, c'mon. Beer + Creme Brulee + Java = ridic. The fact that it ran out so quickly is sufficient testimony to its awesomeness.

In short, Kunhenn's is breaking the rules in all the right ways. More beer reviews may be forthcoming, potentially in a podcast. I just had to comment on the highlights of the day. Next year, I urge you to drive, fly, or flubber out to Madison for the 2011 Great Taste of the Midwest. With so many beers and beer lovers in one place, you're bound to find your Happy Place. Peace ya'll.