Making Mount Horeb famous: Beer wins gold
22.04.2008 03:00
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- Source: JS Online
You've probably seen those TV spots for Miller Lite, bragging about gold medals the brand has won at the World Beer Cup. The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery, in Mount Horeb, doesn't have TV ads. But the brewpub, about 25 miles west of Madison, does have a World Beer Cup gold medal, which it won Saturday in San Diego. The Grumpy Troll was one of just three Wisconsin breweries - along with Miller and Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery Inc. - to win an award at this year's competition, which drew nearly 2,900 entries from 644 breweries in 58 countries. The Grumpy Troll won a gold award in the Baltic-style porter category, which had 15 entries. "It's the Olympics of brewing, and a gold medal is the best you can do," said Mark Duchow, Grumpy Troll brewmaster. "I guess now I can retire." He's kidding about the retirement stuff. Duchow was back at work Monday, planting some hops in Dane County that will eventually be used in the beers created at the Grumpy Troll. But Duchow isn't joking about the honor. The announcement that the tiny brewpub, which will sell around 450 barrels of beer this year, won a gold medal left him "dazed and confused"- and elated. "It's an incredible feeling," he said. The award will likely help the Grumpy Troll attract beer enthusiasts to Mount Horeb, said owner Doug Welshinger. Also, www.ratebeer.com in January named the Grumpy Troll to its list of the world's 50 best brewpubs. The Grumpy Troll came in at No. 40. The only other Wisconsin brewpub on the list was Great Dane Pub and Brewery, in Madison, which was ranked No. 16. Welshinger credits Duchow, an Oconomowoc native, who returned to the Grumpy Troll in 2006. Duchow previously was brewmaster there from 1998 to 2001, when it was known as Mount Horeb Pub and Brewery. He worked at other brew pubs in Iowa City, Iowa, and Houston before returning to Wisconsin. Duchow began brewing the Baltic porter in 2007, and it won a bronze medal at last fall's Great American Beer Festival. A Baltic-style porter, he said, is smoother than an English-style porter and includes a plum flavor. "It's something different," Duchow said. So is Grumpy Troll's name for the beer, which is dubbed Amnesia Porter. Duchow said the moniker was inspired by a bicycle embedded in the ground in nearby Blue Mounds, which gives the appearance of a forgetful cyclist. But federal alcohol regulators vetoed the use of the word "Amnesia" on a proposed label for the beer, which Welshinger plans to bottle for carryout sales at the brew pub. "They said it implied a promised effect of the beer," which violates alcohol labeling regulators, Welshinger said. The beer will be called Baltic Porter.
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