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The Great Taste of the Midwest is arguably one of the best events a beer and food lover like myself can hope to attend. Or so I’ve heard. It takes place each year at a lakeside park less than a mile from my house, yet due to impossibly limited in-person ticket sales, the closest I’ve gotten to the festivities in my three years as a Madisonian is in an offshore kayak.
Enter Karben4 Brewery. This year, Alex Evans of Karben4 and Mike Banas of the Tipsy Cow dreamt up a festival for the rest of us, where the general public can obtain tickets without camping out on the sidewalk beforehand. The Dilly Dally, which took place on Karben4’s lawn, consisted of 8 Madison breweries, 2 distilleries, 1 meadery, 1 craft cocktail bar, a string band, and a sold-out crowd of 215 happy Madison residents.
So how, exactly, does one dilly dally?
First, soak in some bluegrass and cheers with your hosts. Karben4 had their flagships flowing for the occasion. I’m partial to the amber, and it did not disappoint. Even 90-degree heat can’t deter me from this deep red savory ale.
Next, dig your toes into the grass and sip on some mead. Bos Meadery sat squeezed between craft breweries with a light, delicious alternative. These honey-based beverages are bubbly and flavorful, but not in the sweet way you might expect when drinking right from the hive. My personal favorite was a black pepper mead – light and refreshing with a serious kick.
Lastly, welcome a brand new brewery to the family. Mobcraft, one of the first-ever crowd-sourced breweries, brews what the polls tell them to. This month’s crowd dispatched a double-mobbed IPA. Hard to believe the brains behind this one was John Q. Public. It was delicious.
Half of the vendors represented at the event opened in the past two years (Karben4 included). As more and more adventurous homebrewers turn from carboys to kegs, you might wonder if our beer market is becoming flooded with flagships. I’m not worried – Dilly Dally oversold despite Wisconsin heat and a concurrent University of Wisconsin home game. I’d say Madison’s enthusiasm for bubbly crafts trumps basic economic theory.
