The latest from Twitter: @BirchwoodCafe is featuring artwork by WACSO (check out his lively contributions to some of our stories), @fultonbeer’s Sweet Child of Vine is only $3 a pint @ZenBoxIzakaya, @RickNelsonStrib wants to know how you tip, and @MNBeerActivists ask about the best beer for breakfast time.
Beer release party tomorrow night (Wednesday, Apr. 1) at 7pm at Common Roots Cafe, to celebrate Surly’s new Bitter Brewer. Quoting the Common Roots website: “Bitter Brewer is an American-style Bitter. Pale orange in color, this ale gets its intense toast and marmalade character from British malts and American hops. Dry hopping lends the floral citrus aroma. Small beer, big flavor. 4 percent abv.”
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Aaron Masterson / Heavy Table
Aside from baseball and apple pie, there’s not much more iconically American than beer and bowling. But amidst the dull thud of urethane balls hitting the maple deck of the lanes, Bryant Lake Bowl in Uptown pushed the usual macro lager boundaries Monday night at the Bell’s Oberon release party by bringing a little citrusy wheat ale into the mix.
“Oberon is a breath of what’s to come, it’s the summer that’s upon us,” said Sarah Burt, loyal Bell’s enthusiast.
Aaron Masterson / Heavy Table
Wishful thinking, considering the impending spring blizzard settling in on portions of the state. You wouldn’t know it, however, as not a seat in the pub was available as the event steamed ahead into the wee hours with what usually resembles a relatively tame Monday night bar crowd.
Depending on who you ask, Oberon is arguably one of the more sophisticated wheat beers hailing from the Upper Midwest, presumably named for the Shakespearean fairy god from A Midsummer Night’s Dream whose arguments with his powerful fairy wife impact the weather. One has to assume Oberon wins most of the marital disagreements, as this American pale wheat ale (formerly called Solsun, for you beer geeks out there) beckons for warmer days ahead, one of the first summer seasonals to come out of the gates each year.
Oberon sports a light Saaz hop nose and playful orange and tangerine flavor, complemented by a nice level of carbonation that paves the way for a relatively creamy mouthfeel. Some peppery spice notes from the yeast, but also a bit of a medicinal and solvent-like quality in the finish that puts a small damper on the tippling experience. At 5.8 percent ABV, it’s certainly within the upper bounds of the session spectrum, as numerous patrons at the event enjoyed round after round of the cloudy, straw-colored brew. “Sunshine in a glass,” as one passing bar-goer put it.
Like several other wheat beers out there, Oberon is a decent, crisp selection for those lazy summer afternoons at the cabin watching the waves break on the rocks or playing the addictive bean bag toss game in the backyard with friends. It seems a bit one-dimensional in some respects with its dominating citrus flavor. But then again, the style generally lacks the complexity of its seasonal siblings including yeast-forward Belgian witbiers and robust malty German bocks.
Take it with a grain of salt, or wheat, as it were.
Aaron Masterson is the author of local craft beer and homebrew blog, The Captain’s Chair
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Planning food for 150 people at a time is tough, even under the best of circumstances. Add the stress and financial worries of planning a wedding, and it is no surprise that a lot of wedding food is bland and forgettable at best, and overcooked and inedible at worst. Some of the reasons are obvious — caterers often want to avoid strongly flavored or spicy food so as not to offend anyone, high-quality steak or pork can be expensive and is often not used, and the simple act of cooking 150 meals can lead to overcooking or food sitting around for longer than ideal.
Your wedding might not be centered around food, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make choices to get the most flavorful options. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you choose a caterer and plan a menu.
1. Whenever possible, choose something local and in season. Not only will the food taste better (and you can tout your eco-credentials to your friends) but local food can be more affordable in season. Don’t know what is in season? That is what your caterer is for. Your caterer is a professional, who hopefully has a deep love of food and cooking, and will be able to give you tips on what will be available and flavorful during your wedding.
Another benefit of choosing local foods is to showcase your city to your guests. Show them what Midwesterner are made of and serve locally made cheeses, locally grown apples, maple syrup, or wild rice.
2. Take a moment to think about what foods you actually like. It is probably not going to be chicken cordon bleu or beef tips in sauce, yet that is what most people choose for their wedding menu. Choosing food out of obligation or because “that is what food is like at weddings” will guarantee you have a forgettable meal.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Instead, think about choosing a food item that had real interest for you, such as a favorite recipe or comfort food, and then talk with your caterer about options. A few years ago, I attended a wedding at a lodge up north where the choices are usually chicken or beef, but the bride and groom loved spicy food and wanted a vegetarian option, so guests had the option of chicken or Thai green curry with tofu.
Along with choosing foods you are excited about, you should also feel comfortable losing foods that you don’t care about. There are no event police on the day of your wedding to ticket you for not having a salad course, or only having one meat option for guests to choose from. You can use that savings to make another part of your meal special.
3. Think outside the box. Often wedding food is mediocre because the challenge of having 150 hot meals has to take precedence over serving the most delicious food possible. If you rethink what a “meal” has to look like, you can have a lot more options to boost flavor.
If you love beer — and you also love maps — here’s the map for you. Using data mined from medal winners from the Great American Beer Festival, veteran drinks journalist Rick Lyke and his son-in-law Mike Wirth figure out what the nation’s beer powerhouses are. Minnesota has a long way to go, but booming craft beer sales suggest that it’ll be kicking ass soon. Wisconsin is #3 on a per capita basis, behind only Colorado and Oregon.
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