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Written by Harry Cherkinian, Contributing writer
May 20, 2010
You don’t have to wait until October or travel to Munich to enjoy a beer festival. For three days at the end of May, beer lovers can sample beers from more than 30 national and Wisconsin-based breweries at the 2nd annual Kohler Festival of Beer held in Kohler, Wis.
To properly kick off the festival, the folks in Kohler will be using the same type of opening ceremony fanfare as their brewmeister brethren in Germany, including a Friday night Tapping Party.
“We’re going to take a mallet and put a spigot into a barrel of beer that was specially brewed that morning for the event,” says beverage manager Teo Zagroba. The “kick off” barrel comes courtesy of Central Waters Brewery, a solar-powered green facility based in Amherst (near Stevens Point).
With demonstrations, food and beer pairings, and beer tastings even at breakfast (called Eggs & Kegs), the festival offers beer-related activities for everyone from the most die-hard aficionado to those just interested in learning about Wisconsin’s favorite “liquid crop.”
For the southpaws, there’s Left Hand Brewery from Longmont, Colo. (OK, right-handers can try this beer as well). Left Hand will bring its Milk Stout, poured directly out of the “moo-mobile” – a Chevy HHR that features tapping lines pouring beer out of the back. Chicago’s Goose Island will be on hand, along with Keweenaw Brewing Company from Upper Michigan, which is sold only in cans. Madison’s Great Dane Brewing Company will offer specialty beers and Sprecher Brewery of Milwaukee will feature a new red ale.
Along with all the beverages will be plenty of food and special events. A new festival addition this year is “Shorts and Chefs.”
Twenty chefs from regional restaurants will compete with each another, armed with individual charcoal fire grills – and summer shorts – to cook their specialties. Each cooking station will be paired with a brewery, and proceeds from the sales will benefit the Camo Quilt Project, which makes and distributes camouflage quilts to military personnel.
“The chefs really go all out for this one,” says Kohler director of culinary arts Ulrich Koberstein. “There’s a healthy rivalry as they try to outdo each other.”
For those who like a multi-course meal with their beer, another new addition is the Four Course Beer Luncheon, featured on Saturday at the American Club’s Wisconsin Room. The featured chef is from Bon Appétit magazine. Central Waters beers will be featured at this luncheon, including its seasonal release Bourbon Barrel Barleywine.
Given Kohler’s well-known Craverie Chocolatier Café confections, it’s not surprising there are pairings of beer and chocolate. With seven lines of chocolate – and 8 to 12 flavors per line – the pairings are endless. “Some of the sweeter, chocolate-flavored beers work well here,” Koberstein says.
For home brewers who want to see how they stack up against the pros, there’s the Home Brew Competition. “We actually have certified judges coming in for the tasting and judging,” Koberstein says.
All attendees can vote for their favorite brew, and Kohler will put the winning beer on tap in its Horse & Plow pub for the 2010 summer.
“People are looking for something different with beer today,” says Koberstein. “It’s followed the same trend as wine. People are being much more experimental and are trying new things.”
