Very much appreciated Tim. Thank you.
One last question – is the more obscure stuff pretty widely available or do you have to seek out certain liquor stores? My friend will be in Wauwatosa so ideally near the expressway would be ideal.
If the brewery was available in Minnesota, the bar and liquor store would be able to buy from the same source, be it a distributor or the brewery itself.
I think their fruit beers tend toward the sweet end of the spectrum. And I’ve had their most recent Raspberry Tart from bottle and tap…I think the batch was contaminated with TCA.
I don’t think that’s what I asked so I’ll try to be more clear. What if, in a pinch, they needed a keg of xyz brand beer – late on a Friday evening. Could they legally purchase it from a retail package store and serve the beer in their tavern?
Definitely more sweet than tart, almost have to take the Belgian comparison out of the equation in some batches. Though I admit I enjoyed the rhubarb one I tried a year or two ago.
The best of the unique beers from them, admittedly a smallish sampling, has been their Germanic beers. YMMV
Only the really high demand stuff is hard to find. Wild Sour Ale comes to mind – it was supposedly available for two months but I only ever got my hands on one case. Enigma is the only thing that might be in demand right now but I’m not even sure about that. Generally their beers are available a month or two after the month they are listed as available on their website. So you might find Road Slush, for example. I can’t remember if there’s a Woodmans in Wauwatosa but if there is, they should have everything.
In most states probably not, and to be honest the cost of buying from a package store at a retail rate would likely cut the majority of profit out of the keg, so they would be just as well served to put on something else from their chiller. A more likely situation would be that they got the distributor/wholesaler to pick up the extra keg from them from the package store and invoiced it to them. The distributor can then get the keg to the package store the next week.
I think the term “very mediocre” is more than a bit harsh. You can say what you want about “Spotted Cow”, it’s a terrific session beer for the masses, and very well made. Most of their beers are above average to excellent as well. I’m not a fan only because I am not fond of one of the owners (who’s reputation precedes herself) - but they do produce terrific beers.
I tend to fill up on Three Floyds Alpha King when I am in Wisconsin, but also am a big fan of ALE ASYLUM and usually bring a nice sampling back of their products.
AND - In regards to the law against bringing in unregistered beers into Minnesota - it’s a good one. Without it, breweries would be dumping old beer into the market on a weekly basis, and this keeps the state informed on all products coming into the state. It’s not expensive to register in Minnesota as well, a one time $40 fee per label.
Have you tried the cherry tart, and did you detect any TCA?
Spotted Cow is just OK - its biggest crime is being grossly overrated by the Sconnies who live here. Other stuff is generally good though - Moon Man is a great all seasons beer.
I’ve been a fan of Ale Asylum for quite a while now, especially Bedlam. Just too many good beers to drink so I don’t buy it very often…