Scott Walker’s intention to severely limit collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin state employees was the focus of that melee for obvious reasons.  But quietly lurking within his proposed budget repair bill was an attack on hard-working craft brewers:

Tucked into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) much-discussed budget was a little-noticed provision to overhaul the state’s regulation of the beer industry. In a state long associated with beer, the provision will make it much more difficult for the Wisconsin’s burgeoning craft breweries to operate and expand their business by barring them from selling directly to restaurants and liquor stores, and preventing them from selling their own product onsite.

Follow the link to read the entire article:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/10/239780/wisconsin-craft-beer/

Einbock
Stevens Point Brewery. – Stevens Point, WI
6.2% ABV

When a beer claims to be “in the style” of something, it can probably go one of two ways.  It’s either going to be a disappointing spin on something you’d rather have been left alone.  Or it’s going to be an interesting, refreshing spin on something that someone just couldn’t leave alone.  It may come down to your level of beer purity, or simply mood, as to which way you veer in situations like this.  For me, I’d say my ongoing appreciation for beers brewed a little off-style (many from Three Floyds) is leaning me in the latter direction.  Point has managed a similar style-transgression here, and I for one am perfectly okay with that.

“Malty, sweet, and smooth” was exactly how I began my review of Point’s Winter Ale five months ago.  Apparently Point is working on a theme here, because that’s exactly how I need to begin again.  While those elements could certainly be considered typical of a maibock, Einbock follows them up with some surprises.  The mouthfeel gave hint of a slight tingle, hidden within the general smoothness.  Aroma included some subtle fruitiness, working in unison with rich caramel.

The flavor is pleasing, mixing those characters and still leaving some room for bits of spice, herbal hops, and alcohol.  None of which are obvious or overpower.  Comments from the group included “one of my favorites”, and “finally a different-tasting maibock”.

Einbock was a great find, and it seems that Point continues to surprise and delight.  They were never a brewery on my radar, and I’m beginning to wonder why.  I have to admit, I’m eager to try more from this great and apparently overlooked brewery.

Eriq – 8 of 10
Overall – 6.9 of 10

Maibock
Capital Brewery Co. – Middleton, WI
6.2% ABV
Bottle and draft / Seasonal

Capital Maibock is one I look forward to every year, I even use it in chili! Who am I kidding, I look forward to all of them. As similar as they are, I like pretty much all of them. What makes this one stand above the others in this comparo so far? It’s better balanced, or maybe it’s just a memory of the soon to come decent weather. The winters are so long and awful!

True to form the Capital Maibock, pours golden with a white head. The aroma is subtle but you can pick up notes of caramel, yeast and sweetness. The flavor is malty and clean, perfect for warm spring evening outside. There’s not a whole lot of hops going on in this one either, but that’s the nature of bocks in general. I’m ok with that. The finish is relatively quick, left me wanting more.

So, even though Maibock don’t express themselves too much on individuality, the subtleties between them may help your subliminal to help pick out the beer you like better than others, and keep you coming back for more. Me and Mike like this style so much, we brewed 10 gallons of it. And I gotta say, it tastes very similar.

Brittain’s score: 8 of 10
Overall score: 6.7 of 10

MaiBock
Sprecher Brewing Company – Milwaukee, WI
6% ABV
Bottle and draft / Seasonal

Sprecher MaiBock is golden caramel in color while staying fairly clear. In other words, you can see through it, but hold it up to a light and it glows. The creamy white head is average but leaves some lace as you enjoy your glass of springtime refreshment. The aroma was unanimously malty with a note of spicy fruitiness. Very pleasant, I rated it the best smell of the bunch.

True to style this beer has a very strong malt presence. It may have a slightly thin mouthfeel but not so much to ruin the beer. The malty sweetness followed by some caramel is then met by a slightly uncharacteristic hop spice/bitterness. I enjoyed it as my fellow reviewers did, but this was the only beer on the list that scored high on bitterness. The malt train continues to reveal a bit of alcohol, more so than the 6% abv. would lead you to believe. Again not an issue, just surprising. Yeast also has a hand in making this beer great, it provides some fruity spice as the smell alluded to earlier.

In the end Sprecher MaiBock is an excellent example of a MaiBock. Malty goodness. I imagine myself drinking several of these on a warm spring afternoon trying to muster the strength to get the yard work done.

Mike – 7 of 10
Overall – 6.7 of 10

Maifest
August Schell Brewing Co., Inc. – New Ulm, MN
7.2% ABV

It is entirely silly to begin a beer review by getting all hung-up on the label.  But I can’t help myself on this one.  It’s not just bad because it looks dated, and it’s the same color scheme as a 1971 Ford Maverick.  It’s bad because what previously served as Schell’s label looked much better, and was eventually foregone for the new, much less attractive one.  This isn’t even the first time we’ve mentioned Schell’s gaudy labeling style.  We couldn’t help ourselves back in December either.

So, with that bit of unimportance out of the way, on to the beer itself.

Color was mostly agreed on as gold, light, and clear.  The head sitting atop it was white and approaching foamy.  Like most of the maibocks we tasted, the aroma was malty and sweet.  Flavor included those characteristics and added slight caramel and very slight alcohol.  Brittain mentioned yesterday that we all discovered how incredibly similar all maibocks seem to be.  And up to this point, Maifest was no exception.  And then it got bitter.

While the mouthfeel was smooth, nearly buttery, and the flavor primarily sweet, the finish added a mild but noticeable hop presence.  It gave the ongoing sweet and smooth experience a little kick at the end, and I felt it was more than welcome.

Maybe it was the fact that everything we tasted was starting to exhaust our sweet and smooth tolerance by that point.  It may have been that I needed something to be different about this one, and the hops were there when I needed them.  It may have been that the label was so ugly I needed to be reminded never to judge a book by its cover.  Whatever it was, I liked it.

Eriq – 7 of 10
Overall – 6 of 10

Big Easy Imperial Mai Bock
Lakefront Brewery Inc. – Milwaukee, WI
7.7% abv
Bottle and Draft / Seasonal

I love maibocks, and like Mike, I look forward to them every year, to the point that we made some this year, and his is almost gone!  They have a nice, rich maltiness that seems to cut through the remaining monotony of winter and introduces spring to us. That said, before this tasting, I never realized how similar all Maibock are. None of us did. It was quite an eye opener. It was rather difficult to find enough for this tasting session and now I think I understand why. Brewers want to stand out from others, and since there is little variance between them, they have other things to focus on.

The Big Easy pours golden and a bit thick with a decent cream to white head that lingers and has a good lace. Aroma was big on malt as it should be with overtones of yeast and alcohol and little bit of hop spice. Flavor was intense sweet, malty, spicy yumminess that coated all of the way down. Some interpreted this as burning due to the higher alcohol content, but the smooth almost velvety feel of this beer for me made me want cajun food to cut through it. The finish was smooth and slightly lingering, but not too long.

I would rate this as an excellent example of a maibock, and I look forward to it every year.

Brittain’s Score: 8 of 10
Overall Average: 5.7 of 10

MaiBock
Summit Brewing Company – St. Paul, MN
6.5% abv
Bottle and Draft / Seasonal

Every year I look forward to May not just because of the warmer weather but because MaiBock is one of my favorite beer styles. To me this style is the kick off for evenings with friends and fire in the backyard, grilling on the deck and enjoying the first weeks of warm weather sans-mosquitoes. Is Summit up to my high expectations for a MaiBock?

For starters Summit’s MaiBock is a pale straw color, very clear and has a foamy white head. The aroma is primarily yeasty with some malt eventually cutting through. There was no hops detected in the nose. First sip you’ll notice the beer seems a bit thin for the style and maybe slightly over carbonated. As for the taste, Summit MaiBock has a sweet malt backbone with some very light bitterness and faint fruity yeast on the finish. Some thought they tasted corn others just plain didn’t like it. Myself, I just found it hard to say anything much at all. I didn’t notice anything technically wrong with the beer but then again noting really stood out.

It’s not that this is a bad beer, despite the low rating by our group of reviewers and the comment left on a score sheet that called Summit MaiBock the Milwaukee’s Best of MaiBock’s. I liked it but wanted something less thin and more malty.

Come back over the next 6 days as we post our thoughts on other Midwest MaiBock’s.

Mike – 5 of 10
Average – 3.5 of 10

We’ve had a 1 thru 5 rating scale on this site since its inception, and since our first-ever beer review.  It’s simple enough, but has posed a few problems.  For one, what does “3 out of 5″ actually mean?  Is it exactly average, being the exact-middle of the scale?  Or is it just above average, because 3 is more than half of 5?  it’s also very easy to just give a beer a ’3′ rating, when we’re unsure how good, bad, or just average it is.  If a beer does not stand out, but is totally unoffensive, is 3 a fair rating because we can’t think of anything better or worse to say about it?

We’ve had countless reviews where decimals come into play.  Starting harmlessly enough with “3.5 of 5″, and eventually morphing into the slightly more ridiculous “2.75 of 5″.  And then of course the averages for group ratings came in, and we had to review a beer that scored ’3.125′ and somehow explain why it came ahead of one the “only” scored ’3′.  It’s madness.

So, with all that said, and not ignoring the fact that we have had reader comments suggest a 10-point scale to help us curb some of this craziness, I am pleased to announce we are moving to a 10-point scale.  To further help the cause, reviewers are no longer permitted to settle on those pesky decimals when rating their beers.  It’s 1 thru 10, circle only one, no decimals.  And while we still may end up with some neck-and-neck closely rated beers, the new scale should make us think a moment longer when handing out those ratings.

This all begins tomorrow, with the Midwest Beer Mai Bock review.  (Just in time for May).

Breakfast Stout
Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout
Founders Brewing Co. – Grand Rapids, MI
8.3% ABV
Bottle and Draft / Sept-Dec

Founders has continually offered brews that impress the hell out of me. And folks this one is no exception. I gotta tell ya, if this was cheaper and more readily available, it just might turn me into an alcoholic! This beer is continually in my top five beers of all time and I wished was available at the time of our epic 28 Stouts of February, but since it wasn’t I get to review it anyway! This beer is excellent anytime. I had this one at 8:30 in the morning with breakfast, of course! Goes great with bacon and eggs, or just sitting on the couch. I can’t think of a time this wouldn’t be good, I’ll have to try on a hot sunny humid Midwest summer day. I’d bet it’s still great.

This marvel starts with a rich, thick, dark pour and a deep tan/copper head that lasts, and has a nice lace to it. The aroma was of cocoa, coffee, dry and roasty. The flavor is where this beer really shines, it’s roasty, with a strong chocolate flavor. The coffee comes through in the end. The bitterness is well balanced with the sweetness. The full body follows through to the mouthfeel which is thick and velvety smooth, it coats and soothes.

What else can i say about this brew, it’s amazing. It goes well while curled up on the couch, or with it’s namesake: breakfast. Seriously, it went great with the bacon and eggs! Hell, I’d try it over some Golden Grahams! I need more, and can’t wait to find some.

Brittain’s score: 5 of 5.

Pepe Nero
Goose Island Beer Co. – Chicago, IL
6% ABV
Bottle and Draft / Year-Round

Continuing our on-again off-again series reviewing beers not from Wisconsin, I tried Goose Island’s Pepe Nero on for size. I sat down to share the 2011 vintage 750ml bottle with my wife, Mrs. Midwest Beer, a few nights ago. Here’s what we thought about this Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale.

The beer itself is very dark black color, only showing a tinge of mahogany near the edge of the glass. A lingering and beautiful cream colored froth pillow formed at the top of our glasses. Moving on to aroma, Pepe Nero has a very subtle smell mostly consisting of yeast and roasted malts and a peppery spiciness.

There is a lot going on in this beer, though hops and bitterness don’t play a part. True to both farmhouse and Belgian styles, Pepe Nero is yeasty and spicy with additional peppercorn, leather and earthy undertones playing an important role keeping your taste buds interested. Cloves are detected along with a slightly dry fruit finish. The mouthfeel is a bit creamy and smooth which might be caused by what I consider low carbonation.

I have an extra bottle in the back of my fridge to save for a year or two. The live yeast strains contained in the bottle will continue to condition and refine this beer over time. Pepe Nero already finishes like a semi-sweet cabernet, which I assume will only become more prominent as it ages. My suggestion? Grab a steak, some steamed carrots, the nearest grill and a Goose Island Pepe Nero in a for an excellent night in the back yard.

Mike – 4 of 5