Beer Sampling Saturday at Barley’s

Barley & Hops final beer sampling of the season is this Saturday, May 7 from 6-9 p.m.

By now, I think we all know how this works. Here's the rundown, anyway...

• If you head to Barley’s and land your ticket before Saturday night you’ll pay $20.
• If you wait and pay at the door, it’ll set you back you $25.
• Really, it's a bargain, either way.
• This time, Stevens Point Brewery gets center stage. Think Whole Hog Series. You'll also get a sharp looking Point pilsener-style glass as part of the tasting.
• And as always, there’ll be dozens of beers from other breweries to sample as well as a good selection of wine and spirits.
• You know you want to...

Need more info? Check this out.

Upcoming Beer Events

A brief shout about a trio of beer events on the near horizon...

Cask Tapping at Chester V’s
Wednesday, February 3 (as in tomorrow), Chester V’s will tap a specially prepared cask of Fox River Brewing Company’s Skywalker Stout. Skywalker is a 7.4% ABV Imperial Stout with a hop bill that resembles an IPA. The base beer is hopped with mosaic, simcoe and citra. The cask that'll pour at Chester V’s has undergone an additional dry-hopping in the cask with Australian galaxy and citra. Kevin Bowen, brewmaster at Fox River, will be on hand to tap the cask at 5 p.m. Pints of this beer will be just $3.50. Check out the Facebook Event Page for more.

The 7th annual Fond du Lac Brewfest
Saturday, February 6, Fondy’s annual beer festival takes place at the Fond du Lac Fairgrounds from 5-9 p.m. They’ve pulled in a lot of new breweries for this year’s fest. Check out their complete line-up HERE. Tickets are available online for $45. There's info on that and more, right here.

Barley’s Beer Sampling Series
Here’s some more good news. Nate at Barley & Hops has decided to move this next installment of his beer sampling series to Saturday night. Saturday, February 13 from 6-9 p.m. Barley’s will feature more than 60 beers and a slew of spirits and wines. Tyranena Brewing Co. will be the host brewery. Get your tickets in advance at the pub for $20 or at the door for $25, if tickets are still available at that point. Either way it’s a sweet deal, but better to get them in advance. This is likely to be a heavily attended event. Check out the Facebook Event Page for more info.

Barley’s Beer Sampling Series Continues Wednesday Night

Round two of this season’s Beer Sampling Series at Barley & Hops gets underway at 7 p.m. tomorrow night (Wednesday, December 2). The featured brewery this time is Amherst’s Central Waters Brewing Company.

You know the drill by now: You nab a ticket and from 7-10 p.m. you get to sample all the craft brew, spirits and wine you care to. Nate at Barley’s lines up dozens of different craft beers for these events with the feature brewery typically bringing in a few rare treats we don’t usually see in Oshkosh.

Tickets are available at Barley’s. They’re $20, if you grab them in advance (that would mean, like today) or $25 at the door. Either way it’s a steal. For more info check out the Facebook Event page here.

Barley's Wednesday Night Beer Sampling

A quick shout about the beer sampling happening at Barley & Hops tomorrow night, Wednesday October 7.

At 7 p.m. Barley's will launch into the fourth year of its Beer Sampling Series. Wisconsin Brewing Company will be the featured brewery. And Nate from Barley's tells me that WBC brewmaster Kirby Nelson will be on hand with a few special beers to dive into in addition to the brewery's regular line-up.

Also offered will be a host of beers from Dogfish Head Brewery as well another 60 or so other brews, spirits and wines to sample. There's even going to be some homebrew pouring.

Tickets are just $20 at the pub if you pick them up before the fest. Otherwise, they're $25 at the door. Either way, it's a steal. Check it out, it's a great way to ease yourself over that mid-week hump.

Then and Now: Barely & Hops

Here are a couple shots of the same building taken approximately 50 years apart. As always, click any of the images you see here to enlarge them for a better view.

The top picture was taken in the mid-1960s when The Butternut Baking Company made its home at 663 N. Main St. Oshkosh. The photo below it was taken yesterday morning in the rain. It shows Barley & Hops Pub, the current business at this address.

The building was constructed in the summer of 1900. The first resident was William Kienast. He and his family operated a saloon there named The Turf Exchange.

By 1915, Kienast was long gone and The Butternut Baking Company was in. The bakery remained in this location until 1965. After Butternut bit the dust, the building housed a bike shop and, for a short time, a church. Then in 1983, the Patti K. Lounge opened here. The place has been a tavern ever since.

In the winter of 2001, Nate Stiefvater established Barley & Hops at this location. Stiefvater has done much to bring the building back to life. If you’ve been down N. Main recently, you might have noticed the new beer garden that’s taken over the parking lot beside the building.

Back in the Butternut days, that lot was occupied by a stable for the bakery’s delivery team. Here’s a picture showing what that looked like circa 1916.

A couple years, ago Stiefvater began developing a plan for his beer garden. Here’s the original concept for the space. This was drawn up last summer.

Here’s a better look at the near finished result.

An interesting thing happened when they began construction of the beer garden. While digging up the parking lot they came across these two buried under the asphalt.

The clear, soda bottle once belonged to James Laing, a bottler of beer and soda in Oshkosh during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The brown, beer bottle is a blob top from the Oshkosh Brewing Company. This type of bottle used a porcelain stopper instead of cap. OBC used these bottles beginning in 1894 and into the first decade of the 1900s.

It’s hard to believe these bottles survived. Are they remnants from the days when William Kienast was here and The Turf Exchange was in full blush? That could very well be!

For more on the history of this building check THIS out.

Barley & Hops Beer Sampling Wednesday Night

The Barley & Hops Beer Sampling series gets back on track tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 1.

This time around Barley’s will feature Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewing. This is going to be a good-sized sampling. In addition to the dozen different brews from Sprecher, there’s going to be a selection of beers from Ommegang and Redhook along with another 40 or so beers from other breweries.

The sampling will also include homebrew from the Society of Oshkosh Brewers, a wine sampling table, a spirits sampling table, and a selection of snacks from Beck’s Meats.

The sampling will run from 7-10 p.m. Advance tickets are available at Barley & Hops for $20. Tickets purchased at the door Wednesday night are $25.

Nate Stiefvater at Barley’s is now into his 6th year of hosting these affordable, mid-week beer fests. Check it out, they’re always a lot of fun. And check out the Facebook Event Page here.

Tonight’s Beer Sampling at Barley’s Canceled

Just like the title says: the Barley & Hops beer sampling that had been scheduled for tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 3) has been called off. It also appears that the Barley’s sampling scheduled for February 4 will not happen either. However, Nate at Barley’s is saying that the sampling scheduled for April 1 will go ahead as planned. I guess we’ll see when the time comes. At this point, there’s little being said about the the abrupt cancellations.

New Glarus Brewing Coming to Barley's Beer Sampling Series

Damn, this year is sliding by quickly. The fourth and final installment of Barley's Beer Sampling Series for 2013/2014 is nearly upon us. The beer begins pouring at 7:00pm next Wednesday, April 2 at Barley and Hops in Oshkosh.

This time the featured brewery will be the mighty New Glarus Brewing Company, which will be serving its full line-up. Also in the spotlight will be hop-head favorite Lagunita's Brewing. The Society of Oshkosh Brewers will be on hand pouring homebrew and rounding out the fest will be another 40-50 craft brews and a selection of liquor and wine for the tasting. If you’ve never been to one of these, you ought to check it out. The Barley's tastings have grown into a nearly full-on beer fest.

If you pick-up your ticket at the pub before next Wednesday, the price is just $20. Get your ticket at the door and you’ll pay $25 (if they’re still available). I wouldn’t dally too much on this one; judging by the turn-out at the last couple of these I think there’s a decent chance that it may sell out. The sampling runs from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Visit the Facebook event page for more info.

Barley’s Beer Sampling is Wednesday Night: Ale Asylum, Peoples Beer and a Whole Lot More

Chapter two of the 2013 Barley & Hops Beer Sampling series launches this Wednesday (Dec 4) at 7 pm. By now, I’m guessing you know what this is all about. Nate at Barley’s brings in a load of craft brews to sample with an emphasis on the beers of a featured brewery. This time the brewery in the spotlight is Ale Asylum of Madison. They’ll be pouring their regular line-up along with a spate of special brews, including three beers that will be debuting at Barley’s. In addition to the Ale Asylum beers, there will about 50 other beers along with a host of wines and liquors to sample.

And then there’s this: The Society of Oshkosh Brewers will be on hand pouring their homebrew including a couple clones of historic Oshkosh beers. SOB Jody Cleveland will have his clone of Peoples Beer and I’ll be pouring my version of Peoples Holiday Beer. It’s a strong lager that was once a holiday staple here, but hasn’t been served in Oshkosh in more than 40 years. At 7.75% ABV it’s bound to make a few spirits bright.

Barley’s Beer Sampling begins at 7pm. Advance tickets are available at Barley & Hops for $20. Tickets at the door are $25. Check out the events Facebook page HERE. See you there.