Heavy Table’s Tulip and Schooner is edited and written by Louis Livingston-Garcia, except where otherwise noted.
I was going to write about some weird beers – think cheesecake chunks and smoked eel adjuncts – but I had an interesting trip around the cottage in northern Wisconsin, visiting two breweries.
My goal was to visit Rocky Reef Brewing Co. in Woodruff, which is basically a town spilling out from northern Minocqua. And then my mother-in-law found another nearby brewery, Haen’s Popple River Pub. It was only 20 minutes out of the way, so I planned a visit.
Now, northern Wisconsin can be a dicey place. Many of these lake towns have people from all over the place vacationing in them, but there is definitely a rural, small town flavor. So, this pub along the “Nicolet-Wolf River Scenic Byway,” according to some marketing copy, could have gone either way. The beer online sounded traditional.
I’ll start at the end: the brown ale was quite good. I imagine the maple amber ale and other beers on tap would have been as well. The growler had a sticker with the brewery name attached to it, a clear growler, no less, so that if you leave it in the sun it will “skunk.” The bartender didn’t purge oxygen with CO2, nor did she tighten the cap, resulting in some spilled beer in the car.
But hey, the beer was good and I’d take that growler back in a pinch for a fill of beer… if it weren’t for the… ambiance.
It’s really weird to have a political sign in your yard. I don’t care if it’s for Biden, Trump, Harris, etc. It’s just… weird. When my neighbor handpainted a sign comparing Trump to Jesus – batshit. But they're also really nice people, so, whatever - political asshattery and mental degradation happens during election years.
Anyway, walking into this bar had the proper northern Wisconsin bar vibe, but very political. Pro Trump, anti Biden stickers and paraphernalia everywhere. If I wasn’t used to it, I’d find it alarming. But as I’m used to northern Wisconsin’s conservatism, I wasn’t surprised, but I wouldn’t go back for all of the Marieke Gouda in the world.
Like other bars up north I’ve been in, I thought if I stayed long enough I would be asked where I was from in a manner meaning I don’t belong there, and was just waiting for an old white dude to call me a halfbreed and get spittle on me. Thankfully that hasn't happened in two decades, but that was the vibe.
I looked like a city guy with the clothes and hair, and was the darkest thing in there aside from the wood paneling and brown ale.
That brown ale was damn good, and my father-in-law finished it. But I’m tired of that good ol’ boy mentality that even an educated family member liked to show early on in the pandemic and last election.
Anyway, nothing like visiting “home” and feeling unsafe. I’d stay away from the Popple River Pub.
Rocky Reef Brewing Company, based on the beer and social media, seemed like it would be way, way better.
I wanted to go because I had the Hoppy Gilmore beer (reviewed below) and found it just shy of heavy hitters like Toppling Goliath, BlackStack, and Monkish.
The beer was damn good. Missing one component, but nearly there.
Rocky Reef felt like a place that would exist in Minneapolis. The place was crawling with beer drinkers listening to live music, spilling into every corner of the patio and bar. I ordered a flight of a hazy double IPA, a barrel-aged strong ale, a chai latte-inspired stout, and a double IPA version of their flagship, Musky Bite (also reviewed below).
Cryo Me A River (not as good as “No Woman No Cryo” by Girdwood Brewing Company in Alaska, but close), was soft, full of mango and pineapple, with a hint of bubblegum. A winning hazy beer. Double Musky Bite, a beer I wish I could have grabbed a pack of, was slightly pithy, but more sweet. Kind of like a fruit cocktail syrup with subtle hints of grapefruit and pine.
The two weaker offerings, Chai Local White Stout, and The B.B.C, were mixed. Chai had a huge spice character atop cocoa. Coffee was on the aroma, and leathery coffee was there, and whale it was balanced, the small flight pour was just too much to finish.
The barrel-aged offering was bad. Rubbing alcohol aroma and flavor. You just can’t serve that.
But most of the beers are winners, and I invited a family to sit with me at my table as I was solo. I met a wonderful woman from Chicago, her son, and her mother-in-law. We talked about how life has changed up north for people, the brewery’s vibe – a lot of city folk, a younger crowd, and a more mature, progressive one. Having conversations with them about books, beer, and life made my time there so much better.
The dichotomy of the north, perhaps. But there are shades of gray within. I’m sure, had I not mentioned the Trump stickers, I would have had some great conversations with the people at the pub. Even though I was getting some hardcore weird side eye at the bar. But sometimes it’s OK to not invite shades of gray into a life able to brim with color.
In short, I’ll be buying more Rocky Reef (they distro to Madison), and will make it up there every chance I get while “back home.” As, even though it is in Woodruff, it reminds me of the places I’ve made my home since leaving the area: the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Prairie Du Sac – an anomaly, but also a Madison bedroom community. So maybe not.
Visit places allowing shades of color and life to feel welcome and human, not areas rife with grays and compromises.
A JOURNEY OF BEER AT RAIL WERKS
A railway-themed brewery may be your next stop
By Loren Green
The craft beer experience has always been about the journey. You pick a starting point, you set your course, and you get on board. You might have a destination in mind, but sometimes you make a few surprise stops at stations you’d never even considered. A railway themed brewery makes sense, both in connecting the choose-your-own-adventure element and tying in the more general agricultural-industrial history of beer in America.
With a name like Rail Werks Brewing Depot I expected a more distinct building exterior when we turned off Central Ave NE, but instead it's a corner unit in a strip mall, located next to Columbia Heights Transit Station (bus stop). Similarly, with such a name I expected some backstory on their website but found nothing about trains at all: just that Rail Werks Brewing Depot is a wife-husband team that turned their passion into a family business. That’s cool, but it doesn’t really explain the name.
AT THE TICKET WINDOW
The seated bar has a unique caboose-style structure, but the rest of the room is mostly a big open space with concrete floors, some games along the wall, TVs, and a stage for live music on weekends. There are a couple of nooks, including a small couch zone and a hidden corridor where you pick up your food, but the layout didn’t seem to fit the depot theme or offer much distinction from other industrial taprooms, other than some rail signs and similar decor.
In typical fashion for these pieces, I aimed to stop at every station and try every beer, so to speak. I’d call it the all-inclusive experience except, wisely, the brewery does not sell their food and drink this way.
We hit as many stops as we could on a single trip. The thing about a real train is that, honestly, the journey is set. Your stops aren’t ever going to change, while in craft beer, it changes by the week (if not the day). But humor the metaphor anyway, please.
STOP 1: TRADITIONAL STYLES
All Aboard started our journey. It’s a light and sweet American light lager that is simple and clean, with mild earthy and chalky elements within a crisp bready profile. Exactly what’s promised with no surprises. And if you’re drinking this style of beer, it’s likely because you don’t want a surprise.
The Express is a grodziskie-style, something we were happy to see on tap. This light and crisp Polish-style lager is just 3.5% ABV with a sweet bready profile and notable smoke. It didn’t exceed expectations but it was a crisp and accessible beer for those who like a little smoke profile.
I was excited when I saw a Kentucky Common, Witch Yard, on the menu but this stop didn’t live up to its promise. This variation was light in body, more fruity than caramel and toast. You do get the malt presence, but it was more citrus and melon than toasted malt, underscored with a hint of smoke.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Heavy Table to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.