Tag Archives: Milwaukee

Good Grief That’s Good!

A Submerge guide to pumpkin libations

Words by Adam Saake – Photos by Nicholas Wray

Hey look! It’s fall. Oh, there it goes. Living in Sacramento, you know that fall makes a quick appearance yet there are so many ways to indulge. Having your checklist done early, your Halloween costume pre-ordered and a trip to Apple Hill in permanent marker on the calendar is a good start, but there are still a few things that fly by under the radar. Pumpkin beer is one of them and if you’re not quick to grab a six-pack off the end cap, you might miss out on some limited edition suds that can be quite delicious. What once seemed like a novelty has now become a tradition for some serious beer drinkers and the choices have multiplied. Ales, lagers and even ciders are popping up on the shelves and each offer unique takes on the flavors that this iconic orange squash has to offer.

America’s Original Pumpkin Ale

Buffalo Bill’s Brewery, Hayward, Calif.

Buffalo Bill’s Brewery offers a quality pumpkin ale that is firmly centered on drinkability and not necessarily pumpkin overload. Not to say that pumpkin isn’t the focus here, but on a scale of Linus to Return to Oz, this is somewhere in the Silver Bend Pumpkin Patch. The first initial sips yield the pumpkin and then the luster slightly fades, but still very refreshing. Clocking in at a little over 5 percent alcohol and 11 IBUs (international bittering unit), even grandma might have one with you to celebrate the holidays.

The Hayward, Calif.-based brewery who are also known for their Alimony Ale and Orange Blossom Cream Ale have had their feet in the microbrew market since 1983. These guys definitely know what they’re doing with their pumpkin beer, so you’re safe to grab a six-pack and enjoy.

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Blue Moon Brewing Co., Golden, Colo.

Surely the most recognizable name we’ll mention here in our Pumpkin Beer spotlight, and either you love it or you hate it. Blue Moon, a Miller/Coors product, hit the scene around 1995 at The Sandlot Brewery in Boulder, Colo. (then just owned by Coors) and it didn’t take long before it had made its way into many watering holes around the country.

Originally launched in 2006, the Harvest Pumpkin Ale has had a facelift this year and according to Miller/Coors has been “re-launched and reformulated this year.” What does that mean? Well instead of brewing the beer with just pumpkin and cloves, they add nutmeg and allspice as well. That and the label become a little less artsy and lot more branded. What you get is a quite enjoyable beer with a good body, smooth finish and great balance between the hops, pumpkin and spices. Coming in at 5.7 percent alcohol, Harvest Pumpkin Ale is a step up in intensity but not overpowering and certainly a beer you can enjoy more than one of.

Pumpkin Lager Beer

Lakefront Brewery Inc., Milwaukee, Wisc.

Located on the Milwaukee River in Milwaukee, Wisc.–pronounced mealy-walk-ay if you’re Alice Cooper–Lakefront Brewery has been crafting quality microbrews since 1987. The brewery itself is a huge tourist attraction to the point where sold-out brewery tours gave way to online ticket sales. Still independently owned and cranking out large volumes of beer, boasting over 20 different selections, Lakefront is testament to the little guy doing big things.

Their Pumpkin Lager Beer, apparently inspired by a Thomas Jefferson recipe that brewery owner Russ Klisch stumbled upon, is as close to pumpkin pie in a beer form that you might find. Pour one into a glass and you’ll immediately notice that the nose jumps out; heavy with pumpkin, cinnamon and clove aromas. The mouth feel echoes the nose; rich yet goes down easy and the use of Caramel and Munich malts lend to the texture and depth of this fun drinking beer. Slightly copper in color and 6 percent alcohol, you might spill a few family secrets after a few of these.

Pugsley’s Signature Series: Smashed Pumpkin Ale

Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, Maine

Caution: double entendre approaching! Shipyard Brewing Company’s co-founder and Master Brewer Alan Pugsley has outdone himself with this Smashed Pumpkin Ale. Not only will you be “smashed” after a few of these, but your head will feel like Gallagher took his sledgehammer to it in the morning. Packed with so much spice, pumpkin, hops and malts and 9 percent alcohol, this pumpkin beer is truly a trick and a treat. Submerge asked local beer guru Mark Neuhauser of Pangaea Two Brews Cafe what he thought and he called it “very sweet…pumpkin pie in a bottle.” Pugsley uses three different malts including Pale Ale, Wheat and Light Munich along with two different kinds of hops; Willamette and Hallertau. The high alcohol gives it the backbone and bite, making this beer perfect for any of your spice filled holiday foods.

Of course, it’s no surprise that Shipyard would blow the stem off the pumpkin beer category. These guys are known for amazing craft beers that they’ve been perfecting since 1992. They’re Maine’s largest brewery that also makes Capt’n Eli’s Soda, a craft soda that comes in seven different flavors and are the 19th largest craft brewery in the country. All that from little ol’ Maine, go figure. On top of that, Pugsley is kind of a rock star in the East Coast microbrew world. Back in the ‘80s he bounced around and helped establish quite a number of breweries as well helped design and build breweries in the United Kingdom.

Hard Pumpkin Cider

Ace Cider: The California Cider Company, Sebastopol, Calif.

Alright, here’s your wild card. Ace Cider based out of Sebastopol, Calif., has been making cider for 15 years. Before there were really cider options, there was Ace and over the years they’ve stayed amongst the companies making really high quality, gluten free and delicious ciders. This year is the first year that the company has released their Hard Pumpkin Cider, an apple-based cider that is blended with pumpkin and allspice. Jeffrey House, owner and master cider maker, says that he made 10,000 gallons this year and it’s already all gone.

“People are racing to drink it,” says House.

With the popularity of the product, House says they’ll more than likely double or even triple production next year to meet the demand. The cider is quite a unique product that doesn’t scream pumpkin but merely suggests it. The allspice is subtle and you pick up the apple on the finish along with an interesting aftertaste reminiscent of pear candy. This cider is 5 percent alcohol and quite low in sugar content, 9 grams per 12-ounce bottle. If you’re really aiming for pumpkin, I’m not sure if this is for you but overall a tasty cider that fits in perfectly with their existing line.

These beers and ciders can be found at Total Wine, Whole Foods, Corti Bros and other select specialty markets. Call ahead because they are seasonal and will disappear quick.

Still thirsty for more pumpkin beer? Pangaea Two Brews Café has Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale on draft. Pangaea was lucky enough to acquire three of the six kegs allocated to the entire Sacramento area, so get it while it’s here. Or, head over Alley Katz and try a Double Pumpkin Ale on draft from Sam Adams.

Far Out!

Sacramento’s Far Comes Home

By Mark Lore | Photos by Jeff Gros

They say you always want to go out on top. If that’s the case, then Sacramento’s Far did everything right. In the mid-’90s Sacramento was on the radar as bands like Cake and Deftones were signing to majors (remember those days?), while post-hardcore was bubbling underneath the city’s surface.

Far soon followed. After a pair of indie releases (1992’s Listening Game and Quick in ’94), the band signed with Epic/Immortal and released Tin Cans With Strings to You in 1996, in the process amassing a dedicated following. Hell, you know the story. Far released its best record in 1998—Water & Solutions—an album that harnessed punk, post-hardcore and even pop (?!) into 41 flawless minutes”¦then called it quits.

“I’m happy we stopped after Water”¦,” says vocalist/guitarist Jonah Matranga. “It was a good balance of all of our personalities.”

Those personalities have fueled various projects over the years—Matranga with his own project, Onelinedrawing, and bands like New End Original and Gratitude. Guitarist Shaun Lopez fronted The Revolution Smile. Drummer Chris Robyn and bassist John Gutenberger went on to form the more pop-oriented Milwaukee, while Gutenberger later formed Two Sheds with his wife, Caitlin.

But it always comes back to Water & Solutions—an album that a decade’s-worth of bands would nefariously hold close to their pained little hearts. In fact, Far might be one of the few bands that actually gained popularity after it broke up.

While it was surprising to hear that in November Far, after a decade apart, was planning on playing a few shows in the U.K., it’s been no surprise that the band’s recent reformation has been met with such unadulterated glee. But the members of Far have kept it loose and stress-free—they re-emerged under the moniker Hot Little Pony, recorded a cover of Ginuwine’s 1996 hit “Pony” (yes, Ginuwine), and are now gearing up for their homecoming show at the Empire on Jan. 15.

Submerge caught up with Matranga and Lopez, who filled us in on the not-so-elaborate Hot Little Pony marketing scheme, what the future holds, and why they don’t want to be blamed for Fall Out Boy.

The music climate has changed quite a bit in the last 10 years. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Shaun Lopez: It’s good for us, because we’re in a unique position in being able to go out on tour and be self-sufficient, and be able to make a little money on top of that. I feel for new bands starting up right now because it is tough out there. Record deals being offered to young new bands are not so great; they’re almost better off doing it on their own. For us it’s been OK. Luckily we’re in a position that we do have fans that are pretty dedicated—it’s something we’re very thankful for and very surprised.

Whose idea was it to start playing together again?
SL: It came close when we did the re-release of Water & Solutions [in 2004]. It never came to, and I think in all honesty it probably wasn’t the right time and it wasn’t for the right reasons. Chris [Robyn] and I had been talking about it off and on and then Jonah called me about a year ago and brought the idea of just showing up at a club and playing. I liked the idea of playing again, but I wanted to do it more professionally and go out on a tour.
Jonah Matranga: He always tries to be more professional than me; I’m always the guy that wants to go out and just bang it out. And he’s like, “No dude, gotta rehearse; make it good.” So we balance each other out that way.

There was this semi-elaborate scheme with the Hot Little Pony concept. Whose idea was that? And who decided to record a Ginuwine song?
JM: What looks complex from the outside is just us fucking around on the inside. We wanted to play a couple of shows, and I just really wanted to take the hype away from it because a) I don’t like it, and b) I wanted us to be as unstressed as possible. I think our friend Jeff jokingly thought of the name Hot Little Pony. And we just all laughed when he said it and thought, “Ah that would be really fucking funny.” “Pony” is a tune that we’d always play before shows back in the day. And it’s just a simple song, and so Shaun and Chris laid it down [in Los Angeles] and I came down and sang it. Shaun added his magic dust to it. I don’t know, it just came out; it was a fun, very quick thing.

Now you have your homecoming show in Sacramento. Is that going to be a gauge of whether this continues?
JM: I think it’s all a gauge. There’s nothing official on the books, but there’s a lot being talked about. I think we’re all just trying to take it as it comes. The first two Hot Little Pony shows were like, “OK, can we do this well?” Because it was really important to all of us to not go up there and suck. And then we did the L.A. shows and thought we pretty much ripped it. Then we thought, “OK, can we tour together? Can we not drive each other insane?” The whole “Pony” thing has definitely thrown it into a different gear. We’ve never had any sort of radio play like this so we’ll sort of look at that and see what that means, if anything.

Any shows beyond Sacramento?
JM: Just Sacto. We’re very excited about that. It’s a big enough show where I think it will be fun and exciting, but it still feels like home. We got some friends’ bands on there. I feel pretty sure that more shows will happen, but we have nothing on the books. And then we’re looking at trying to do a little recording together, see what happens with that. My particular take is just trying to do a couple of covers that suggest where we came from as a band. I’m very reticent to do original songs. I don’t want to do an original song just to have a new song, and have it not be as good as the old shit. Because all of our favorite old bands do that and it blows.

Water & Solutions has been touted as your masterpiece. Does that put more pressure on you to record?
SL: I realize that no matter what we do, people are always going to love that record. That’s going to be the record.
JM: Yeah, but some people, frankly, like Tin Cans“¦ more, which I don’t understand. That’s the thing with putting out records”¦I don’t get to control what other people think. But for me, there’s no pressure with people, there’s just pressure for me… I just want to know it kicks ass. We could put something out as good as Nevermind, and people will still be like, “Yeah, you know, I kinda like ‘Bury White.'” But I would just want to feel in myself that it came from an inspired place, and that I could go out with confidence and play it live and feel as strong as I do playing “Bury White” or “Mother Mary” or “Man Overboard.” Those songs, I just feel good playing them. And I don’t feel good playing them because I’m used to them; I feel good because they’re good, and they’re good 10 years later.

Far has influenced a style of music that is looked down on, although you sound nothing like those bands. Do you guys think about that?
JM: I’ve been asked that question a gazillion times in interviews, and my stock answer that sort of makes me laugh, that I totally believe is: I don’t blame Led Zeppelin for Whitesnake and I don’t want to be blamed for Fall Out Boy. We just came around trying to play rock ‘n’ roll that was less dressed up and more human, and mixing heavy shit and more anthemic shit we liked from big rock with this sort of humble, straight in-your-face element of punk. A lot of bands at the time were doing that. And as it happened, when that sort of caught on, there were a lot of bands that traded in their leopard jeans and whatever else the fuck for horn rims and tight pants. They took all the cheap parts and tried to make money off of it, and forgot the important part, which was the humanness of it.

You’ve all changed as people in the last 10 years. How is Far different today than it was in ’98?
JM: The funny thing is that we’ve all changed as people, but the personality balance still to me is working out relatively similarly. I think Shaun and I are better at recognizing that we’re different people, and talking it through, which rules.
SL: Yeah, the communication is much better. In the past a lot of the problem was that when shit would piss people off, they wouldn’t say anything.
JM: It feels good now to come in with a little more time to breathe. And I do think we’ve all, through our individual experiences, learned a little about how important it is to clear the air before shit gets crazy.

Being in a band is like being in a relationship “¦
JM: I liken it to a relationship where the sex is really good, but everything else is weird [laughs]. To me that’s the closest analogy I could come up with without sounding creepy.

Far