Current Tap List 8/30/06

Black Wolf Schwarz (5.5% abv)
Named after Jim Wolfer from Prairie Rock who let us borrow his lager yeast, Black Wolf is brewed in the style of a German Black Lager or Schwarzbier (black beer). It has a small amount of dark and roasted malts added to the grain bill to give it a distinct, yet not overpowering roasty aroma and taste. At 5.5% it is easy drinking and has a pleasant crisp lager finish. Try this black beer and be surprised by a different kind of one of those "dark beers."

Imperial Mocha Java Stout (9.3% abv)
Summer is the perfect time for a huge stout that warms you up from the inside out. Well maybe not, but we have one anyway. Our Imperial Stout is loaded with dark roast espresso beans from The Great American Coffee Co. in Bourbonnais Il. We used bittersweet chocolate in the boil to add a certain creaminess, and loaded it up with alcohol. Because of the small batch size, and the fact that we will be barrel ageing a good portion of this brew, we will only be serving it in sinfters for $5 a glass.

Vishnu's Vice I.P.A. (8% a.b.v.)
It's been weeks since we had an I.P.A. on tap! Matt and I are both very sorry,...we swear. As penance, allow us to offer Vishnu's Vice. It's so good that not even The Great Preserver can resist. If he could drink four at a time he probably would. This I.P.A. is big at 8% a.b.v. and has enough body to stand up to the generous amounts of Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, and Summit hops. Enjoy it with a sample of our Anniversary Pale Ale and compare the different hops.

1906 Anniversary Ale (American Pale Ale) [Running Low!]
July 2006 is the 100th Anniversary of the building, and the 10th anniversary of Flossmoor Station Restaraunt and Brewpub. To celebrate, Matt and I have made an American Pale Ale that is heavy on the hops, but easy enough to drink and enjoy. 1906 is made with 5 different American hops, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, Simcoe, and Summit dwarf hops. Enjoy our celebration of 10 years with a pint of 1906!

Nexte Haltestelle (Next Stop) Hefeweizen
Nexte Haltestelle is a pale and hazy german style Hefeweizen that pours with a large and fluffy head. The fruity aroma begins with a whiff of banana and citrus fruits. The body is lighty and a little dry with a fruity middle and a slightly spicy character that may make you think of cloves.

Avante-Garde Biere de Garde (7% abv)
Avante Garde is a deep coppery red that begins with sweet malty aroma. Flavors of dark fruit are balanced against a toasted, bready malt body. This style is tradionally a Northern France/Belgian farmhouse style that was set down to age over the warm months. ("de Garde" means "To guard" or "store" similarly to "lagern" the German version of storing beer.) Avante Garde has a slightly musty cellar character with very little hop presense. But at 7% watch out for a beer that will warm you up a bit if you aren't careful. Look for ours served in a 12oz Goblet for $4.25

Bottling at America's

With the Great American Beer Festival rapidly approaching the horizon we found ourselves petitioning the use of our favorite 4-head meheen filler at America's Brewpub at Walter Payton's Roundhouse. Brewmaster Mike Rybinski, graciously allows us to use his bottling line, which allows us to sleep well at night knowing that our beers going to Denver are bottled in one of the best ways possible. Our three GABF medals from last year and one of our World Beer Cup awards were beers that we bottled with Mike's bottling line. Thanks Mike!







Matt wearing very stylish PPE.




This is the stone cage that Mike uses to make his Hemp Stoned Ale. During the boil the stone in the cage is heated to 1000 degrees and dipped four times into the wert. Roaster hemp seeds are added to the mash to create a nice nutty flavor in the beer. If you find yourself out in Aurora it is definitly worth a try.


Todd Ashman Announcement



Todd Ashman Announcement

Todd Will be back and brewing soon, not will Flossmoor or Titletown in Green Bay but in Truckee California.

From Probrewer.com
"The new Truckee Craft Brewing Co., located at 6000 feet in Truckee, California near Lake Tahoe, should be up and running by late this year or early next.

Most remember Ashman for his innovative (and award-winning) beers at Illinois brewpub Flossmoor Station. He also brewed at Titletown Brewing in Green Bay before going to work for Rahr Malting/Brewers Supply Group, which sells ingredients to craft breweries.

Ashman officially starts in Truckee at the beginning of December. He says that capacity constraints will limit him to keeping five or six beers on tap, 'maybe more once we get things in rotation.' "

Current Tap List 8/16/06

Imperial Mocha Java Stout (9.3% abv)
Summer is the perfect time for a huge stout that warms you up from the inside out. Well maybe not, but we haave one anyway. Our Imperial Stout is loaded with dark roast espresso beans from The Great American Coffee Co. in Bourbonnais Il. We used bittersweet chocolate in the boil to add a certain creaminess, and loaded it up with alcohol. Because of the small batch size, and the fact that we will be barrel ageing a good portion of this brew, we will only be serving it in sinfters for $5 a glass.

Vishnu's Vice I.P.A. (8% a.b.v.)
It's been weeks since we had an I.P.A. on tap! Matt and I are both very sorry,...we swear. As penance, allow us to offer Vishnu's Vice. It's so good that not even The Great Preserver can resist. If he could drink four at a time he probably would. This I.P.A. is big at 8% a.b.v. and has enough body to stand up to the generous amounts of Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, and Summit hops. Enjoy it with a sample of our Anniversary Pale Ale and compare the different hops.

1906 Anniversary Ale (American Pale Ale)
July 2006 is the 100th Anniversary of the building, and the 10th anniversary of Flossmoor Station Restaraunt and Brewpub. To celebrate, Matt and I have made an American Pale Ale that is heavy on the hops, but easy enough to drink and enjoy. 1906 is made with 5 different American hops, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, Simcoe, and Summit dwarf hops. Enjoy our celebration of 10 years with a pint of 1906!

Nexte Haltestelle (Next Stop) Hefeweizen
Nexte Haltestelle is a pale and hazy german style Hefeweizen that pours with a large and fluffy head. The fruity aroma begins with a whiff of banana and citrus fruits. The body is lighty and a little dry with a fruity middle and a slightly spicy character that may make you think of cloves.

Avante-Garde Biere de Garde (7% abv)
Avante Garde is a deep coppery red that begins with sweet malty aroma. Flavors of dark fruit are balanced against a toasted, bready malt body. This style is tradionally a Northern France/Belgian farmhouse style that was set down to age over the warm months. ("de Garde" means "To guard" or "store" similarly to "lagern" the German version of storing beer.) Avante Garde has a slightly musty cellar character with very little hop presense. But at 7% watch out for a beer that will warm you up a bit if you aren't careful. Look for ours served in a 12oz Goblet for $4.25

Madison Recap

Well another 2nd Saturday of August, another Great Taste of the Midwest gone by. It was a perfect day filled with tons of great beers. We poured out of everything that we brought and had long lines at our booth all day, to which we took as being a good sign. Here are some photos from the weekend.

After we got checked into our hotel, we (Matt, his wife Jenni, and myself) headed over to the Great Dane to meet up with some fellow brewers.



The Dane had a nice dark mild that was on tap and very sessionable.


Jim and Mike from Prairie Rock hustled us in pool until our friends from Brewer's Supply Group showed up and got hustled instead.

After the Dane, Matt and Jenni and I decided to check out Ale Aslyum on the other side of town since it just recently opened. The former brewer from Angelic in downtown Madison left to open his own place and we got to take a small tour of the new facilities.



It was really a brewer's brewhouse. Everything looked like it was put in place for a reason and there was lots of room to move around and work. I was envious of their setup.



Saturday morning we hit Mickie's Dairy bar, the best place to eat breakfast in Madison and had Scramblers.




It's always important to lay down a solid base before a beer fest.




My parents, Terry and Patti, came up to help us pour.



And like I said, we had long lines and poured all of our beer. It was a great time, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Great Taste of the Midwest Madison

Hope you have your tickets..... Here is a preview of what we will be bringing this year.

Vishnu's Vice I.P.A.
Our big 8% I.P.A. with Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, and Summit hops.

Avante Garde Biere de Garde
7% Abv, Spicy, Belgiany, biere de gardey.

Pullman Brown
You know it, you love it, it won a Gold at the world beer cup this year.

Ol' Woody Barrel Aged I.P.A
Ol' Woody is X-I.P.A. aged in a Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrel and then dry hopped with Amarillo hops.

Wooden Hell
Wooden Hell is what you get when you barrel age our Barleywine, Sheol. It's good.

TrainWreck of Flavor
Todd Ashman used to make this here once upon a time. 50% Sheol, 50% Pullman, 100% barrel aged.

Ella's Reserve
Our GABF winning Belgian Golden Strong that sat itself down in a bourbon barrel to mellow and get some added character.

Hope you have a good time, because I know we will. Pictures will follow next week.

Cheers to Cameron Begg

Tuesday we brewed Pullman, and since we knew it was going to be an oppressively hot day, we started far earlier than normal and headed out in the early afternoon before we both fell over from heat exhaustion. On the way home I decided to swing by Piece, since I hadn't been there in a while and I had heard Jonathan had some interesting seasonals on. Never one to disappoint, the reigning World Beer Cup small brewpub brewer of the year, had on a Bier De Garde called "Surrender," and a big hoppy beer called "Quintet," celebrating Piece's 5th anniversary. Both were needless to say, very good.

While I was waiting to see if Jonathan was around, a gentleman asked if he could take the seat next to me at the bar. I could tell from his accent that he was from the UK, and although I am usually wary of talking to strangers at bars, I was interested when he asked the bartender for an I.P.A or something hoppy. Some friendly bar small talk let to him mentioning his homebrewing and that once upon a time he worked at a brewery in Edinburgh. He introduced himself as Cameron and said that he was in town for a conference about advanced microscopes and was looking for some good beer and something good to eat. Piece, naturally was an obvious choice.

We chatted about all manner of things, drank beers, and even shared a pizza. It was probably one of my favorite bar experiences to date. I very rarely meet a complete stranger at a bar who is interesting to talk to, loves good beer, and is a genuinely nice person. So, in honor of chance encounters and being a cool guy, Cheers to you Cameron Begg!

p.s. Cameron has a totally awesome webpage