Mad Town

 This weekend we went to Madison, WI to visit family.  It was also the annual neighborhood art walk that my sister participates in (see makes and sells pottery.)  Every year her husband does beer samples during the event.  The past 2 years he's sampled my homebrew there.  This year I brought just over 8 liters of beer for sampling, a Weizenbock, Cherry Stout, and Ginger Saison.

Little did I know, it was Madison Craft Beer Week.  What perfect timing!  Dale (my brother in-law) had a connection with a local brewery, and got us a short private tour.  The House of Brews http://houseofbrewsmadison.com is a small Co-op style brewery.  Paige, the owner and brewer, is working very hard, and producing high quality brews.  I highly recommend the Bungalow Rye ESB.

We also checked out a cask ale festival, and had 2 very interesting beers there, went to a few local markets/liquor stores, and also hit a local distillery, Old Sugar Distillery.  http://www.madisondistillery.com  Their rum and ouzo were very tasty.  Spending time with family, and enjoying great local brews is my idea of a great weekend.

Above and to the right is the haul of Wisconsin beer that made the trip back to Iowa.  

Above and to the left is a Maibock from Capital Brewery.

Below is an IPA from Ale Asylum.