5261. Go to 3 Sheeps Brewing in Sheboygan

 When Andrea and I were planning our Croffle date, we saw that 3 Sheeps Brewing Company was having their 11th anniversary party the same day. I said we should check it out since I've not been to a brewery in Sheboygan County.

After a bit of shopping and sampling, Andrea asked if we should do Croffles or Beer first since we were literally going to drive right by the brewery. I said croffles as I probably should eat before I drink. 

With our bellies full of croffles, we headed back to 3 Sheeps Brewing. It is located in a neighborhood with limited parking. We ended up parking on a side street and walked a few blocks back to the brewery. 

We both grabbed a beer before sitting outside. It was not a gorgeous day but nice enough to sit out and enjoy a beer. Enjoy might have been a bit strong. Because of my like to sours, I had Flower Sour which was a Sour Ale with Chamomile. Andrea opted to go with a Pineapple Mango Slushie Beer. Neither of us were fans of our choices. Mine was more bitter than  I was used to and Andrea's was just weird.

Even though we have known each other for over 20 years, we realized this was our first time we've had a beer together. We've done a beer run together but never went for a beer to catch up.

Since my beer was not very good, I decided to try to chug it. Yeah, that didn't work very well. I decided I can not chug a beer.. No I don't really care to try again. I just wanted to cross "chug a beer" off the bucket list.

3 Sheeps Brewing Company is perfect spot to hang out. They do have a good selection of beer and plenty of inside and outside seating. Andrea said it was a good spot to social distance during the pandemic. I would go again just to hang out, talk, and I would try the seltzer next time. That seems like a safe choice.

23 in 2023: Discover at least 1 new brewery -- Timber Tap

I got an email from Kimberly Library inviting me to an event there were having at a new brewery in Kimberly -- Timber Tap. We would learn about the beer making process and sample some beer. Sign me up. The hubby was like can I go too? So I signed both of us up.

Timber Tap is still under construction and hope to open by end of April or beginning of May. It is located in the same building as the coffeeshop and BBQ place right downtown Kimberly on the corner of Kimberly Ave and Birch St.. It is a bit hard to find since they are on the backside of the building. Luckily one of the librarians directed us and they had signs out. 

The owners Paul and Carol introduced themselves, gave a little bit of a backstory about brewing beer in their basement for family and friends, and then explained how brewing small batch craft beer really is created. They had a very nice Power Point Presentation and handouts.

As they went through their presentation, they let us sample three of their beers: Red Ale, Porter, and a Cold IPA. We also sampled Malt Tea.

The Red Ale was not bad. I would order this if I was here with a group. It was not too beer-y. 

The Malt Tea was interesting. It is just sample of the wort or the liquid extracted from the malting process. It has no alcohol content yet as it has yet to be fermented with yeast. Malt Tea has the flavor of the malt used. I didn't real taste anything. It was kind of bland. The hubby tried this one too. 

The Stout was actually my favorite and I don't like dark beers. Either my beer palate is evolving or this one was especially good. It was not bitter at all. I would have to fight Stacy for this one if we had a flight.

The Cold IPA was my least favorite. It definitely was very hoppy. I was not at all but did finish my beer.

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to see the backroom where the brewing process would take place. It is small and reminded me of Basil's set up at Down Time Wines. 

We also got to sample spent grain cookies. There were white chip cranberry and chocolate chip. I preferred the chocolate chip but both were good. 

I already told Stacy that if we need a beer when she's up here for cookie baking that we should check this place out. Even the hubby, a non-beer drinker, was impressed. It will be a happening spot in Kimberly come summer. It is definitely worth checking out as they will also carry other guest taps.

Exploring Madison's Craft Beer Scene

The last couple of years, Stacy and I have stumbled upon a winery during girls' weekend. Since we were in Madison, I figured a winery or a brewery would be a good stop. When Stacy looked at the initial itinery she was like we can do Capital Brewery but there are so many other craft breweries. I was like the only reason I picked that one was because my plan was to end the weekend at a brewery and since we were in Middleton Capital Brewery made the most sense. 

Since the weekend didn't go as planned, which wasn't a bad thing, we decided to check out a couple smaller breweries yesterday. Then the volunteer gave us a couple suggestions for today -- one which was only open Thu-Sat. We ended up hitting a total of three different breweries which is just the tip of the iceberg of craft beers in Madison and sampled a wide range of beers. I kind of let Stacy dictate where we were going to go.

One Barrel Brewing Company 

These are handmade beers made in small batches... one barrel at a time. They had 12 different beers on tap from pilsners to stouts and everything in between. This was probably had a beer for everyone. Stacy and I split a flight since we were going to hit another brewery after this one. Stacy doesn't care much for IPAs and I am not one for really dark beers.

Fresh Froth -- Lemondrop APA.. I knew what an IPA was but I never knew there was an APA as well. This one was nice and summery. It was probably my favorite of the four.

Forward FC -- Cherry Kolsch .. This one wasn't bad. I would probably drink it again.

Breakfast Beer -- Imprerial Coffee Milk Stout. I am not a coffee fan or a stout fan but I was willing to try this one. It was exactly like I thought... coffee flavored beer. Stacy drank this one. 

Birthday Barley -- English Barleywine.. This one wasn't bad but it wasn't a favorite. If I had to I would drink it again. 

For four beers and a snack of cheese, sausage, and crackers was less than $20. This place you could hang out with friends any time of the day.

Funk Factory Geuzeria

Stacy asked me if I liked sour beers. I was like I never had one but I'd be willing to try one. 

Funk Factory specializes in sour beers. A sour beer is just made with sour yeast like sourdough bread. It has a different, unique taste. Again they brew small batches of their beers. They do not offer flights but instead you could get 6 oz samples of anything on tap plus they had a whole menu of 375 ml bottles of beer. There were 5 Funk Factory beers on tap and 3 guest taps.

We initially split a bottle of De Bij which is a blend of multiple vintages of MT beer with honey added later. These beers are sipped more like wine or cider. I honestly can say I was not a fan of this one. I might be because of it being a sour beer or it lacked another flavor. I drank my glass. 

Stacy tried another bottle off the menu which I don't recall. I went with the Blackberry Meerts. It was definitely a tart, sour beer. Every though it was nothing that I would expect in a beer, it was good in a weird way. It does take some getting used to though. 

I am one to try beers and wines based off of name only. For this reason alone, I had to try astronaut juice. It is beer with tang mixed in. It is their festival beer. Astronaut juice rocks my world. I would drink this any time. It tastes just like tang. 

Word to the budget conscious people, the bottles are $18 and you get about 2-3 glasses out of them. The 6 oz were $4 or $5. Stacy said the bottles were not worth it. 

Funk Factory is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They roll up garage doors and the bar is in there. The atmosphere is laid-back awesomeness. Back in the day, they had neighbor bars.. now Madison is introducing neighborhood breweries. Great concept. 

Working Draft

This brewery was recommended by the volunteer at the Botanical Gardens. The best part is they were open at 11 am in the morning. Again Stacy and I split a flight of 4 beers. They had 9 beers to choose from.. half of which were IPAs. There were a couple guest beers on tap as well.

 

Hey Dey -- Vienna Lager. This one wasn't bad. I may drink it again but it was still along the lines of Miller and Bud. 

Ain't Bad -- Festbier. I was not a fan of this one at all. It was too malty and tasted too much like Miller Lite. We decided I am one for malty beers or festbiers. 

Pulp Culture -- Hazy IPA. This one was my favorite of the day. Stacy figures I prefer hoppy beer to malty beer since I liked this one. It also has a hint of grapefruit and pineapple. I just think I like fruit beers since I really like Summer Shady.

Mom's Jeans -- Maple Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout. For a dark beer this was amazing. Stacy was amazed by the low ABV (5.5%). It is an oatmeal stout that aged in maple syrup whiskey barrels. I would definitely drink this one again.

Each of the breweries we hit were unique in their own way. Beer tasting is so much better on the wallet than wine tasting since you really aren't obligated to buy any more beer once you finish your flight unlike wine tasting where I always feel obligated to buy a bottle. 

We just barely scratched the surface of the Madison craft beer scene.  I like the hole-in-wall craft breweries... small batches and once they run out too bad so sad. Then you know it's good. 

I told my cousins we need to do a girl's weekend in Madison and do beer tasting all weekend. I could keep up if I do flights of two beers or split a flight with someone. I know the hubby doesn't have the same taste for craft beer (or wine for that matter) as I do. I'm sure it won't be difficult to find someone to explore the craft beer scene with if I decide I need a beer fix in the future.

Beer Tasting in The Door

Usually when I go to Door County, there is wine involved.. either wine tasting or wine purchasing. Since our boat tour was in Bailey's Harbor, we decided it was easier to go beer tasting than wine tasting afterwards. Door County Brewing Company was literally just down the road from the dock. Okay most of the towns in the Door are about 2 blocks so it's easier to walk around them.

We didn't actually go to the actual brewery but Door County Brewing Company Musical Hall. It servers both Door County Brewing Company and Hacienda Beer Company beers along with live music at night and board games anytime. Both brewing companies are local to Bailey's Harbor. We opted to sit inside since outside seemed more cocktails than beer. Laurie, Jeanne, Cindy, and I went with a flight of beers while Bonnie opted to try the root beer.

The flight came with 5 5oz beers. EEK!! I barely can finish 1 beer let alone like 2. I am not big beer drinker. You literally made your selection from the chalkboard hanging behind the bar onto a card. You could choose between beers from either Door County Brewing or Hacienda Beer.

Being not much for beers but having a good idea of what I like and don't like, it was tough coming up with 5 beers. Jeanne struggled too and she is a beer drinker. Some of them, I literally chose because of their name or ingredients (i.e. coconut). Jeanne suggested my fifth choice since I had no clue to put down.

They poured your beers according to your card... so unless you are smart enough to put down the beers in light to dark order (or a reasonable drinking order), your flight was a mish-mash of tastes and colors. It was up to you to figure out how to drink them.

My five beers

Big Sister -- a Witbier with Hibiscus from Door County Brewing. I mainly chose this one because of the hibiscus since I really loved hibiscus tea at the tea party this year. Sadly, I was disappointed. It wasn't bad but the hibiscus tea is much better. It was a very pretty red color. We all picked this one.

The Only Time Is Party Time -- A Milk Stout with Cold Brew Coffee and Coocnut from Hacienda. UGH!!! Horrible. No coconut whatsoever. All I tasted was coffee. I hate coffee. Jeanne drank this one for me.

Everything Eventually -- Citrus dry hopped pale ale from Hacienda. Everyone got this one and this one was everyone's least favorite. Laurie described it as vomit. It kind of grew on me. I definitely was not a summer shady that I was expecting.

I'm Not a Doctor -- I believe this one was from Hacienda but I don't recall what the flavor was. This one actually was my "favorite" of them if I had to pick a favorite. It had the smoothest taste and didn't taste like Miller or Bud.

Clawhammer --  A classic German style pilsner from Door County Brewing. I should have picked a different beer. I should know that anything German Style Pilsner is going to be like Miller. I was not a fan.

We also split a pretzel. It was the size of my head. It was worth the $8.

The beers left a lot to be desired Most of them had to grow on you. I don't think there was one that anyone of us loved. Jeanne did like her Polka King and Cindy her Clawhammer. Personally I would have stuck with wine.