Oliphant Brewing: Not Just for Hobbits Anymore...

Recently my wife (Sarajo) and I took a little day trip to Stillwater, MN.  We stayed at the Rivertown Inn for our first anniversary (14 years ago!!!) and haven't been back to the Stillwater since.  With our 15th anniversary looming we decided to take a little jaunt and stay the night back at the B&B!  And of course there is beer nearby...

"Mr. Frodo, look!  It's an Oliphant, no one at home would believe this."  --Samwise Gamgee

We had heard great things from several friends about Oliphant Brewing, just across the border in Somerset, WI.  With under a 20 minute drive from Stillwater this seemed like a no-brainer.  It was spitting a bit of rain when we arrived, so didn't take my real camera along--hence the below par iPhone photography of this particular post.

Awesome mural by Taylor (server and artist!)

The brewery itself is in a small warehouse right behind the Liquor Depot (convenient?)  and is decorated by a colorful mural on an outside wall.  The outside and inside of the place is painted a somewhat hideous shade of faded smurf-flesh blue.  Some outdoor seating is available out front, and then inside is a small utilitarian taproom.  The place was pretty crowded when we arrived, but we were able to snag two seats at the end of the wood-topped bar.

Mr. F!

The walls are lined with an eclectic array of artwork, ranging from strange child-like scrawlings to more professional work, much of it sci-fi themed.  A large blackboard by the bar hosts a bewildering plethora of oddly named beers, many with corresponding amazing chalk art.  Many of the beer names and artwork nod to geekery with a bit of Arrested Development thrown in for good measure.  This odd mix of comic book, science fiction, and comedy gives this place a bizarre but pleasing comfortable feel.

Our main server (Josh I believe) reminded us quite a bit of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and was incredibly jovial, funny and helpful.  We were able to taste all of the beers by getting and sharing two samplers.  Apparently there was some sort of Groupon for a beer sampler going on so they were running low of tiny glasses, but we got 'em eventually!

These beers deserve a write up!  I'm going back over my brief notes and 0-5 scores from Untappd as a reference here.  For me a 3 is an average beer that I'd be OK drinking, a 4 is a very good example of the style, and a 5 involves angelic choruses.

1) Pizza Demon: Light English mild ale.  Fruity.  Well...mild.  Pleasant English malt character.  A good start to a sampler!  3.75

2) Anutart:  A solid Berliner kettle sour with red wine grapes.  Nice tannic bite adds complexity.  4

3) PlumBob Chamomillionaire: A lager with plums and chamomile.  I felt like the fruit esters from the plum cut the crisp lager character.  Chamomile not very apparent.  3.5

4) Turtle Lord:  Hefe.  This one was not good.  I get enteric in the aroma (fancy term for poop smell).  Flavor OK initially, with some German Hefe esters, but end is bitter and soapy.  This one is infected with something unpleasant.  2.25

5) EnniPA with TNT hops:  A bit of sulfur in the aroma.  Taste is lager crisp.  Bitter orange rind finish is astringent. 3


6) Wislard - The Lizard Wizard:  Seriously where do they get these names???  I like the Wizlard!  Aroma of white wine and citrus.  Flavor similar to that.  Bitter but pleasant IPA.  4

7) Hunk Boy: A porter.  Roasty with a hint of dark fruit.  Slightly thin on body.  Coffee finish.  3.75

8) Also-Bort: Belgian strong ale.  A bit sulfury.  Good Belgian ester character to the flavor though.  End is nice and dry like they should be.  3.5

9) Gobias Variant Cover Issue #1:  Combining Arrested Development with comics...  This was a Stout with coffee and vanilla.  Aroma bursting with those.  Flavor roasty, dark chocolate, coffee, hint of vanilla on the end.  Balance is great.  4.25

10) Teenage Muten Ninja Roshi: Double IPA.  Well balanced.  Sweet but dry finish.  3.75

11) Mothra Vs. Mothra: A decent hoppy lager.  Not my favorite style, but well done.  3.75

We also took home a crowler (can-growler) of Groot, a non-hopped gruit style ale for later.  This was a very malty and pleasant beer but could have used a bit more bittering as it got sweeter once warmed up a bit.  3.75

I can geek with the best of them...

Overall, the beers were well above average with only one having significant problems.  Out of 12 beers from a tiny (3 barrel) system, that's pretty impressive!  They're really able to brew a lot of experimental batches and seem to take great pleasure in trying new things.  Living close by would be a treat.  In fact we ended up sitting next to a semi-local member of their of version of a mug club, Matt, who extolled the virtues of getting to try all their cool new variants.

This place was a pleasant surprise for us.  I loved the geek imagery, and the fact that these guys don't take themselves too seriously.  The beers were very good and the service was stellar despite the place being very crowded at the time.

Thirsty Pagan Review

Just a quick review today...I've been busy with Fringe Festival this past week without time to write anything meatier!  Check this place out.

Two years ago, when in Duluth, we were encouraged to check out Thirsty Pagan Brewing across the bridge into Superior Wisconsin.  At that time my impressions of the beer were less than stellar.  Many had diacetyl and other unpleasant off aromas and flavors, with none really sticking out as especially worthy to me.  I promptly marked them off my list of breweries visited, and had no desire to go back.

This summer we were in Duluth for the All Pints North beer festival and my friend Shawn strongly recommended I go back.  I hemmed and hawed a bit, but eventually tacked it on to my final day up north as a lunch visit prior to driving back to the Twin Cities. 

The brewpub is situated in a somewhat industrial area (I know, so is the whole city of Superior) in an old creamery building.  The bar itself is fairly small, with old fashioned pizza joint table and booth seating within the bar room proper.  Around this central room is an L shaped accessory seating area for busier times (this is where we sat last time we were here) with pink tiled walls left over from the creamery days.  The walls abound with interesting old beer signs (metal, neon, etc.)

We arrived there just at 11 AM, the place just starting to fill with the early lunch crowd.  Our server was very attentive and we promptly got our beers and then food.  The beer sampler contained all of their tap beers (8-10 if I remember correctly) and came out on a cool holder made of an old barrel stave.  Miraculously, all the beers but one were of very good to excellent quality.  The Lawn Chair was less than stellar, having a smoky phenolic character that was not meant to be there!  Sj ordered the auxiliary sampler of three sour beers--a new series in the last year.  The sours were very good, and I was wishing she would share more!  We actually bought a growler of the sour brown (really a Flanders Red style) to take home with us to crack at the JAB lambic barrel fill event later that week.  A growler of sour beer has to be a first for me! 

We ordered a special pizza made with a pureed white bean and garlic sauce and olive oil and spinach atop it.  This was remarkable and worth a trip just for the pizza--a perfect counterpoint to the varied beers I was sampling!  By the time we finished with our meal and samples the place was packed, filling the bar side and spilling into the outer ring of seating.  I would certainly go back to Thirsty Pagan and was pleasantly surprised at the change in beer quality! 

Lakefront Brewery: Milwaukee, WI

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, is a place I've been dying to visit for years.  I have had a few of their beers in bottle with mixed results, but have been told that on tap is the way to try them.  Last year my cousin was married in town and most of my family managed to get there without me!  Though they were nearly late for the wedding...  This year, another cousin was getting married and I figured I'd try again...

The brewery has been in business since 1987, and has really led the craft beer movement in Milwaukee.  Even in the great brewery city, the typical Miller and other bland lagers still dominate the beer landscape.  The brewery is in an old warehouse building made of light colored brick, with bizaro modern art out front.  Some sad looking hops grow over the railings. 

Within is a huge tasting room with a small stage and high ceiling.  This would be a fun place to have an event!  There is a nice stainless topped bar with two servers pouring off 4 taps each and bottled beer in the coolers behind the bar. 

Tours happen nearly every day, with registration on line for guaranteed entrance, or you can risk it and just show up.  The tour costs $7 and includes an 8-10 oz cup with 4 tokens.  The tokens can be used for one fill off the taps, or use two for a bottle of beer.  There is a small serving station located deeper in the brewery so you can refill about half way through the tour...a very nice touch!  My wife and I tried a bottle of the Pumpkin beer which was pretty good, and a bottle of Fixed Gear hipster red ale which I really liked.  There is a Northern Brewer homebrew kit for that one.  I also tried the IPA which is more malty than hoppy, and much better fresh than in the bottle.  The pilsner was so-so.  I bought  bombers of the Rendezvous Bier de Guard and Bridge Burner to take home.  The tour itself was one of the most entertaining I've had in nearly 40 brewery tours.  Our guide, Josh, was incredibly energetic and funny, making the tour group really take part in the adventure.  He made a ton of Doctor Who and other Sci-Fi/gamer references that I think only Sj and I laughed at.  We got what you were laying down, Josh! 

At the end of the tour you exchange your hopefully empty glass for a Lakefront pint glass, or $2 off other swag you want to buy.  I bought a Boot and a sign because I'm a sucker for merch.  They also give a 10% discount for AHA members! 

Overall the beers are decent, but not my favorite in the world.  The tour, though, is worth the trip and you WILL have a good time!

Water Street Brewery: Milwaulkee, WI

On a recent trip out to Milwaulkee for my cousin's beautiful wedding we had time to walk over to Water Street Brewery for a quick lunch and beer sampler.  The brewery has just celebrated its 25 year anniversary, showing some impressive staying power in this beer-centric area. 

The decor and age on this place is the best reason to try it out.  This is a historic building from the 1800's and the fantastic brickwork makes it an unusual place to see.  They have a huge collection of brewerania including an enormous beer can collection, bottle openers and tap handles, as well as some cool old WI beer signs. 

Wall O' Cans

The bar itself is double sided and reeks of age and use...but in a good way! 

The food was decent.  My wife got a macaroni and cheese with lobster and shrimp, while I had the sausage platter made across the street at Usinger's.  The spaetzel was horrid though.  Service was excellent with frequent check-ins and knowledgable staff.

The beer.  Not a reason to visit this place.  I really wanted to like them when they arrived in an aged wooden eight-sample tray.  The newspaper menu was pretty nifty with historic pictures of the building and beer information.  All the lagers were filled with a strong butterscotch diacetyl flavor and aroma that indicates either poor fermentation temp control or bad yeast management.  The ales were a bit better, with the best being a malty pale ale.  The raspberry weiss was made with real fruit and that came out in the flavor and aroma, but the base beer was lost in it.  After tasting these I looked around and all but one of the 15 people seated around us were drinking sodas or mixed drinks.  This was noon on a work day, so that might explain it.  Or maybe they are locals and know better.