 | With a career that involved lots of driving the state, combined with a love of beer, Robin Shepherd became an effervescent expert on beers, especially those of the upper Midwest. Drawing on his penning a trio of books on the breweries and brewpub of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, as well as regular beer articles in Madison’s Isthmus, he regaled us with tales from his deep knowledge of the beer culture of our region. The 1980s saw the emergence of craft and home brewing, ending the total dominance of the big national brewers. This trend has continued to accelerate. Wisconsin is home to about 175 brewers now, with perhaps 500 in the Great Lakes region as a whole. All beer comes from just a combination of water, hops, barley, and yeast, but the different techniques and flavors added to make for a wide palette of flavors. Lagers, ales, pilsners, bocks, stouts, sours, tarts, lambics – the variety appears to be endless. Wisconsinites approve: they manage to consume thirty-three gallons per person. |
This Week’s Speaker: Changing of the Guard – New Club Officers