Our Northern Correspondent, Bryan Born, has been braving the storms and trying out new beers and breweries. Here is his latest installment in which he tells about some recently released beer from two excellent Wisconsin breweries.

Capital Brewery and Karben4 Brewing

Over the past few weeks, I have not had any fun beer events to attend. But that does not mean that I have not had a great time drinking outstanding craft brews. To fill the time, there were a few new beers from local breweries that I have wanted to try for a while. So, try them, I did.

Before I started writing this blog, the Capital Brewery of Middleton, Wis., got a new brewmaster. The brewery always had an okay portfolio and I would find myself drinking at their brewery on occasion, but their beers never “wowed” me. They did not even have an IPA! That all changed when Brian Destree took over. Now Capital has an IPA, an Imperial IPA, and a new Black IPA that was a new release this winter.

Black IPAs are one of the fastest growing styles of beer among craft brewers and I for one could not be happier. These beers are like a mix of IPA and stout fused together to form one dark and bitter beer. The Dark Voyage from Capital was no different. True to form it is very bitter with a nice medium body. It is extremely drinkable and I look forward to visiting Capital and drinking more of the beer in the future. The new brewmaster has won me over.

The other new brewery that released a new beer this winter was Karben4 Brewing in Madison, Wis. Karben4 is new to the craft brew scene, having just celebrated their one year anniversary this past month. To celebrate this occasion, the brewery released a coffee stout called Deep Winter. The interesting thing about this beer is that it was brewed without hops. The bitter flavor comes from the coffee used during the process. I have always been a fan of Karben4’s beers and the coffee stout did not disappoint. It tastes just like a cup of coffee. Every time I visit this fledgling brewery, it seems like they have something new on tap.

And in case anybody cares, during the Super Bowl I drank some Smutty Nose beers that I have been dying to try along with my new favorite double IPA, Resin from Sixpoint Brewing of Brooklyn, NY.