Wisconsin IPA Festival 2024 | Third Space Brewing
For the 8th year running (that includes a virtual fest in 2020), Third Space Brewing once again hosted their Wisconsin IPA festival on August 3, 2024. Third Space’s parking lot turned into the festival grounds, with food trucks, brewery tents, jockey boxes, and one giant tent housing the DJ (and some breweries). For three hours (four if you opted for VIP tickets), attendees sampled some of the best IPAs Wisconsin has to offer and voted for their favorite. Due to sheer luck, I was able to attend this year for the first time.
This happened to be the second instance of scheduling luck this year for myself. Likewise, this also happens to be the second instance of something that I think should be happening in Illinois in some form. (My trip to Austin, TX in February luckily coincided with the Texas Craft Beer Awards.) This being the 8th iteration, Third Space has things down pat on the execution and implementation – a well-oiled and well-run festival all around.
Despite being an IPA festival, every brewery pouring had at least one other non-IPA beer available to sample. In most cases, breweries offered two IPAs (one of which was entered in the competition) along with another non-IPA option. No palate-fatigue here! Likewise, Third Space had their brewery and taps open, offering a vast array of styles to change things up if so desired, all of which were included in the ticket price. Awesome.
In the spirit of the fest, I’ll list my favorite IPAs, my favorite non-IPAs and finally the People’s Choice and Brewer’s Choice winners. People at the festival filled out a Google Form to vote on the People’s Choice award. BJCP certified judges winnowed down the field to their top six favorite IPAs which advanced to the brewer/media judging panel. The brewer/media judging panel then determined the Brewer’s Cup winner.
FAVORITE IPAs
I went into this festival hoping for a 50/50 split between hazy and West Coast IPAs. I quickly learned that was not the case; it felt like a 75/25 split (hazy to West Coast). None of the hazy IPAs stood out – but then again I didn’t have all of them.
Blue Magic | Blueberry IPA | Faklandia Brewpub | Saint Francis, WI | 6.6% ABV
Blueberry IPA? Yup. It clocked in a little on the sweet side and wasn’t bitter at all but it had all the blueberry you could want. Faklandia added blue spirulina to give it more of a blue razzberry color (without it it looked like dirty dish water apparently). I’d had my fair share of blueberry beer that didn’t work well at all – as well as some really good ones. This one falls in the latter, giving off some sweeter, candy-like blueberry notes mixed with a refreshing IPA. My wife – who does not like sweet beer at all – loved it.
Always 920 | Session Hazy IPA with Citra and Cashmere | Fox River Brewing Company | Oshkosh, WI | 4.8% ABV
The only hazy on this list and it’s not even a full hazy! Fox River’s Always 920 – named in honor of the area code that encompasses Oshkosh, Appleton, Green Bay and many other cities – did what I always want out of a session IPA. It didn’t go down like water, it had a hit of juicy, citrus flavors and it finished nice and easy. I of course had a couple pours of this. I could easily see this as a hit during summer sporting events. A good session IPA is hard to come by!
Funky Feathers | West Coast IPA with Citra, Moutere, Cascade, and El Dorado | Gathering Place | Milwaukee, WI | 7.1% ABV
Gathering Place’s Funky Feathers got my vote for favorite IPA at the festival (the only one here that was entered). A nice malty backbone that provided a wisp of sweetness, substantive bitterness, a variety of hops that provided some tropical fruits, watermelon, and pine, and a finish equal parts crisp and bitter. Exactly what I wanted out of an IPA, hence my vote for it.
Shrinkage | Cold IPA with Citra | Raised Grain Brewing Company | Waukesha, WI | 6.3% ABV
Bonus points for the Seinfeld reference. Raised Grain knows their way around classic styles (hello Black Walnut!) so it’s nice to see them take on a more recent style. All the citrus you could ask for in the form of grapefruit and melon, some flowery aromas, and a crisp clean finish (due to it being a Cold IPA) made this the best of both worlds at an 85 degree-temperature festival.
Joy Meter High Score | Sour Raspberry IPA | Starkweather Brewing Company | Madison, WI | 4.9% ABV
Very similar to the Blue Magic above, except with raspberries instead of blueberries and a bit more of a tart kick. Little to no bitterness but the real star were the raspberries, as they gave Joy Meter a nice fruit kick that a straight sour IPA would lack. Any sour/tart taste stayed in its lane while contributing to a need for repeated sips. I’m pleasantly surprised I have a sour IPA on this list!
FAVORITE NON-IPAS
Joanie | Kettle sour with strawberry and almond flour | G5 Brewing Company | Beloit, WI | 5% ABV
I made a beeline to the G5 booth, hoping for Anonymous Caller (their winner from the 2022 Wisconsin IPA Fest) that I loved at last year’s Great Taste of the Midwest. Instead it was two hazy IPAs and this beer. I quickly realized that most places seemed to bring hazy beers exclusively (hence the 75/25 ratio I think was accurate). I eventually came back to have their sole non-hoppy offering Joanie, a “strawberry shortcake Berliner Weisse.” The strawberry came through big time, to the point where it tasted like a refreshing strawberry Skittle. Flavorful and definitely a shock after having a fair amount of IPAs. Definitely one I’ll get again. Bonus – it’s gluten free!
Rust | Flanders red with Amburana wood and pomegranate | Rookery Brewing Co. | Milwaukee, WI | ??? ABV
A brewery “located out of Mobcraft” in Milwaukee, Rookery definitely brought the most unique styles of beer to the festival – a dry-hopped Brett saison and this Flanders red (along with an IPA). Rookery’s Rust brought about a healthy dose of tartness, while the Amburana wood (briefly rested on the beer) added a nice cinnamon and spice character. The Amburana really just accentuated what usually happens when cherries are added in a beer, while the pomegranate added another flavor profile and a little tartness. An interesting take on the Flanders red style and that makes me want to try more from this brewery.
Strawberry Lime Seltzer | Hard seltzer with fresh strawberries and a hint of lime | Second Salem Brewing Company | Whitewater, WI | 5% ABV
Another instance of a refreshing beer absolutely slaying due to the temperature and the nature of the festival, Second Salem’s Strawberry Lime Seltzer had everything I wanted in a hard seltzer. It wasn’t an overfruited, Smooj-style seltzer, but it did have a big strawberry flavor throughout. The seltzer aspect means it finished light and quickly, leaving behind only that strawberry note. I asked and it did, in fact, have calories, hence the flavor boost. I think I had the most pours of this at the festival.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Unfortunately the announcement of the winners happened really close to the end of the festival and I was not able to get to try Amorphic’s DDH Fluffy Logic Galaxy. But here’s the info.
DDH Fluffy Logic Galaxy | Hazy IPA with Citra and 2023 Galaxy | Amorphic Beer | Milwaukee, WI | 6.3% ABV
BREWER’S CHOICE
The final six breweries and beers:
Central Waters – Mental Projection (American IPA; 7.4% ABV) – Third Place
Component – Simcoe Overflow (American IPA; 6.4% ABV) – First Place
Indeed – Five Thirty IPA (American IPA; 6.1% ABV)
New Baron’s – Hopped by Ziggy (American IPA; 7% ABV)
Raised Grain – Shrinkage (Cold IPA; 6.3% ABV)
Working Draft – Close Enough to Perfect (American DIPA; 8.5% ABV) – Second Place
Notice something? Not a hazy in sight. Maybe tastes are shifting?
I made a beeline to Component Brewing’s booth after the winners were announced and got in the substantial line, only to have it kicked by the time I got to the front of the line. But Component happened to be on the path on my way out of Milwaukee and Simcoe Overflow was on tap (and in cans)!
Simcoe Overflow | American IPA with Simcoe, Mosaic, and Citra cryo | Component Brewing Co. | Milwaukee, WI | 6.4% ABV
Even though having Simcoe Overflow in a more controlled environment it still stood out. The malt provided a nice base and some sweetness. The Simcoe played well with the tropical and citrus Mosaic and Citra. A little bit of pine and grass came through, but the beer as a whole didn’t remind me of an IPA from the IBU wars. I can see how this would’ve stood out at the IPA festival. And yes, I grabbed some cans, so look out for it somewhere in the ABV Chicago universe.
Third Space put on an excellent event that I would happily attend again. Well run, ample space, and just an overall fun environment. 3 hours might be the sweet spot for a beer festival. My only complaint is that I wished they announced the winners just a little bit earlier (maybe with about an hour left in the fest instead of 30 minutes). Yet another reason to go to Third Space!
