Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Previously, we’ve folded these in to our betting guides, whether that’s been for the NFL slate or a bizarrely successful run through the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Hubbleton Brewing Company’s unofficial motto is along the lines of “it’s only hard to find the first time.” This is untrue. It’s hard to find the second, third and fourth times.
But it’s worth it.
The space between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin is filled with lots of things, but nothing more frequent than farmland. I haven’t been to all of them, but I’m reasonably sure Hubbleton is the only one with a working brewery, tap room and beer garden.
I first visited Hubbleton four years ago, in the middle of winter, to find a three-table bar, about eight beers on tap and a very good brewery dog who stole my gloves each time they hit the floor. In the time since, it has expanded considerably.
The gravel parking lot out front became a pavilion with outdoor tap lines, picnic tables, tailgate games and a live stage for music. Walk past the brew kettles inside and an expansive bar awaits with room for maybe 100 people and enough pub games to keep even the most jittery patrons occupied.
The staff — primarily founder Dan Schey and his son Mike — have always been friendly and helpful. Everyone in the beer garden, whether they’re driving west from Milwaukee or just riding over from their nearby farm in an ATV, is pleasant and welcoming.
The tap list has expanded as well. Notably, I’ve never had a bad beer there.
The sum of these parts is an authentic, communal experience. Hubbleton is best experienced in person and, given the modest reach of their current distribution, possibly the easiest option for any beer lovers rolling through the midwest.
There’s going to be something you like there. You may not organically find yourself six miles east of Waterloo, WI in a town whose Wikipedia page runs exactly two sentences long, but you’ll soon realize the extra mileage was worthwhile.
Hubbleton continues to grow without losing the identity that makes it special. So how are the beers?
Crooked Judge IPA: B
The beer pours with a limited head and smells like light citrus and a little bread-y malt. That gives way to bitter hops that are more intense out of the bottle than they are on tap. That fades as it goes down, and while the citrus that seemed to peel off the bubbles doesn’t show up the malt does.
It makes for an interesting IPA that embraces the classic format, even if it’s not especially complex. This is an easy drinker despite what feels like a truly epic IBU count. Hubbleton’s website assures me there are six different types of hops in here and, yeah, that sounds about right.
Is it a little overcrowded? I think so. It’s still pretty good, especially if you’re willing to run down a hoppy rabbit hole. The malt plays a larger role as it warms up. While it’s not my favorite thing Hubbleton brews it’s still worthy of picking up a sixer.
Kleinstadt Kolsch: B+
Fortunately, there’s a lot more going on than the pour suggests. This beer has all the hallmarks of a good lager until the end, when a little bit of fruit kicks in — maybe pear? — to leave a sweet, dry aftertaste. Hot damn, this is drinkable.
It’s a perfect summer beer Hubbleton makes year round, and while it’s one of their lighter offerings it doesn’t feel that way. This guy is full bodied all the way, bringing in elements of a few different brews before finishing crisp.
There’s no fatigue with this brew. I could see getting sick of the hop-heavy Crooked Judge after a couple, but I feel like I could put down a six pack of these in my backyard without issue. What do you mean I ran over your kid’s slip n’ slide with my lawnmower? That sounds like a *her* problem, buddy.
Huntsman's Breakfast: A-
I wanted this to be the Red-diculous Velvet Stout — a gorgeous coffee stout brewed with Berres Brothers’ coffee — but couldn’t find a bottle. Instead, I deferred to the brewery’s more readily available heavy stout, the Huntsman’s Breakfast … which, upon closer inspection, is *also* brewed with Berres Brothers. I should really do more research before jumping in with both feet on these, huh?
This beer feels big. It pours dark with a little tan head, kinda like George Hamilton. That coffee comes through in the smell and right away upon the first taste. Roasted, dark coffee that ventures toward bitter before the chocolate shows up to balance things out and sweep it away. It’s a thick beer, so while the 8 percent ABV isn’t apparent it’s still very much a sipper.
Despite the chocolate presence and the gravity of the beer, it doesn’t venture into “syrup-y” like some many other complicated stouts (Wisconsin residents will recognize this from roughly half of Untitled Art’s way-too-involved beers). This isn’t light by any means, but there’s a creaminess to it that keeps it from getting stale.
I’m not usually a big stout drinker. But I love this beer. It’s versatile and complex and really well made.
