Great Taste of the Midwest 2024
As I walked near the entrance of the 2024 Great Taste of the Midwest, I came to the realization as to how well the whole festival is run. Every year I have the same expectations of the festival and each year they not only meet but exceed them. Time to start calling it the Greatest Taste of the Midwest?
Great Taste Eve
Possibly just as enjoyable as the festival happens on Great Taste Eve, the Friday before the festival. While other festivals may have had their outside events reduced or canceled altogether, it seems like more Great Taste Eve parties happened this year than last. While two of the bigger and more noteworthy ones didn’t happen (the Black Rose pre-party and New Glarus’ R&D beer release), some recent favorites and entirely new ones made up for it.
Forward Craft and Coffee repeated what they did last year, with a crazy Revolution barrel-aged beer that I’ve never seen before on tap – S.C.M.D.B.V.S.O.D., or Supermassive Cafe Mocha Double Barrel Very Special Old Deth, AKA Unmitigated Audacity. Much like the acronym, it went overboard – on the sweetness. Thankfully an asiago cheese bagel and some of the leftover Supermoon and Sway beers on helped keep things in check. Forward had a fair share of people there but never so much that you couldn’t find a seat.
At this point it was off to the Capitol square! A vast majority of the events take place there and, due to some construction, I decided to just stay in that area. I was a bit late for certain events like the Tipsy Cow Surly one and possibly even the Maduro Bell’s event (I usually got there first thing in the morning) so I went straight to Lucille’s for some pizza and Central Waters Great Taste Central Command 7.0. I managed to score some Twenty Five anniversary variants (including a lovely Pappy Van Winkle BA one) along with some Detroit-style pizza.
Moving right around the corner, Young Blood had their Collab-A-FestA-Sava-Thon event. 12 collaboration beers featuring breweries like G5, Eagle Park, Mikerphone, More, and Hop Butcher featured – if you could read what they were on the board that is! A variety of styles such as an unfiltered pilsner, a witbier, and a red lager made it easy to stay there for a long while chatting with everyone that passed through. Standouts for me were The Other Guy From Wham! (cobbler-style sour with a lot of fruit; collab with Lion’s Tale) and Grilling in the Dark (West Coast DIPA; collab with G5). I just had so much fun there that it ended my night! On to the fest!
Great Taste of the Midwest
Arriving on the festival grounds was like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes. Seven tents arranged in their usual fashion with some breweries existing outside of the tents (ones like New Glarus, Revolution, and Toppling Goliath). No new surprises and the flow of foot traffic never got too congested so that I couldn’t move. An easy going festival experience from a walking standpoint.
As for the beers, it seemed like fruited sours and seltzers showed up at every booth. It never felt that prevalent at previous festivals, but a majority of booths I saw had at least one of them to choose from. Timed tappings appeared to be reduced in quantity. I really wasn’t feeling waiting in a line for some BA thing when I could try so many other beers. I saw a few lines throughout the day but they never really interfered with any movement – with the notable exception of the Sam Adams Utopias line, because of course it did.
Best Booth Themes
Booth concepts this year seemed to either be scaled back (Surly), repeats (The Lone Girl and their Rock-Paper-Scissors) or just needing a bit more to get there (Bell’s 70s themed booth, with free hacky sack!) But some booths still made things fun and interesting.
Fair State Brewing | Minneapolis, MN
Celebrating their 10th year, Fair State had a wheel to spin for prizes, face painting, party hats, and pretty much everything you would see at a birthday party. (Hopefully the cake wasn’t lie as they said they had it but I didn’t see any.) Simple, fun, and effective.
3 Sheeps Brewing Co. | Sheboygan, WI
Continuing their Simone Biles-like domination of this category (their 2021 Great Taste booth was an all-timer), 3 Sheeps did something similar to Fair State but had two carnival games where you could win various prizes like coozies, shirts, or hats. You could play either bottle ring toss or ping pong ball toss to win. Another booth with a simple concept where you could win prizes. (Hey 3 Sheeps! If you’d like to sponsor this award, let me know.)
Central Waters Brewing Co. | Amherst, WI
Central Waters really went all out with their Ted Lasso-inspired booth this year. The penalty shot with a goalie sealed the deal for them, as you could once again win prizes for getting it past them. But you’d have to get it if you kicked it up over the hill, as the goalie would remind you. Most Central Waters people dressed in Central Waters soccer jerseys and the whole area was packed all the time. Don’t know if the location was the best for the goal, but at least it wasn’t next to Lake Monona.
Best Beers of the Festival
Purplesaurus Rex Kooler | Hard Seltzer with grape and lemonade | Eagle Park Brewing Company | Milwaukee, WI | 5% ABV
After last year’s Ecto Kooler and Cabo Kooler, Eagle Park of course had to up the ante with the Purplesaurus Rex Kooler and, just like the other two, tastes exactly as it should – like purple. Grape and lemonade with their seltzer base provided a refreshing drink that I went back to more than one time. I hate the fact that their kooler beers do this but they do and they work. I’m mad they didn’t bring their Rocket Pop Kooler!
Blue Magic | Blueberry IPA | Faklandia Brewpub | Saint Francis, WI | 6.6% ABV
Didn’t read my Third Space Wisconsin IPA fest summary? Whoops. You would’ve had this a the Great Taste! Blue Magic does run sweet but never so much so that it goes overboard. It looks cool (thanks blue spirulina!) and has a more candy-like blueberry note as opposed to a more tart flavor some blueberry beers exhibit. But not so sweet that my wife didn’t like it!
Half Shell Hero Beers | Fruited sour | G5 Brewing Comapny | Beloit, WI | 5% ABV
Four different fruited sours meant to mimic Kool-Aid and named after the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Yeah I’ll try them all. My preference landed more towards Party Dude (orange) and Cool But Rude (red), but Leader in Blue (blue razz) and Does Machines (purple) did what they said they would. While these really didn’t have any kind of beer taste on the finish, they also weren’t overfruited and were easy to drink and refreshing. They were a bit sweet but nothing that would prevent you from finishing a can of it. Beloit’s not that far from Rockford, so if you’re in that area, head on up there and try all four yourself. Gluten free too!
Barrel-aged Buffalo Trace Rye Imperial Stout | Barrel-aged stout | Hop Butcher for the World | Chicago, IL | 14% ABV
Brandy Old Fashioned Seltzer | Hard Seltzer | Hop Butcher for the World | Chicago, IL | 10% ABV
Two drastically different beers here. The barrel-aged stout somehow came off with rich chocolate, vanilla, and oak despite not having any adjuncts present. Decadent but not cloyingly sweet and absolutely enjoyable. The seltzer did hit a little boozy – but so does an Old Fashioned. My wife – a bartender – approved of it and I agreed. Just realize that this 10% seltzer will have a little booze kick along with all the old fashioned goodness.
Dragon Ballz | Sake with boba | Kuhnhenn Brewing | Warren, MI | 19% ABV
One of the more interesting pours at the festival, Kuhnhenn added your choice of boba to their sake. You could choose from dragon fruit, lychee, or rainbow. Thankfully this was my first pour as it was a little on the boozy side. The dragon fruit boba I had added added something to cut the booze a little especially when you bit into one. Much like another beer on this list, it probably wasn’t my favorite beer of the festival but it was one of the most memorable.
Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale | Barrel-aged wee heavy | New Glarus Brewing Company | 10.5% ABV
Somehow New Glarus actually outdid themselves. Released as an R&D bottle last year, New Glarus opted to put this one on nitro only and not release a bottle this year. The result was one of my faves of the entire weekend. Creamy toffee notes with a big malt presence and a little barrel heat underscore just how delicious this was. It did not drink 10.5% ABV at all and I was able to have multiple pours without hesitance. As if you need another reason to travel to New Glarus Brewery!
Strawberry Pickle Beer | Lager | Oliphant Brewing | Somerset, WI | 4% ABV
I first heard of this beer at the Wisconsin IPA Festival the previous week in hushed tones. “It shouldn’t work but it does,” was what I overheard repeatedly. And that’s exactly correct. It’s strawberry fruit forward but then finishes with a pickle-y brine that really wasn’t too aggressive or assertive. The tart and brine work very well together and somehow balance each other out. But it’s fruity too! Yeah, it shouldn’t work but it does!
Jalapeno Bloody Mary | Pale ale | Pals Brewing Company | North Platte, NE | 4% ABV
The other interesting beer, as Pals added a toothpick of pepperoni and a pickle to the top of the glass (much like a bloody mary). I’m not a bloody mary fan at all, but when I bit into the garnish it really pulled it all together and I kind of enjoyed it. I always like when breweries do this at festivals (see: WeldWerks yearly GABF booth pour) as it makes it fun and playful. Don’t know how long the garnishes lasted though!
Wisconsin Wildflower Saison | Saison | Potosi Brewing Company | Potosi, WI | 6% ABV
Friend and listener Gary Nidetz directed me towards this beer. It actually was his homebrew recipe that Potosi scaled up for the Great Taste! Much like other honey saisons, it had the soft mouthfeel with a wisp of honey sweetness. The base saison brought along a little lemon note and some light spices. I had a barrel-aged saison from another brewery at the fest that went too far on the barrel. It really made me appreciate this one! I unfortunately missed the homebrewed version that was there at some point. Good job Gary!
Best Booths of the Festival (Beer Category)
For the breweries that no matter what you chose at their booth, you were getting something quality or memorable. Dealer’s choice! (Listed in ranked order.)
Heavy Riff Brewing Co. | St. Louis, MO
(Love Gun – vanilla cream ale; Bright Nights – white stout with coffee and chocolate; Red Plum Layla – American wild ale with red plum; Hat Dance – Mexican hot chocolate porter; Destroyer – Imperial IPA; N.I.B. – Session IPA; Dear Agony – Barrel-aged imperial stout)
After having them at the Great American Beer Festival last year, no way I wouldn’t hit them here. It of course paid off. I know how much I love Love Gun so I had to get that – multiple times. Bright Nights did similar things that Love Gun did, with some coffee and chocolate nicely integrated in the beer. Red Plum Layla didn’t veer too acidic or tart and had a bevy of plum flavors emanating from it. Dear Agony slapped like always with just enough barrel heat but a big, chocolately stout base. Hat Dance leaned a little heavy on the chiles, but the porter base didn’t make things too heavy. Their IPAs did what they needed to do, keeping things bitter and not too sweet. They might graduated to a festival Hall of Fame position as I’m probably going to get sick of writing about them otherwise. If Heavy Riff’s at a beer event, get their beer.
Second City Meadery | Chicago, IL
(Maple Root Beer – session mead; Cinnamon Cherry Cola – session mead; Streetlight – mead with black currant, cherry and lemon; GPS – mead with ginger, passion fruit, and szechuan peppercorn; Sandia con Chile – mead with chiles; Pie Chart – mead with honeyberry, marionberry, cherries, graham cracker, cinnamon, and vanilla)
Two things I don’t usually put in this section – a meadery or a place from Chicago. Second City Meadery stood out so much with their meads and, more importantly, their session meads. On the mead side, GPS balanced the always aggressive passion fruit with a light ginger note and some spice note. Streetlight had sweet fruit notes with a kiss of tartness. Sandia con Chile went a little bit too much on the heat but it was doing what it said it would. Pie Chart – a surprise pour! – leaned heavy into the cinnamon and vanilla but all the fruit made it taste like a fruited pie (minus graham cracker). While Pie Chart would’ve taken the cake (pun intended), the Maple Root Beer and Cinnamon Cherry Cola were some of my favorite drinks of the fest. Not too sweet, not too alcoholic and very flavorful. Both the root beer and the cherry cola tasted as they should with a little twist on it. I will try to get to their taproom near Old Irving Brewing soon to see if these are still on.
Jukes Ale Works | Elkhorn, NE
(Wakizashi – Japanese rice lager; Bad Seeds – watermelon kiwi gose; Force the Issue – lemon coconut gose; Busy Busy Bees – Barrel-aged Belgian strong dark ale with honey; Chain Fall – Double barrel-aged barleywine; Down With the Slip – Barrel-aged barleywine)
I had my eye on Jukes ever since I saw them on the app and it paid off. Wakizashi really just cleansed the palate for the absolutely insane flavor ride my mouth was about to go on. Bad Seeds tasted like actual watermelon with a little kiwi tartness. Force the Issue became a pina colada, with equal parts lemon tartness and coconut – and not the sun tan kind. But people probably arrived here for their barrel-aged offerings. Busy Busy Bees ran a little sweet but had all the Belgian candi sugar you could ask for along with dark cherries and raisins. Chain Fall might’ve been my beer of the fest. Best way to describe it – a molasses and dark fruit V.S.O.J.; smooth and flavorful with the alcohol well-hidden. Down With the Slip went a little more on the booze but still had the molasses, dark fruits and a little bit of caramel. An outstanding booth that will be back again if invited.
