Another Pot of Pourri

Ross, my good friend and my daughter's intended, writes a blog in which he takes on sports, food and movies. Laura contributes occasionally. Me, I like food well enough but tend to be more interested in beer.

I spent a little quiet time at work recently exercising our access to Google by looking up some song lyrics, so I can sing to myself and get the words right. I also looked up some notable quotes about drinking. There are several good sites, "The Opinionated Beer Page" being one. My search began with "Work is the curse of the drinking class," which, as I had hoped, came from Oscar Wilde. Moving through several other classics, I came to Hemingway's "always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." And I returned to that gentle, positive thought from Benjamin Franklin: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

It is that happy spring season when bocks, Marzens and Maibocks come forth like daffodils. Bock, of course, is the German term for a ram, a mountain goat or sheep with the big curly horns. Leinie's made a beer called Big Butt for a few years, under the spurious premise that the two rams depicted on the label were preparing to butt each other; this was a so-called doppelbock. Marzen ("mare-zen") is also German, for "March" beer, and Maibock ("My bock") is, follow along, bock for May (Mai). Capitol Brewery in Middleton, WI has their Maibock available, and the Blonde Doppelbock. Summit Brewery in St. Paul has also released this year's Maibock.Leinenkugel's has rolled out its 1880s Bock; this is both welcome, since it's a pretty good brew, and sad, since Leinie's Bock used to be a lovingly-anticipated sign of Lent and priced like Leinie's Original, and now it's priced like all the craft-brewery-style product: $12 can get you a case of Leinie's Original, or a 12-pack of the craft line.

A couple of beers are of similar style but appear to be year-round offerings: Rush River Brewery, of River Falls, WI, makes The Unforgiven Amber, as well as at least two other nice beers, and your friendly Trader Joe's, if it sells beer and wine, offers its private label Vienna Lager. Both of these are indeed coppery Vienna-style lagers, which is also the style of Oktoberfests and some Marzens and Maibocks, although Maibocks tend to be lighter in color. The grain symbol on the bottlecap of the Trader Joe's beers looks exactly like the grain symbol on the cap of one of my old favorites, Gordon Biersch Marzen, which makes me want to find out who brews the Vienna Lager for Trader Joe's. Sand Creek Brewing, in the historic plant in Black River Falls, WI, makes an excellent English-style Ale, which looks and tastes similar to some of these.

As a general rule, these beers are full of flavor but not overly heavy. They can be slightly sweet, as they will present their malty character first, but the good ones will have just enough bitterness from well-balanced hops to clean up the mouth and prevent "aftertaste," which must be somehow different from what beer lovers call "finish." Good beers of this style have plenty of finish but not a cloying aftertaste, unless you knock back a healthy number of them. And since they're not the beers with the highest alcohol content, you just might choose to do that.

I haven't seen it yet in stores, but I am looking forward to "Fighting Finches" Maibock from Tyranena Brewery in Lake Mills, WI. As I'll be going through there next Saturday on my way to Jefferson, WI, to see Bob and Lynn and play in their local Trivia contest, I plan to stop in at the tasting room and see if it's out yet, and maybe grab a growler. And I might do the same at our local brewpub, Das Bierhaus, where Robert, the German-trained brewmaster, should have either a Marzen or a Maibock, or on the happiest day both, on tap. As for tonight, there's a cellar-cooled Capital Maibock calling my name.