The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast
We love craft beer! Each week we will taste a number of beers from around the country and give you our thoughts, not only will we talk about the flavor, but also the artwork and anything else that comes to mind.
We will also go on location and visit breweries and try a number of their offerings and give you our thoughts as well.
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The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast
Ep 154 - We Taste Eight Fifth Ward Beers And Rank The Standouts
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A suitcase of pint cans, a head full of Oshkosh history, and a guest who knows his bourbon—this tasting tour of Fifth Ward Brewing turned into a masterclass in balance and variety. We invited our friend John to the studio after his trip to Oshkosh, and he delivered a lineup that stretched from clean blondes and approachable pales to a silky oatmeal stout, a coconut-kissed porter, a rye-forward outlier, and a big, bourbon-leaning barleywine that closed the show with swagger.
We start with accessible crowd-pleasers—the 1869 Blonde Ale and Hopscotch Midwest Pale Ale—before stepping into deeper character with Nordheim Red Ale, a malty nod to Oshkosh’s German roots. From there, the experiments get bolder. OJ Hive Mind offers honey and orange zest with a restrained hand, while Sweet Heat Junior fuses pineapple and jalapeño for a sweet-then-tingle finish that actually works. The oatmeal stout proves dark beer can be smooth and beginner-friendly, and Coconut Foolin lands the rare coconut balance that so many porters miss: present, toasty, and not cloying.
Then we pour Buffalo Mike Rides Again, a rye beer honoring the Society of Oshkosh Brewers, with a distinct grain character that keeps the palate curious. Finally, Chocolate Willy arrives: a single-barrel-aged American barleywine conditioned on cacao nibs, silky and bourbon-forward with cocoa and fudge riding beneath. It’s the kind of beer that reminds you why patience and oak matter.
Along the way, we trade Wisconsin beer trivia, talk Prohibition pivots, and sketch the taproom vibe John found at Fifth Ward—ample variety, clear flavors, and a menu that gives everyone a lane. If you’re near Oshkosh, this stop belongs on your beer map. Listen, pick your favorites, and tell us what you’d order first.
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Welcome Back & Bahamas Recap
SPEAKER_00Grab a beer and pull up a chair. Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. Hey ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy, and I'm back in the studio. Jim, what do you think of that? Well, trying to get my wrap my arms around this because you're so tan, it's like hard to see you down here. You know, you've been gone in the in the south somewhere with enjoying the warm weather. And all of us North people have been like freezing our hineys off up here. I almost felt bad. I really did. I really, really did. So yeah, so that was uh
Meet John, The Bourbon Guy With Beers
SPEAKER_00interesting. Last week, if you listened on the podcast, I had got uh we did an on location down in the Bahamas at Riptide, talked to the co-founder and the same ladies, the brewmaster. Right. And it was really an interesting thing, and you know, learned how they had to deal with COVID down there and how they probably should have gone out of business a hundred times, she said, but they're still going, and it's uh yeah, it was really cool. I was glad I'd never been there before. If you get a chance, you need to go. So, anyway, so today in the studio, Jim, we are joined by an very special guest, an infamous person. Yes, or yeah, we've talked about him many times. Yes, we have a lot of times. We've mentioned this guy that he's kind of our resident bourbon guy. We figured it would be like an episode we'd finally get him on that was you know where we were tasting bourbon along with the beer. But no, no, he actually brought back some beers from us, or for us, I should say. Yes, from Oshkosh. And uh so John, welcome to the podcast. Well, thank you guys.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, pleasure to be here with you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the the brewery that you were you were at the brewery, yes. We were at Fifth Ward in Oshkosh. Okay, yeah, fifth ward, yeah. I've never never been there. I mean, I've heard Tolby talk about it, John's talked about it, haven't had a chance to go there, but I'm glad John was over there recently, and these look like some pretty interesting beers. They definitely do, good flavors, and the thing that's interesting is they're all in pint cans, Jim. Yeah, and I think Tolby told me they're I can't remember the name of the word he used, but like their their best model is a fruit and annie, is what they call it. And then they just make different flavors off that. Oh fruit and annie is their their main go-to. Oh, okay. I think it's mainly like their sour, they're fruited sour. Oh, okay. So that's kind of what they're known for, kind of thing. Okay. That's their big thing. All right, well, cool. So yeah, John, you brought back a number of beers here. Most of these I've never even heard of. Right. So oh, and I guess just to refresh John, too. So how many beers have you rated? Right now I am at 6,087. So almost to 6,100. Almost to 6100. And what's your median rating? I would I would say what it is, but then you get upset and say that I'm too liberal as far as I give too high a scores that you're a much tougher grader. Oh, well, okay. Well, so what is the what is your median? My median is 2.96. Wow. Almost almost a three. Almost a three. Yes. And Jim's is like 2.4, 2.3. I say some some of your when we've had episodes on sours and IPAs, that's brought your average score down. So more realistic. So, John, I hope you're ready for this because I don't know. I never really even looked at Jim at all the different styles to see what what he brought back. It covers the whole spectrum, I think. Okay. So it should be a good good tasting. Yeah. Hopefully, I mean, like we always talk about, we want to see if they got some good flavor.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. I think I tried most of their well, I tried their fruit ones over there, one they have over there. Ones that we typically don't have here. Nice. They were all pretty decent. They were all decent. Okay, nice. Like they didn't scare you. Didn't scare you away then. No, I would go back. Nice.
SPEAKER_00We'll get we'll get into like the brewery as we go, and maybe you know, John can kind of fill us in on kind of the feel and look of it, you know, things like that. Sure. So everybody knows. So all right, so this is fifth ward out of Oshkosh.
Tasting 1: Hopscotch Midwest Pale Ale
SPEAKER_00And the first one we're gonna try, because we might as well get into it. Yep. First one we're gonna try is their hopscotch Midwest Pale Ale number one. And I looked on Untapped and it just said the two hops they used. So, but on the back of the can, luckily, they've got some uh writing on here. Like a game of hopscotch, our Midwest pale ale can be drawn up a zillion different ways. The writing is kind of eh. Let's see. Uh these here. You all right, you look at it, Jim. He's got better eyes than I do. All right, so we got the pale can be drawn up a zillion different ways. Exclamation point. Yes. The combo of malts and hops are endless. So grab batch number one and see what you think. Hop combo strata endosida, something like that. Uh-oh. That dank word. That's a scary word. That's a scary word. Uh-oh. Cat call. Alabama boss right now is looking around going, what was that? He is like ready for it. Yeah. All right. So I'm getting to do the honors because I got the cooler by me, which is and his eyes are better apparently because that writing's a little kind of fancy writing, and then it's smaller. And well, the the background of it is like almost like parchment kind of a look to it. You know what I mean? That it matches right in with the the yeah, the the writing too. So the whatever they got for the writing matches right in there. All right. All right. Well, color wise. I'm scared already from dank. That's the one thing that I wish they wouldn't have put on there, but we've had a few that aren't too bad that say they're dank, but we'll see how this is. But definitely like a heasy because you can't see through it. No, it's it's a little darker in color than I was expecting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And so fresh guys that haven't been on before, dank would be your dank is usually like a really how would you describe.
SPEAKER_00Almost like a peaty hop flavor. I mean, you you'll know. I mean, there is a little bit of aroma. I mean Oh, yeah. It actually smells pretty decent. Right. The citrus aroma. So that's a good sign. Oh, that's not bad. No, it's a little dry. I mean, a little dry. I mean, maybe that's the dankness. It could be. But do you remember when we had Who Made It? There was one that was called Dankenstein. Ooh. And oh my gosh, I could barely drink a bottle of it. It was so strong of that flavor, but this is not bad. No, this has a little bit of an aftertaste to it. And did I say the ABV? Oh no, we didn't. Five percent. Okay. I mean, this is not bad. I mean, I'm and again, this is a Midwest pale ale. You know, now we've got New England pale ale, West Pale. East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest. But this is remember that one has no coast, whatever, whatever that was. Remember? So it's like, okay. But this is not bad. I mean, no, it it tastes a little bit dry at the first drink, but now after a couple other sips, it's not bad. I was worried, like you said, Jim, when when I heard dank, I thought, uh-oh. You know, that's kind of that word that I'm like, but I think it's more right on the very first as you pour it in your mouth. The finish seems a lot smoother than the very initial taste. I yeah, I agree with you. Like I said, a little bit of an aftertaste to it, you know, kind of that dry kind of, you know, you can definitely get that hot flavor. But not over the top dry, which is which is a good thing. Yeah. Yeah, that's not bad. So then we always let the guest start off our scoring. So our our scoring is from zero to five by a tenth of a point. Okay. So if you yeah, let us, you know, kind of what you thought and then what you would give it for a score.
SPEAKER_01I think, like you say, it starts out dry, but it is not hoppy. Right. Because I am not typically a fatal ill guy, but no, I could drink it easily. Oh, I don't know. I guess I would just I'll first can I'll just go at a two, say.
SPEAKER_00If it was in the cooler and it was only in there, you'd think it sure. Okay. Uh yeah, I it surprised me. You know, I thought it was gonna be danker, you know, and then it's like, oh so I had that in my mind, but it it drank pretty well. It does have a little, like you said, Jim, a dryness right up front, and then the aftertaste has a little bit of that flavor to it. If somebody had it and said, Hey, you want one of these? Sure, I'll take it. I agree with you, John. I may not run out to buy it a lot, but score-wise, I'm gonna go a 2.4. I'm not a big fan. Right. And I guess you know, that's what I'm always scared was when we talk about pale ales. I always kind of cringe right away, even though I don't know what it tastes like. I always start cringing because I don't like that hoppy flavor. So I guess for the non-hoppy person, I would definitely recommend this for somebody that maybe hasn't tried hoppy beard before. And I know we haven't done a lot of Midwest pale ales, but this one to me tasted really good. I mean, and I can still taste the citrus hop, you know, in my in my mouth at the finish. So for me, that that's good. I mean, I so for a person that doesn't like hoppy beard, I would definitely say it like a 2.4. I mean, it's definitely not bad. I mean, would I seek it out? No, but it's definitely not bad. And for the average person who may have not had many pale eles before, I definitely recommend it to them. Yeah, I agree with you. I think that it's not offensive. Yeah, you know, it's it's a it's a good example. I agree. So now the fifth ward did uh Jim did some research and it said it was opened in the mid the building, at least was opened. Well, I I think, and I tried to like narrow it down. I couldn't confirm that the building arrent is the same building from the mid-1800s. Okay, but it sounds like Oshkosh itself had been brewing. Okay, okay. Which I thought was pretty interesting that at least Oshkosh has that reputation too of being one of the and I think doing the research, what it kind of came down to was they were building breweries where they had a large supply of water and timber, and with Lake Winnebago right there and the forests that were running, I'm sure, in the eight mid-1800s, like it was a perfect combination. Oh, sure. Yep. So I think that's kind of what was driving because a lot of the research talked about population centers grew around where the breweries were. Makes sense. So so I think so, and I didn't know this that Oshkosh's name was a Sawdust City. Really? So that's interesting. So that to me then tells it there was probably a lot of a lot of timber, lumber in industry and such. So, John, the the building itself, was it what would you describe it like? I mean, was it kind of a rustic look? Was it a more modern?
SPEAKER_01Not overly modern, no.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01But you know, it was doesn't look like an old factory type where it was big windows and just concrete and steel, or yeah, but I mean the first part, whether that's say the tasting room or whatever, the bar or whatever that had some bigger windows. The brewery part itself was in a back room. There were I don't know how many exactly they had back there, but you could see them back there. You know, probably seat about 15-20 people at the bar, but then they had various tables, uh, maybe 50-60 people in the whole place. Okay. But how about the uh did they serve food too, or was it just small snags? I think they you can order food from a next door or whatever, you know. They have a couple little things like pizza and I think some pretzels or something. Okay, some in-house in-house, no. Okay.
SPEAKER_00What? No. That's good to know too, because a lot of people are always wondering. Yeah, looking for food and because that place we went, the Fondi. Yeah, they had a really good thing. They had a really good kitchen there, yeah. I mean, I mean, because sometimes I'm sure you don't want to have to put that if you're building starting from scratch, putting all the stuff in for a kitchen. Right. But I mean, some of them are able to tap into it.
SPEAKER_01Yep, for sure. Yeah, say on tap there, it looked like probably about 25 to 30 different nice beers, you know, all the way from what we have here to the sowers and maybe some bourbon barrel ones.
SPEAKER_00And okay, you know, so nice wide variety. Yeah, so it sounds like they do quite a good, quite a good, you know, so there should be something for everybody, you know. The next one we have is their 1869 blonde ale.
Tasting 2: 1869 Blonde Ale
SPEAKER_00And this one is five percent ABV as well, and on untapped, it says originally brewed in 2019 as a collaboration between Fifth Ward and the Oshkosh Yacht Club. Ooh, wow, I think 1869 was so well received that we decided to make it a major staple in the fifth ward lineup. Yeah, because I'm glad John has a yacht so we can bring one of these back for us. Right, yeah. Well, although the big we wouldn't uh with our little canoe if we took it away, wouldn't really join, but John's yacht.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, an old you know, sea person that I am.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say, yeah, he yeah, I think he had to be like personally invited uh to come in and get that. Yes, the yes, ascott thing, yeah, yeah, exactly. His boat shoes, mails. There you go. Oh, freaking stretch. There we go. So this is a blonde ale. Blonde ale. Very clean.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can definitely see through it. Very nice.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it'll be interesting because you know, like a lot of times blonde ales don't have a whole lot of flavor to them per se. So basically the color. Yeah, yeah. So we'll see what this is, what this one is. A little bit of flavor. Yeah, it's almost got a hint of a sweetness almost to it. Yeah, this is not not bad. I mean, oh, and I I think I forgot too. The the ABV five percent. Five percent. Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So definitely were in that range, you know.
SPEAKER_00This is definitely could be like a summertime beer if this is nice cold on a on a mower. Yeah, like a nice mower lawnmower beer, and especially 16 ounces, so you don't have to stop as many times. That or when when you do stop, you can sit there longer. So that's right, you know. Yeah, I mean the finish is smooth, very nice, very crisp, clear. Yeah, nothing, nothing wrong with this. No, I think this is a really good example of a blonde ale. I mean, you could I could see myself drinking a couple of these. Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, the I could even see buying a few.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, yeah, this one I think like you said, you could definitely go and buy a four-pack of it or whatever, yeah, and not feel bad. You know, this is pretty good. Yeah, I mean, sitting right there at the brewery, too, I'm sure, having them right on tap. Yeah, yeah, I guess. I want to go first. Yeah, all right. And this one, I'm gonna go with 2.5. All right. I know that's average, but I think it's a really good example of a blonde ale. And it does have a little bit of flavor to it. And like you said, I think ice cold on a hot day, sitting in like a garage beer, lawnmower beer, whatever you want to call it, I think it'd be a good one. So, yeah, I like this. Well, and just to be clear, listeners, that was not Mike's average. That would be my average of 2.5. His average is closer to three, so I just want to make sure I point that out for everybody. Thank you. Now, I would go an average, I would say the 2.5 would be right right in the wheelhouse, a good number. Okay. Uh very good, very smooth, very I mean, no bad aftertaste, very good representation, very good collaboration. I mean, it's actually got everything tied together, working for it. So very good beer. Kudos. I would recommend highly recommend that one.
SPEAKER_01Yes, John.
SPEAKER_00What do you think?
SPEAKER_01I probably I'll not put it, you know, go like to say it too for nice because I think, like you say, yeah, definitely like it a little better than the last one, even though they were that one was okay. But yeah, I would definitely buy it if I saw it.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Now, at this time I should warn John. John, Jim doesn't like duplicates. So if you give another gonna give another beer one of those two scores, he's gonna go crazy. So just letting you just warning you. So far after two, I'm saying I'm thinking down the line just to give you a little heads up.
Oshkosh Brewing History & Taproom Vibe
SPEAKER_00So uh here's a couple of interesting things I found doing some research where it talked about that's where the original brewery was at is on the campus of uh was University of Wisconsin, Oshgar. Really? So I think that's why I don't think it's actually there now. Right. And you weren't on the college campus, were you?
SPEAKER_01Not that I know, but it was it was a little late that one night.
SPEAKER_00And it looks like after 25 years, he brewed his last batch, the the German immigrant, in 1882. Oh wow, was the original original brewer master, that was his last batch. And the two guys that started up, Ian Wegner and Zach Clark, they were going to school at Oshkosh, and they they started doing their own home brewing. And it was kind of within a couple of blocks of where that original brewery was at. Okay. And they kind of started doing it together, got their heads together, and now I mean, so far, I mean, they're doing some pretty good beer. I mean, yeah, I mean, good quality. I mean, I was like very, very impressed so far, John. So you hit yeah, you get a you know, there's been other breweries, Jim, that we've been to where you can tell, and now this is only two beers in, so I shouldn't, you know, but we've been to somewhere you can tell they're really brewing for the masses, right? You know, where these first two, I mean, they've had flavor, right? You know, so that's always and that's always been our big thing is you know, we don't be afraid of flavor, you know. So so yeah, this is pretty cool. I mean, they're they're doing a pretty good job so far on the first two. Yeah, now what do we got coming next? Well, the next one we have is their, I hope I'm saying it right, Nordheim, I believe. It's a red ale, and it's 5.2 percent ABV and 18 IBUs. So it's either gonna be super hoppy or nice.
Tasting 3: Nordheim Red Ale
SPEAKER_00Yes. That's the one thing that we've learned that sometimes those IBU numbers are kind of not easy to figure out. So did you have was there anything in tab? They have a short thing on here, okay, lovingly dubbed an Oshkosh Amber. This easy drinking beer is a nod to our city's beer drinkers of years past. So the only other thing it says on here, home to many German immigrants in the late 1800s, the north side of Wal the North Side of Oshkosh was cool c O L L O Q U I A L L Y. That sounds good to me. I don't know what that is. That's a little bit too big of a word to be trying to pronounce it. Way too early in this for our brains to figure that one out. Known as the Nordheim. We brewed this German alt-inspired amber ale as a nod to our brewing compatriots from the past. Oh, okay. So maybe I should have just left what you had and I tried to I went down a road. I was I was pot committed by the time I got to that word. And then all of a sudden you're like, wait a minute. So on the yes, I tell you what, I will give them credit because all their labels are different, yeah, and they're all kind of cool, you know. Alright, so here we go. And that's you know, that's another thing we've always said. The artwork is always, you know, they can can raise their point value sometimes. Sometimes it can. So it definitely is a darker color, yeah. It said it's a red ale, so and it's definitely a like a reddish amber color to it. Even the uh the head is a little bit yeah, there it's not white like the first couple, right? It's almost like a tan kind of color.
SPEAKER_01Kind of the color of your skin after being down there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that would be golden tan.
SPEAKER_01Oh no, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00Of course, everybody that knows me is going, yeah, right. And and he didn't bring any of that heat back with him. No, no, unfortunately. The aroma is not not a lot of aroma, but a little bit more. There's a little bit more. I can't really pick out what it is, but nice flavor, though. Oh, yeah. It's good, a nice amount of a malty flavor. Yeah, you know, but it's not over the top. Yeah, that's that's pretty good. That's that's decent so far. We're three for three. I don't know, Jim. I'm kind of not liking the fact that John's bringing beers that we're not too upset with. Yeah, and this brings back memories of the Shinerbach days. No, this is probably a little better. No, because Mike brought it, and every beer tasted the same. Now, here you bring three beers and they're already all three tasting different. So yeah, good on you, John. You did a good job. Yeah, that is true. I I give you that. The Shinerbach is this is not yeah, yeah, a repeat of that. That is that's decent. I could drink one of those. Yeah, I mean, that's definitely good. Definitely. I mean, and it's just called a red ale, but I mean, it's wow. Yeah, that's good. I could definitely add a couple of those. Well, I mean, there's no the finish is smooth, there's no bad aftertaste. No, this is this is good. Yeah, I have no complaints. No, I mean surprisingly really good. Yeah. Do you do you want to start the scoring jam? Yeah, but I sure can. I think for me by far, of the three I've had, this is for me the best tasting. So I'm gonna definitely say like a 2.7. I like this beer. I mean, I'm the flavor's good, but it's not like over the top flavor, but it's it's there, it's telling you it's different and distinct than the first two. Yep. So all three have been ales, but each one has been very unique in their flavor, which is which is good. Um, and I appreciate that. I like it. I if nobody if you haven't had a red ale before, I would highly recommend you trying it. It's really good. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. John, what do you think? Well, I think, yeah, definitely. I would even get up to it maybe a 2.6 on this one. Whoa. I think it's very tasty. Slow down. Slow down. You don't want to pull a hammy. I know. Is my host from last weekend maybe coming over in two weeks. I could possibly have them bring some or see where distribution was throughout the state. Yep. You know, that is very tasty.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you guys. I right now of the three, this this one I like the best so far. I'm gonna go, I'm going to two eight. Honestly, I think that wow. Yeah, I think that this is really a good flavor to it. And I, Jim, like you said, I could drink a couple of cans of that. I mean, that's really that's good. Yeah, you know. So I'm impressed. So, John, could you enlighten us? I know that you said you went over to Oshkosh to the brewery, but what was your ultimate reason why you were going to Oshkosh?
Ice Fishing Trip That Wasn’t
SPEAKER_01Oh, the original intent was for the Battle of the Bago ice stitching tournament, which was billed as the largest one in the U.S. Nice. But due to ice conditions, of course, we were not able to fish. Okay. But the hosts are the clubs still put on the gave away the prizes and such and did everything except for ice fishing, of course.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. So have you been to one of these before, or is this your first time?
SPEAKER_01This was our initial venture over there and stayed right at our host, Chris and Jody's place. Okay. And now that I think about it, I they picked up their gear the night we were in the fifth ward for they have a similar to the beer shop, a mud club or whatever. Okay. Yep. They're getting their shirts, and each month they get a free pour of the beer of the month or whatever, you know. Oh, okay. So much off. So no, very nice. And that's one of their go-to places.
SPEAKER_00Okay, cool. Well, I mean, if the beer tastes like this, I can see why. I mean, yeah, this is really, really good. Yeah, this is we'll have to plan a trip over that way sometime, Jim. Yeah. And check it out because that's kind of a neat thing. Speaking of trip. Oh, gee, I thought you forgot all about those things. Oh, I had just happened to come up with some questions. He let us get three beers in before he drops the hammer on me. So, as John, in case you didn't know, I
Beer Trivia Round One
SPEAKER_00try to keep Mike on his toes because he is up on a lot of beer stuff.
SPEAKER_01Should be after 6100 or so.
SPEAKER_00Right. You would think, right? You would think, but boy, you could be sadly more, but you can be sadly mistaken. So I'm gonna start with an easy question first. So I'll ask the question. I knew you're probably gonna know the answer right away. Don't blurt it out. We'll let the listeners think on it a little bit. Did you did you put the answers in his packet information? I don't have one. He doesn't have one. Oh wing of it. Oh, nice. Okay. So the first question of the episode. Easy. I mean, uh, this is like the slow pitch softball lobby it in there, so Mike did a home run right off the bat. Which brewery is considered the first commercial brewery in Wisconsin, and in what year was it opened? First brewery. So the reason why I say commercial, so it wasn't in somebody's house. Right, right. It was, yeah. Actually brewed somewhere. Man, because I know what the oldest brewery is. But the first. First brewery. First yeah, that's what I'm saying. You know, I know the oldest one for sure, but I don't know. This would be this would be that one. Oh. Well, isn't the oldest one is Linenkool's, isn't it? Nope, not even. Not even close. That was part of their sales pitch, was that they're like the oldest brewery in Wisconsin. So, John, what do you think is the oldest?
SPEAKER_01Well, I would have went with Paps because I watched some of the history channels. You watch the history channels, and they have the beers that won America and stuff like that. Oh no. Oh, it's a heat. Or made America. I mean, you know.
SPEAKER_00They have a show called such. Are you serious? Serious? I had never even heard of those. They talked of the those those shows.
SPEAKER_01And I well, it's on the history channel. On the history channel, I have to look that up. Yeah, they talked about PAPS. They talked about Anheuser Busch and all of those, you know, different things.
SPEAKER_00Those those brands that shall not be named. Oh so it's it's Paps? So the so that's the actual brewery that's been in uh one of the first ones that's still in existence. Sure. But the first one was called Owen's Brewing that was opened in 1840. Oh wow. Owens Brewing. So it was at his house to start with. And then he moved it. Then he moved it because it was tasting so good. Kind of probably like these guys. Yeah. They got it, they had something good. They want to make sure everybody could enjoy it. That's interesting. Because, like you said, you know, then that place could have been around for however long, right? And then went away, you know. Right. Or bought out by somebody and changed names. Yep, exactly. All right. So are we ready for so that was an easy question? This one is now this one, Jim. I'll probably have you read it because when I looked on untapped, there's two different ones that have almost the same name from them, slightly different, and I'm not sure which which it is. Is there anything on the can? Oh, is it say
Tasting 4: OJ Hive Mind Blonde With Orange
SPEAKER_00okay? I've got it. Okay. Oh, I think it's the OJ Hive Mind. Yep, with orange zest. Yeah, okay, because there's they had a Hive Mind and then this OJ Hive Mind. So I wasn't sure which one it was. It's uh a blonde ale, blonde slash golden ale, 5.3% and 18 IBUs. Okay. And on untapped it says blonde ale conditioned on orange zest, part of a balanced breakfast. So now you wonder, is it gonna be you know how that orange peel is kind of bitter? You know, you just kind of wonder how is it gonna be how it'll be and is it gonna be orange in color? It looks like beer. Yeah, it's kind of like a beer, yeah, like a beer. But the outside of the can looks like a honey, yeah, like a beehive. I was expecting it to be some sort of honey, and refresh the listeners how they how much do you like honey? Well, if it's like a mead, I really like it. If it's normal honey beer, not so much. Usually has usually has a weird taste to me for some reason. Oh, let me look at the mic. Does it say any more on there? Okay, here we go. A little bit. Real Wisconsin honey and fresh orange zest are layered in virtual equilibrium. Oh, another big word. Yeah, yeah. The lean and light base beer lends a delicious and crisp stage for the honey and orange aromatics to shine bright. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yeah. We thought so too. Okay, good. So I was trying to make sure I read that all correctly because there were some big words in there again. Boy, I get a little bit of an orange smell, uh, the aroma. Just a hint. Yeah, not over the top. No, I don't get much orange. I was expecting a lot more orange zest from the smell of your tape. Yeah, yep. That's that was what I was waiting to hear because I'm like, man, I don't really get a little bit on the finish. Like with the aftertaste, I get a little bit of an orange kind of flavor, but not as much as I was expecting more. I mean, it's there's not a lot of flavor to it. No. I thought there'd be even more flavor, but I don't know if the honey and the orange zest are canceling each other out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's not a bad, you know. I mean, it's but not a lot of flavor, like you say, comparative to the other ones. Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, um I will say I'm not getting as strong like that, whatever that honey flavor that I don't like. I'm not really getting a lot of that either. So you're it could be, Jim, that you know, you guys could be right that it somehow canceled a little bit out or something. Yeah, I mean it's it's not uh it does not taste bad.
SPEAKER_01I guess I was going to drink it if we I'm not gonna go buy it, but I would definitely drink it. Oh, for sure. It's not uh juice like you say, or anything, you know.
SPEAKER_00Just I mean, the flavors kind of intrigue me, so that's why I kind of thought it'd have a little bit more flavor to it. Yeah. And in the write-up, you know, talking about the the orange zest and balanced breakfast and all that, I was I was expecting it to really be a stronger orange kind of flavor. But I mean, it is a blonde ale. I mean, you can see through it. I mean, it's it hits all the check boxes for oh yeah being a blonde ale. Yep, but the flavors, I guess, just a little bit lower than what I was expecting. Nothing bad, but just a little lower. Right, yep, I agree. John, what uh if you want to lead us off on the scoring on this one, okay.
SPEAKER_01It's not that I don't like it, but I would rate it below the last two, especially. Yep. I think I started out with a hoppy one kind of lower than I could put this at a 2-1 or something, say. Okay. I mean, it's still good beer. Yes. But uh the other ones I did like better, the last two.
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah, I agree with you. And it's that's the hard part because I'm going because I I'm not trying to knock it for the honey at all, or even really the orange, but again, flavor is important, and it is I just think it's it's there, but not as much as I was expecting. Very strong.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I light hint.
SPEAKER_00Yes, exactly. So I'm gonna go like a 2.3, and again, I know it's the lowest one that I rated, but you could drink it. Oh, sure, you know, and just that I I wish it had a little more flavor, kind of like the other ones did. Right. Yeah, and I think the only thing, so like after my last drink, my tongue had a little bit of like a aftertaste on it that I could taste like I don't know if it was the orange zest or the honey, because it very muted, but there was just a little bit on my tongue, which if I if I was blindfolded, I think we talked about this once before. If somebody had this either I was blindfolded or he had the name covered up, I couldn't tell what the flavors were because they're so muted, you know. And and sometimes you want to have that stick out a little bit just so you know what it is. But I mean, you don't have to be afraid of this one, there's not anything to be afraid of. I just don't think the flavors came through like I expected. So I'm gonna say a 2.2, not a bad thing, it just wasn't as pronounced as I kind of expected. Yep, I agree with you. So then, John, I know you were over there. What are the for the listeners out there, if you were gonna be fishing at that tournament, what are the kinds of fish that that are out there? I mean, because I don't each lake has a prime fish you go for. What would be the fish you'd be trying to catch?
SPEAKER_01Well, over there, it's mainly their walleye, of course, and their perch, okay, crappie and white bass, I believe. Nice. So that's it's a huge lake, of course. So Right. So have you been over there fishing, not ice fishing, but regular fishing? No, I have not. But I have been invited back for the summer. Nice. Christian Jody live right there on the lake and have their pontoon. They walk out the back door and get on and go. So I think that may be in the cards. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Now this this ice fishing crew you said there was like thousands of people. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01They gave away trucks and stuff like that. Wow. That's a big deal then. Yeah. And it doesn't go by heaviest fish, it goes by whenever you register fish. So I could catch a say an eight-inch perch, and I may beat the 10-pound walleye. It's just whenever you register, and that's how your prize is accordingly.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So that's an interesting way to do it. Right, right. You know, so everybody has a shot, you know. Really? Yeah. So yeah, that's cool. Probably reduces the chance of people trying to add weights to their fish or do something a little unfated. We don't want to get into that.
SPEAKER_01Uh it's it said specifically if you win a truck, you will take a lie detector test. Oh, that's right in the rules. So this is understandable. Understandable, yes. There you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. So are Mike, are you ready for another easy question? You bet. John, I know this is gonna be an easy one for you, too, so don't blurt out the answers. Yes, please, John, don't blurt out the answers.
Beer Trivia Round Two
SPEAKER_00I wonder for Mike's feelings. I know. So here we go. Question number two Of the ten oldest breweries in the United States, five come from Wisconsin. Which breweries and when were they founded? Yeah, like I'm gonna know when they were founded. Well, Linese has to be in there. All right, so what number is that? It's probably now these are ones that are still in existence. Of the five you're saying, or you mean of the ten. Of the top ten, five are from Wisconsin. Yeah, so Line and Kugels is number 10. Okay, that's number 10. Yeah, okay. In 18, wasn't it like 1870 something or 1850 something something? Not close. 1867. Founded 1844. Okay. So now you got the two bookends. You got the oldest. Yep. So what are the other three in between? Is Miller? Miller's right in the middle. Okay. From Milwaukee. That's 1855. So you got two left. Man, I'm running out of one of these you should know, and one of these you won't know. One I should know. And you've been there numerous times. Sand Creek? No. The building's been there since 18 something. Point brewing? Yes. Okay, because yeah, they were 18. 57. Yep. There we go. Alright, so one left. And if you said I'm probably not gonna know it. I didn't even know this one until I looked it up. I had I'd never even heard of it. Okay, what is it? Minhas craft brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin. Oh, okay. 1845. I think we've had a beer from there before. Not many, but I think we've had I had never even heard of that one before. I thought it was only New Glaris, you know, but New Glaris, Monroe, their close area, but but this was not New Glaris, and this is now branched off into distilling and all kinds of other spirits and things. Wow. So it's quite when I looked it up, I was like, quite a lot of different things they do think. Yeah, that's crazy. That many that are still in existence. I mean that's pretty wild. So that's good. Yeah, good for Wisconsin. See, there you go. That's why we're known as you know, we drink. Yeah. All right. So you're ready for the next one. Yes. I looked it up on Untapped, and there was not a single word of a description. Nothing. No. Let me see if I found another one. I don't know if you found anything. This is the oatmeal. It's stout with oatmeal.
Tasting 5: Oatmeal Stout
SPEAKER_00Stout with oatmeal. There we go. Yeah. No, I don't have you have nothing on it. No, I'm gonna let me look again because I found where it said stout with oatmeal, and there's nothing. And then they also have just stout called with you know it's a stout oatmeal. That one has something. Okay. Now is it 5.8%? Yes, it is. All right, we'll do and 10 IBUs. Okay. It says it says, drink up, comrades. This stout is for the people. A utilitarian no-frills beer that will keep you satisfied. Pours a midnight black with a dark tan head. Drinks exceptionally smooth. Nice. Well, and what's weird on the can, too? The only thing it says is enjoy stout. There's no of all their labels. That one there is like pretty plain. Yeah, honestly. This has the least amount of things going on. Yeah, that's kind of crazy, dude. Because I mean the rest of them. Oh well, they still got that going. Where's the boss? Yeah, I'll tell you, he's going, what is going on? His ears are freaking up. All right. So here we go. Exactly. Oh, look at that. Yeah. Yeah, that thing is dark. It's dark. It should be interesting to see because we've had you know just oatmeal stouts before, you know, and and some of them have been very good. Some are, you know, but we'll see if the you know, if it looks it's looking the part anyway, you know, definitely dark with that tannish head, aroma-wise. Yeah, the tan head. You get a little aroma.
SPEAKER_01Tan head, kind of like Mike from the sunburn.
SPEAKER_00Tan burn from the sunburn. From the sunburn until I peel, guys, and then I go right back to as white as your shirt. I don't smell, there's not much of aroma. No. That's not bad. No, it's got the little sweetness to it. This would be like a stout, a new person could definitely try it. Yes. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Where where it's not super strong, like that roasted, burnt flavor. You get a little bit of it, but it's not on the finish mainly for me. Yes, on the finish. The very first initial drink left on your tongue afterwards, Sherry. Yep. Yep. It's not bad. I mean, it's I mean, from the stout that we've had in the past that are super strong, very I mean, they reach right out and grab it. This is more laid back. Yes. Yeah. And maybe it's because it's the oatmeal stout rather than you know the Imperial stout or bourbon barrel imperial stout. Oh, yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You can tell this is not aged and bourbon at all. But but like I said, I think a person that's never had a stout, they could try this one. Sure. You know, definitely. It was what 5.8%, I believe. So it's it's not over the top. You know, for strength or anything either. It's it's a decent example. Yeah. I mean, this definitely nothing I I can't pick out anything that's bad about it. So you don't get on score. Boy, I'll go a 2.6. I don't mind that. Like I said, it's it would be a nice, decent stout if you're just kind of looking for a dark beer that's not you know real high ABV and just kind of a mellow flavor. And I I I think that fits the bill. Yeah, I mean, I think I'm right in it with you on your score, Mike. I mean, it's there's nothing that's scary about it. I mean, because you always are wondering what kind of flavors this stout can have. Is it gonna be milk stout, oatmeal stout, regular stout? But this one, I think for the new craft beer drinker, I'd recommend this one to try it as a stout. This probably I wonder what this would taste like in a bourbon barrel. Yeah, that'd be interesting. So I I gave it a 2.6 as well. I think really good. I like it.
SPEAKER_01So since I can't repeat, I'm just gonna go with a two three. I gotta leave myself some room for the next few. Like you say, it's very drinkable, of course, and nothing overpowering to it, you know. So compared to to some of uh other oatmeals I've had. Like I mean, they weren't overpowering, like Sand Creek's Oscar's Oscar stuff, which is I think a nice one. Right.
SPEAKER_00Myself, you know. So yeah, that just brings up the memory. You know, what would this taste like on nitro? Right. That too. You know, because Oscar's is really smooth at the brewery on nitro. Yep, really good. I know we've said this before, ladies and gentlemen. If you've never tried a stout on nitro, you really need to try because it totally changes the flavor, the flavor, the feel, you know, the mouthfeel. It's crazy. It's amazing. It really does do a number. You know, one is like, wow, all right. Are we ready for the next one? Yep. So now we have sweet heat junior fruit nanny. Yeah. Do you have anything else? I do on on untapped. It says fruit nanny based beer was blended with a whole bunch of pineapple puree and fresh jalapeno for a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and peppery. There isn't much heat, but it's got great pepper and pineapple flavor. Just a small batch, so get down and try it today. Nice. And it's six percent ABV and five IBUs. Nice. Yeah, that's there does nothing else additional on the can. Okay, so that's good, you know. All right, and you know how I like peppers, right? Yes. In my beer. Yep. I think you had to finish one for me. Yes, I have. Wasn't that a ghost pepper? Yes, that one was. That one was a little bit steamy for me. Well, and I don't know, Jim, if you saw, but you know, in our purchasing of beers through the Barrel Society at Three Sheeps, we do have two cans. It's called hot honey, and that has one, whatever kind of pepper. There's two peppers. One is some other pepper and ghost peppers. So I was just gonna give you a warning on that. So I have to get an O-ringless and little. Yeah, there is a little bit of pineapple that you kind of smell. I can get some pepper. Oh, yeah. Not a I definitely taste the pineapple, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but it's like you say, uh sweet heat. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like it says, that's kind of impressive. It's not bad. No. I mean, you get the the first initial flavor I get is the pineapple, and then on the when you swallow it, I get that little bit of heat that you were talking about. That's that's pretty wild. That's not bad. No, definitely wouldn't throw it out. I mean, I drink I drink it. It's not it's just unique, you don't
Tasting 6: Sweet Heat Junior Fruited Sour
SPEAKER_00always get those flavors together, right? So it's getting your taste buds accustomed to that pineapple and pepper together. Yeah, yeah, it's that is definitely unique. Unique, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but unique in a good way.
SPEAKER_00In a good way, yes. You know, it's one of those, would you want to buy like a four-pack of it and like slam them? No. I think that flavor eventually you're gonna get kind of wore out.
SPEAKER_01But like you say, one or two to start, maybe that's it, about it, you know. Yeah, because it is sweet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right. But you share like this pint can, you share it with like three people. Right. That's it's really interesting. And of course, the the label on the can looks like the outside of a pineapple. Right. So that's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01Well, and John, what would you think if you used this like as a marinade for like a chicken or you could put the semen on your yeah, your chicken, like you say, or maybe on some some type of uh brat that has they have the various types. Pipes, you know, or there's a fruit in some of them, which is wrong anyway. But anyway.
SPEAKER_00But this might be a good it's a marinade something. Yeah. With that the pepper and the little spice, a little sweetness. Almost you could almost like mix it with something and almost inject it into inject the venom. Your hand. Eject the venom. Yeah. Anything, yeah. No, this is I like this. This is actually really good. All right. So who is the am I the am I the victim? I think you go first, yeah. I'm the first victim. All right. So I like it. I mean, it's not anything that I would pour down the drain. It's just a unique flavor that you have to get used to. It's going to catch you off guard because I mean it does a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of pepper, but both are not over the top. Right. So I I guess the main thing is don't be afraid of trying this beer because it says it has it's got peppers in it. So I guess for me, I didn't I'm gonna go like a 2.3. I definitely like it. I just don't know if it's right, it's not right in my wheelhouse for flavors. So that's kind of why it's a little bit lower for me. Okay, John?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would say kind of in that same range. I don't know if I've used that yet, a 2.3.
SPEAKER_00You got a 2.2 open? Sure.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Because, like you say, there's a few of them that I like better, of course, but I would still I would drink this if I had a can in front of me. Yep. You know, for sure. All right, and Mike?
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna like make Jim's head explode because I'm gonna go a 2-7. Ooh, I wow, I think that it's got a really nice balance between that sweetness from the pineapple and the but in I I do like peppers in in beer, and I like you know, hot sauce and that kind of stuff. I I think it's really good, you know, and it gives that that, like I said, that balance between the sweet and the the pepper heat, and there's not a lot of heat, so you know, really anybody could try it for sure. But yeah, that's it's one of those that's so unique that it's kind of kind of interesting. Now we're we're getting down to our last three beers. Okay, so we got just a couple questions left, a couple easy ones. I mean, this this should again be a little. I'm probably I shouldn't even be given such easy questions, but I'm kind of that way. I like to give the easy questions so that Mike gets a fair shot. Yep. Right. So this question is which Wisconsin City was once home to four large breweries, and what were their names? Names of the breweries. Once four large breweries all at the same time. Yep. Is it Milwaukee? Is that your guess? That's my guess. All right, John, what do you what's your guess? I would have guessed that. Okay, you're right, you're correct. Okay. No, all right, John, name the breweries. I have thought you got it right.
SPEAKER_01Paps, Miller, slitz, maybe. Yep.
SPEAKER_00One left. Are they all four still in existence? I did not look. Okay. Like I don't even know. Slitz is names that we should know about. Yes. Like Slitz. I don't think they are. I don't know. I think somebody's probably making it, but the brewery's probably not there. Yeah, but it's names that we would have heard. Yes, yes. Okay. The last name you've definitely heard. Okay. So Pabst. Close, very close. Might be able to guess. So you got Pabst, Miller, Schlitz. What was the one that Laverne and Shirley worked at?
SPEAKER_01Is that one? I wrote that one.
SPEAKER_00Something like that. What's the other one going to be? Starts to be Blats. Blats is it? Really? John, you got them all right, so I give you full credit. I didn't realize that Blats was.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. It's funny. It was still good to drink, though, too. When it's cold.
SPEAKER_00It's got to be ice. I think our neighbor across the street actually still drinks that. Really? I don't know how he finds it, but he seeks it out to get the blats. Wow. That's crazy. That's nice.
SPEAKER_01The one there in on Alaska, that tap house I thought had blats on. Oh, okay. Really? Well, I've seen like cold, it's it's good. Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've seen places that have hams on tapping. Yeah. That's we I think we've had that somewhere. I had never had it. And I tried it there, and it was not the coldest, you know. And it was just like, that's not very good, you know.
SPEAKER_01Did we, John? Didn't we at the Hayward Steakhouse? Oh, where those lines are chilled. Yes. It was very cold.
SPEAKER_00That's what it was. I knew because I was like, man, that tastes really good. Sure. Yeah. Another one that it's got to be very cold. Yeah. All right. So what do we got now? Okay. The next one we have is Coconut Foolin. And this is a porter, six percent. And what's in it? Uh coconut. There you go. And porter, I think. And porter. Okay. So the description says we done fooled around again. This time with a boatload of toasted coconut. Dark, robust, and full of silky, smooth coconut goodness. So like a boatload, like a yacht boat? I think that it could be. It could be good. Those are technical terms. All right. Well, the can has definitely got a different thing. Yeah. It's not. What are oh there we go. Is that the polka dots? It's got, yeah. I was gonna say, I think it's just is brown with white polka dots, isn't it? I think so. I don't see any, I think it's just yeah, dots. It doesn't look, you know what I mean? It doesn't look like it's trying to be coconuts or anything. Yeah, I don't think it's a coconut. Yeah, I don't know why. How a polka dot yeah, how that ties into coconut? Only thing I can think of is that you know, the outside of the coconut is brown and then the inside is white. That's the only thing I can guess. So because it is a brown label, yeah, but these polka dots just kind of have me intrigued. I don't know, I don't know the connection for polka dots. Right. Right. And I the other thing you notice that all the cans, the actual base of the can is black. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the can itself is black, and then they have the super dark black wrap around the black
Beer Trivia On Milwaukee’s Big Four
SPEAKER_00super dark black. Yep. So yeah, this is the coconut, and I'm kind of excited to try this. Yes, we've got some very good coconut porters, and then we had some we've had that are not very good coconut porters, like there's no coconut in it at all, right?
SPEAKER_01I can smell it, you can smell, sure. They can smell they got coconut in there.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. That's I like that. That is not bad. No, that's there. Wow, that is good. That has that little bit of sweetness, you know what I mean, and that's good. And I and I know like Toby does not like coconut, right? And I don't remember beer for us. Because this is really that's why I like this guy. He knows how to but this is I think for in Toby's defense, he doesn't like the words over the top, right? Like this, I think he would not. This was pretty good. I mean, this is a good balance. Yeah, this really sweet. I mean, it almost brings a sweetness to it. Yeah, yeah. This is very tasty, very enjoyable. Like you said, I think there's a new leader in the clubhouse. Yeah, my my first you it's your show. You can be first. I'm going 3.1. I I really like this. I think I could drink a can of that easy. And that like you're right, Jim. The coconut is not over the top. You know, it's very you can taste it, right? But it's not, yes, you know it's there. It's got a little hint of a sweetness with it, very good. And you don't really get that. Well, like I said, on the the stout, you know, where it had that roasted flavor. You really don't get that per se on this one. I think it works really well. I like it. For sure. I mean, for me, of the ones we we've tried today, this is definitely my best tasting one today. And I like that coconut because and I don't I wish I was a brewmaster to know the challenges of using coconut in your beer. Because I mean, you we've seen this the whole spectrum of good, bad. I mean, this is definitely on the very good end of coconut flavor. So, whatever they're doing, I mean, again, I think this would go good in a barrel, bourbon barrel age. That would be interesting. You know, I think this would be like right in our wheelhouse for something like that each for 24, 36 months. Yeah, yeah. I'm just dreaming about that. And I think I'm actually gonna say a 3.2. I like it. I like this beer. I like it. I think he might have blacked out there for a second. Yeah, yeah. I was dreaming. I was rooting.
SPEAKER_01He didn't know about getting home in that three.
SPEAKER_00So, John, what did you think of this, man?
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's yeah, by far the number one so far. We still have what one or two left, but this one is yeah, definitely. I I'm gonna get in line with you guys and maybe go right all the way up to a three. Nice, nice you know. I definitely think it's uh above the rest, you know. So, what'd you think of the coconut? Coconut's very well balanced, like you say, now and I like coconut though. Oh so right in your wheelhouse, yeah. But it's not overly sweet or anything, and very nice flavor. I mean you picked it picked a good one again. I mean, you've done so far, all of these have we've been good. Yeah, you never know sometimes. We don't have any scheinerbach.
SPEAKER_00No, because we've been to breweries before, Jim, haven't we, where the majority of the beers are not very good, you know. And these I can't you can't say that at all. I mean, I think the last one we did, the skeleton crew one, was really good. Really good. This is like falling right in line. I mean, so I mean, kudos to the brewmasters for not being afraid to put flavor in the beer. Exactly. All right, so what do we got? We've got two beers left beers left. So this one eagerly waiting. That last one though. This one here is no. I I right off the bat, I like the name of this one. This is Buffalo Mike Rides Again. Oh, yeah. Related to you? Hopefully, it possibly, I don't know. Hopefully, it lives up to the name. Yes, this is a rye beer 6.6 percent ABV, 26 IBUs, and their description says the Society of Oshkosh Brewers, or SOBs, if you prefer, was formed in 1991 by a dedicated crew of home brewers eager to spread the word about good beer. The SOBs built upon Oshkosh as long Oshkosh's long tradition of beer making to become
Tasting 7: Coconut Foolin Porter
SPEAKER_00one of the first home brewing clubs in Wisconsin, led by long-term, long time president Buffalo Mike Ingall. Their motto still rings true after 30 years. Anyone who brews their own beer is a real SOB. So they really didn't talk about the beer at all. So here it even gives their motto. Okay. So their motto still rings true. Anyone who brews their own beer is a real SOB. So, John, you noticed that Jim wasn't paying attention to what I was saying, right?
SPEAKER_01No, no. Yeah, but luckily they didn't. Oh, did you say that? Yeah, oh, I didn't even luckily they didn't say anybody that drinks a lot of it. Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_00Well, some of us are probably thought of like that anyway. Yeah. All right. So this is a rye beer.
SPEAKER_01So I'm assuming then this might be a little peppery. And then if you had some rye beers in the past, uh we've had some rye beers.
SPEAKER_00I'm sure we've probably had a rye beer or two before. But it'll be interesting to see. Not many. Right. So this would be a good dark, dark in color. I mean, that's very sensed to buffalo. Trying to aroma-wise, I'm not really picking up huge amount of aroma. So then the buffalo is not related to like buffalo trace or buffalo. It's just a nickname of the gentleman of the guy that was the president of the club. Yeah. But it's got a nice for artwork, this has probably got the best cowboy on a horse in the sunset. Looks like it's in the the west somewhere because there's like I see a coyote and some cactus on there. So it's not from our own Wisconsin. No.
SPEAKER_01Not an over by my place. No.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it could have been except for the the the cactus. Yeah, the cactus. Yeah, because actually we could take one over and plant it for you. It might not last very long. It ain't gonna last long, but it could be there. Maybe one summer. Yeah, that's kind of a unique flavor. That's more peppery than I thought, isn't it? Is that pepper odd I'm tasting or not? It's something. I mean, that's definitely uh but it's nothing that I don't think is too forward. No. No, it's just unique. It's like picking out it's like some. I don't know if I'd ever had that flavor from a beer. Right. I mean, we had rye, but the rye has not been that pronounced, maybe. But I don't I'm not a good, I'm not a good maybe connoisseurs or like how do you make rye or because rye to me is something that's like a wheat that's grown right that I could grow. Is that how they come up with that flavor? Oh, I'm sure I'm guess I would guess, you know, because like rye bourbon, rye whiskeys and things like that, they have a little bit of a peppery to them. This one, I don't really get pepper, but it's got a unique flavor, right? Which kudos to them, it's a a flavor, they're stepping outside of a comfort zone. Oh, yeah. I mean, they're not they're not willing to just stay boxed in with just you know for the masses. They want to try something something different, yeah. And and in my opinion, I like that. Oh yeah, I agree. Right. You don't always have to. I'd rather you stick with your flavor and just make more brews than try to make one beer that everybody likes. Right. You know, yeah, I guess I think Jim, I think you go first. All right. So is it bad? No. Is it unique? Yes, I would say this is probably the this one and the sweet heat have probably been the most unique flavors that I've had in a long time. Right. And on the podcast, I don't know if I can say that I've ever had two flavors like that on the same podcast. So I I mean to me, I like that because that's kind of you know why Mike you wanted to do this podcast is to tell people about different flavors of beer. Right. And this hits the nail right on the head. Would I recommend this one to a new craft beer drinker? I don't know if I would do that only because it's a different unique flavor. And I would hate you to try this beer first and then get turned off. So maybe not trying it first. If you tried one of these first three that we had and then tried like we're doing, I mean, I think you'd be right in there. Score-wise, struggling. Because I don't because it's like I said, it's not bad, but it's I don't know if it's the best one we've had. I I think we've had a couple other ones that have been tasted better to me. I'm gonna have to say a 2.1, and not because it's bad. Not I mean, I guess for me, my only reason why I've got it at that point is because I'm not accustomed to that flavor. I just don't know what that, you know, the rye and the pepperish type flavor to me. But um, I I can't I wish I could describe it better. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, and if like you say, unique that way. Or would it rank it probably in the fourths or fifths, you know, from the top in the coconut and that one amber type red ale? I might. Yep. I don't know. I know I kind of packed myself into a hole maybe here, but you got 2.5 or 2.3.
SPEAKER_00Let's do a 2.3 then. All right.
SPEAKER_01So did you find anything that you liked or disliked about it? Nothing that I really dislike about it. You know, it's just, like you say, different. It's still got a crisp, kind of a clean all of them so far. You know, coconut was probably a little more chocolatey or or thicker than the rest. But otherwise, no, they've all been fairly good as far as not a lot of aftertaste, you know.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yep, all right. Well, you know, you guys are are right because it's a unique flavor and I'd like it. But how do you let everybody else you know what I mean? It's a very unique flavor. Yes, a very unique flavor, man. Can I see my scores? Yep, again. I'm just I know I was struggling too. I mean, yeah, I'm like because either I gotta go okay. We can move, we can s shift some around too. No, I'll do okay. Yeah, move my the honey one to a 2.2, and I'm gonna put this at a 2.3. I do like it, but it's there's we've had those beers that are really unique that are like wow, I don't know what it is, you know what I mean. And this one is unique, but and the flavor, I I like the flavor, but there's just something it's hard to describe, yeah. You know, and I and you're right, you guys. I don't I think a new person they might be like, I don't know about that, you know. Right. So yeah, I but I had to I should give it more because the name. I mean, if you got mic open, it's gotta be good.
SPEAKER_01That's why I deducted it of the tensor. So put it away. Dang it. Good point, good point. That goes without saying. That totally backfired on me there. Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_00All right, so last question of the day. So we have one more beer left, and this ties back into the last question where we talked about the big four breweries, right? Yep. Which were Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, and Blast. Okay, so during prohibition, the big four breweries produced which items so they could stay in business, you know, because a lot of breweries went out of business because they couldn't adjust by not doing alcohol. So there were three big things that those breweries in Milwaukee switched their lines during during prohibition. During prohibition, so they could keep the people employed and keep doing stuff. Soda pops. Close, but no. No, huh? John, you have a guess? When I tell you, it's not hand sanitizer, like that was COVID. When I tell you these three, you guys should be like, oh, okay. They're easy ones, you guys shouldn't. And they're like Wisconsin staples, too.
SPEAKER_01Like a milk, you mean like a pasteurization type or something?
SPEAKER_00Well, you're on the right track. You're just step a little bit farther down the road. Cheese. There's one. Oh, oh yeah. They make cheese. All right. Brats. No. Oh, dang. No, no meaty stuff. No meaty stuff. Okay, so cheese. No. Uh close. You're very you're on the right track. Margarine. How about ice cream? Okay. Oh. And how about chocolate drinks? Like the last one we're gonna do for today. Interesting. So those three things are what they lines up. That's wild because you never hear about that from breweries. No, you know, you hear it about on this podcast because I dig up the information for it. Exactly. But you know, because like distilleries, you know, some of them were medicinal,
Tasting 8: Buffalo Mike Rye Beer
SPEAKER_00right? You know, and were able to stay going. But you never I've never heard anybody talk about what the breweries did, you know, during prohibitions. That's why it's so educational to listen to our podcast. Yeah, we educate and entertain. Right. We do our best. See John survived.
SPEAKER_01That's something I learned today, really. I mean, yeah.
SPEAKER_00What was that? How good Jim's questions are. Yeah, that's it. Well, hey boys, the last year we have, and this one I'm kind of excited to try. Yes. This is pardon the name, chocolate willy. What year? What year? Oh, I don't know. I can't read it from here. The 2025 2025 version. 2025 version. Yes. It's a barley, American barley wine, 10 and a half percent. Yes. So this one stepped it up a little bit. Now here's the description, Jim. All right, let's see. You don't want to pay attention. Yep. A single barrel, aged three point three years, nine months, was selected for its standout character, ranging from Hershey, from Hershey bar to cocoa powder. We then conditioned the beer on Haitian cacao nibs to accentuate notes of fudge and chocolate ganache. See, he can say those big words.
SPEAKER_01I can't say those world traveler, too.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yes. So I think correct me if I'm wrong. There you go. See? Correct me if I'm wrong. Yeah. It sounded like four different unique styles of chocolate. Yeah. So if we don't taste chocolate, there's something wrong. There's gonna be something wrong, right? And Jim is gonna get upset. So I wish the one thing I wish they said was what the what was the barrel? You know, just a single barrel that was three years and nine months, but it didn't say, you know, is it bourbon? That's pretty well right now. Jay would be going, uh Wow. Yeah, that is that is that's dark.
SPEAKER_01There is some definitely no light coming through that, maybe.
SPEAKER_00No, even even the head is dark. I was gonna say, yeah, that there's not a whole lot of head to it, but it's dark. What is that? Oh, you got aroma. Yeah, there's I don't even smell chocolate. That's gotta be bourbon, isn't it? I mean, I smell bourbon. Yeah, it's it's definitely not the choice. Jumping the resident bourbon guy, would you say? I would say so. Wow, that smell it does not smell bad. Oh, the mouthfeel is like that silky. It is, yeah, very silky, oily, whatever you want to say. Viscous. They'll say viscous. And and you know, Mike, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a big barley wine guy. Right. I don't like, but this, I think the chocolate is sweetened up the barley wine enough where it's really not. I will say this. I get way more of a bourbon flavor than I get chocolate. Yes, you know what I mean. It's that's to me, that's the predominant flavor or yeah, flavor is that the bourbon. And again, I wish they said what it was, but but they stepped up the EBV. This is this one. I would not drink a six year old. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01Even a can would be it's sweet enough that I would want to share like we are now. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_00See, that's what I think. But I'm glad you picked this enough. I mean, this yeah, I mean this shows their range. Yes, you know, for what the the spectrum of different beers. This is I'm glad this is at the end. This is really ends this episode on a on a high note for me. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is I think all of their beers have been really good. I mean, I mean, drinkable, let's just say. Yeah, they're all tasted good, I thought.
SPEAKER_00There hasn't been a one that I was like, yeah, I don't want any more of that. No, they've all been really good. I'm surprised. And I think we talked about it before. Like you could put a blindfold on, or you could get, and I think you can come up with most of these you can come up with the flavors. Right. They have enough flavor in it. Why would it be Rochester?
SPEAKER_01We were at you know that what beer thesis. Yep, yep. That had flavor.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yep. And we brought those back. That was a good one. Because that one actually had the uh chicken stuffing or the stuffing. The stove top stuff stuffing kind of. But that was those ones. You know, th those two sours that we had, they were really good, very good. And that kind of impressed us, you know. Oh they were yeah. Wow, that's yes. So my number one beer is the chocolate Willie. I really like that. I like the bourbon flavor. Could it have a touch more chocolate? Yes, I think that would have been I think that might have put it in the four range for me. So that was my that was my favorite. My number two, the coconut pourer. I like that coconut. I mean, because from our experience, we have not found many beers that have had the right balance of coconut. So that that hit it right in the sweet spot. And then I think John hit it. The third one was a red ale. I like that one. That was very surprising. But I think for the overall, for me, I was like very impressed. Their ability to have different flavors for each one of these beers that was unique. They I don't think I had one that overlapped, even the ales at the beginning, the none of the flavors overlap, they were all very distinct. And for me, that was kind of what we've always been talking about. Don't be afraid to make a niche in the craft beer market. Stand out and make come up with a flavor and stick with it. And John, thank you for bringing these back. Because I mean, these are all you you get this one out of the park. Yeah, this is really good tasting. I appreciate you bringing these down. I appreciate tasting them with you guys because I mean this is kind of what craft beer drinking is about is getting some different beers. And I think this for me, we weren't really showcasing one particular style, but for one particular brewery, all their beers are good. And I would highly recommend anybody, if you're in the Oshkosh area, stop by, have one of these, get a point to one of these. I mean, don't be afraid because these are all good, in my opinion. Yeah, it's right. Like I said, I it was uh awesome, honestly. There was not a bad one in the bunch, and I think we were all in in an agreement. The top two were pretty much that coconut porter and the the the barley one, the barrel age one, right? They were up there. And but all of these are just they were very good. Yes, and I'm impressed.
SPEAKER_01Like I said, I have nothing bad to say about fifth war now because I no, and to piggyback on your encouraging people to stop by, I did not have any of these when I was there. I had two different flights of more or less uh fruited sowers and such to try, and they were all good. Nice, so there's something like we said, or you said, for everyone there, you know, and I think so you would definitely recommend somebody stop. Stop there, correct.
SPEAKER_00Oh, definitely. I mean, and I could say this thing, and even though we didn't have all the beers, I mean, we only this is just a is this a third of what they probably had?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's that even, you know, they have when you go build a pack, there's a tier one, two, three, four, you know, plus a few others on the side. So I mean you hit you hit some very good ones on it.
SPEAKER_00So I mean we're gonna have to plan a trip over to try some other ones. Yeah, this is so very good, very good. Thank you very much, John. Thank you so much. And thank you for joining us. Hopefully, we didn't make too uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01This was great. Uh so next time you're just gonna have to study up on the questions.
SPEAKER_00Now you see when I've told you that Jim treats me really bad on here that I'm telling you the truth. No, I just I try to give easy questions, but I hope they were educational too. I hope I mean I try to teach everybody to learn a little bit too. Very much so. Very much so.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, so I don't know. Next question is is the check in the mail, or do I get paid for this, or is this free?
SPEAKER_00Or just oh we won't we won't even charge you for the DM first. Okay, so thank you. We're gonna get you a shirt that has our logo on it, so that's gonna be your endorsement for us. There you go. Oh, I have one. Oh, from the beer markets.
SPEAKER_02Oh, perfect.
SPEAKER_01I'll wear it next time so now the viewers and listeners can see it.
SPEAKER_00So now he doesn't owe us anything, right? So awesome. All right, well, I guess that's
Prohibition Pivots & Final Heavy Pour
SPEAKER_00it. Then well, hey, John, thank you so much for bringing these. Like I said, you know, I think Jim and I talked, we maybe had one or two beers ever from this brewery. Yeah, and these are all super good, and I'm looking forward to that like going over there sometime and checking it out. So awesome, Jim. Thanks a lot. Other other than the questions, of course, but yeah, thank you so much. For I know, exactly. I'm whining, but uh yeah, awesome. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you're ever in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin area, stop by Fifth Ward. You're gonna be happy. There's something there for everybody. Yes, and like I said, I'm just surprised by the vast array of flavors that we had and that they were all good. Yes, very well. So really cool. So, hey, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening. And like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm and your beers are always cold. See ya, see ya. Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beer is cold.
