Catching Up, Nosing Around and Moving Along

Well, that all seemed to go flying by pretty quick. Hope your Holidays were rewarding and relaxing. Now, let’s get back to the beer. We have lots of catching up to do; like rust, beer never sleeps.

We had a hell of a year for beer here in 2013, and 2014 is already looking good. You can find out what a bunch of our local beer mavens have planned for this new year in my Oshkosh Beer Garden column in the January Oshkosh SCENE. It’s available all over town.

There are some good looking beer events coming up in January. The first of them is tomorrow night (Friday, January 3) at Dublin’s. They’ll hold a vertical tasting of Central Waters’ highly sought after Bourbon Barrel Stout. They’ll have the 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages on hand. For $6 you can line-up all three and compare/contrast to your heart’s content.

On Monday, January 13, O’Marro’s Public House will host a beer and whiskey dinner. The eight-course meal will be paired with various whiskey’s and beers (there’s even going to be some homebrew in there). It’s $30 and begins at 6:00 p.m. Seats are limited, so stop in at the pub to reserve your space. For more details, checkout the Facebook Event Page.

A couple nights later on Wednesday, January 15, Dublin’s will host a Rush River Beer dinner. This will be a five-course meal paired with five different beers from Rush River Brewing of River Falls. A place at the table is $30 and, once again, space is limited, so reserve your seat in advance at Dublin’s.

On Tuesday, January 21, Gardina's Wine Bar & Cafe will present the sixth installment of their Gardina's Beer Bar series. Adam at Gardina’s has a few beers he’s considering for the event, but hasn’t settled on one just yet. I’ll pass that info along when he makes his selection.

If you've been reading this blog for a while you already know that I love Bock beer – those rich, hearty and strong lagers that’ll keep you from freezing up during this frigid weather we’re having. At the moment, there are a couple of excellent Bocks flowing in town you might want to check out. Fratellos is currently serving up a classic example of the Doppelbock style. Their 8.5% Defibrillator Doppelbock is a full-bodied dark lager with a silky texture and just enough bitterness in the finish to balance its lush malt character. For a lighter example of Bock, check out New Glarus Cabin Fever Honey Bock. This is an entirely approachable, 6% beer that’s crisp and slightly sweet. I’ve seen Cabin Fever at a bunch of places around town including all the big-box grocery stores.

There’s more in the offing, including festivals in February and March, but that’ll have to do for now. As always, there’s more on the way.