BAs, I need some recommendations for wedding beers in the state of Wisconsin here at the end of June 2014. I've committed to doing some of the beer homework to help the groom, who is from out of state. I live in Colorado, so I'm not super familiar with the Wisconsin beer scene & what's all available, especially during this summer season. Here are some factors to consider: It's JUNE, outdoor early evening wedding 6% or less ABV preferred 30% of the guests are "craft" drinkers 70% of the guests lean toward the BMC crowd Groom enjoys session IPAs Father of the bride loves Belgian IPAs (specifically Bedlam, but that's a 7.5% and too strong for the reception) Your insight is much appreciated - dont hold back! Thanks for the help BAs!
If in or around the Milwaukee area this is a good place to start for barrels-o-beer... http://www.discountliquorinc.com/Draft_Beer.html
Can't go wrong with the New Glarus basics, Totally Naked and Spotted Cow are good for the craft and bmc crowd.
If you have a large BMC crowd I would go with Totally Naked over Cow. Cow by no means is strong, but if you want an extremely light, extremely drinkable craft beer that is similar to a BMC as far as how light it is, I would go with Naked. It sounds weird to most on here, but there are some in the BMC crowd who think Cow is just too heavy. Moon Man as others have suggested is also a well balanced, easy drinking pale ale, that when fresh, is excellent. FWIW, kegs of Cow are available at will. But depending on where the wedding is, getting a keg of Moon Man or Naked will be a little more difficult. I would recommend planning ahead.
Yep New Glarus Totally Naked would probably appeal to the most people there. Capital also makes some beers that would probably be more wedding friendly http://www.capital-brewery.com/OurBeers.aspx
If the groom likes session ipa's. Lakefront brewery's Extended Play India Session Ale is fantastic, and comes in at about 4.5% abv
Ya hey der, The New Glarus Brewery and Capital Brewery are great Wisconsin breweries as mentioned by others. The BMC crowd there might lean towards Point beer and Leinenkugel beers. The Woodman's grocery stores have a good craft beer selection and a build your own 6 pack option. The beers I would try with the 70% BMC crowd are the following: Capital Pilsner , Wisconsin Amber, and Supper Club. New Glarus Spotted Cow, Totally Naked ,and Two Women Lager You may want to cross the "cheddar curtain" south to Illinois and travel to Chicago and check out the breweries and brew pubs if you have time.
Spotted Cow and Totally Naked are definitely good choices, I would actually grab a couple of their fruit beers too, for people who like sweeter beers/malt beverages/wine. New Glarus is a pretty easy sell, either way.
Guys this is a great collection of insight! You're absolutely steering me in the right direction. Is anyone familiar with The Lazy Monk - Bohemian Pilsner? I've heard outstanding things.
New Glarus sells some of their fruit beers in large format at a decent price. I wish i had known about them before my own wedding, that would have brought the house down. Can't go wrong, even if you just throw in a small keg of whichever is available. You may even convert some of the wine crowd.
@johzac I'm actually looking to get a keg with the same criteria as you, except mine will be for a Fourth of July party, not a wedding. Everyone that will be drinking from our keg is a craft beer lover but we want something sessionable as it's prolly gonna be pretty hot out. I've made some calls around to some stores on the IL/WI border looking for New Glarus Moon Man (1/2 barrel) and the NG fruit beers (1/4 barrel) and all of them are readily available. Depending on where you're at in WI you shouldn't have a problem getting a barrel from NG, if that's the route you choose to go.
@JakeT469 - that's a good word! The wedding is a bit further north, up in the Eau Claire area! It'd be great to have a keg of a NG fruit beer!
