Of Bikes, Breweries & Beer

This interactive map tells the story...

Let me elaborate. We’re lucky. Our two breweries are connected by an excellent bike trail. With a holiday weekend coming up, this would be the time to take advantage of our good fortune. Here’s what I suggest...

Grab your bike and begin your peddling at the southern foot of the WIOUWASH Trail. You’ll find the trailhead next to 1799 River Mill Rd. Another map...

From there you'll peddle northwest along the Fox River and through the marshes that rim the southeastern portion of Lake Butte des Morts. It's an easy, scenic route four miles long that'll lead you to the doorstep of...

Bare Bones Brewery

Bare Bones has grown quickly since its opening a year ago. The brewery's taproom features 13 draft lines with 11 of them pouring Bare Bones beer. You can view the full line-up here. 

A couple beers to keep in mind: Bare Bones Stone Bone is a recent release brewed in collaboration with Appleton's Stone Arch Brewery. They describe it as a "dank pale ale" and that's dead right. The "dank" comes from the load of Columbus hops the beer was dry hopped with. At 5.9% ABV and 35 IBUs it's a good pick for the hop-loving cyclist. 

A Bare Bones beer that wasn't showing on their list this morning, but should be there this weekend is I Want Her Melon Wheat. I don't know about that name, but the beer itself ought to be a good refresher after a bike ride. This is a watermelon wheat beer brewed by Bare Bones assistant brewer Jody Cleveland on the brewery's pilot system. It's a small-batch beer that won't be available for long. Get it whilst you can.

All right, you've had a couple/three beers at Bare Bones, time to make the return trip. Back you go from whence you came, down the WIOUWASH Trail to...

Fox River Brewing Company

Now in its 26th year of operation, Fox River is at its peak. The brewery is producing more beer than ever before and with its large taproom and beer garden on the river it's an ideal spot for summertime beer drinking.

You can view the taplist here, but for the cyclist, Reel It In Session IPA is an obvious choice. This is a beautiful beer with Citra and Mosaic hops giving off a burst of mango and peach aroma with those same notes following through on the palate. I've grown very partial to this beer. At just 4.3% ABV you can still get your hop fix while managing to keep your bike upright.

A Fox River beer that should be available this weekend is Orange Dreamsicle. This was brewed in collaboration with Oshkosh homebrewers Bill and Karly Schwalbach from their recipe. Bill describes the beer as "sorta like the beer version of an Orange Creamsicle." And if that doesn't scream summer...

If you haven't had your fill yet, there's more beer and bike pairings in the offing. The last couple summers I've posted beer and bike tours that follow the riverwalk down towards Lake Winnebago. You can find those here and here. Whatever you do, have a great holiday weekend!