A Believer of Brat Fest.

The World Famous Brat Fest returns to the sacred grounds of Alliant energy center for a fun weekend for all the family. Thankfully, the weekend remained dry and warm for the thousands that came to eat up their brats with all profits going to local charities, they managed to sell upwards of 200,000. Awesome figures, as always there was also a large number of attendees at the site as well as Brats at work day, again raising so much money for amazing causes.

As well as the great brats there is the great music of local and national talent. Due to working I was only able to soak in the Friday highlights. A band that I have wanted to see for a while, Smashmouth headlined the main stage of the night bringing everyone together in a mass singalong. Although the band has gotten older since their nineties and naughtiest fame, they did not bring out an old act. They played an exciting show full of energy, delivering tracks from their whole back catalog, as well as some fresh new sounds. The highlight from the night was the double singalong whammy from, 'I'm A Believer' & 'Allstar'. With the famous Shrek song of believer bringing in a flash mob of people dressed up as Shrek characters. This will be a night families will remember together until next year. 

We came, we seen, we conquered!

The Isthmus Beer & Cheese Festival rolled round again in 2018 and we were more than happy to sample it for our very first taste. This annual festival is now into its 9^th year and is continually selling out tickets, days in advance of the actual event. It offers VIP and general admission tickets, the main perk to VIP is the extra time of 2 hours entry before anyone else to try the samples and experience the taste, crowd free. Being festival virgins we played it safe and selected for general admission tickets, in hindsight it was every dime. 

We arrived 45 minutes before the doors were due to open; thanks to a free bus shuttle service ran by the festival. This service is great and allows for safe roads around the event to prevent drink drivers. The queue’s for the festival grow in size pretty quick and extend out across the whole outer walk way, so make sure to get there early. The bus we arrived on even set off 10 minutes earlier than it was supposed to, making it a quick experience. Once we the doors were opened, tickets were checked and we each got a bag, programme (with map) and tasting glass. 

To the beer! As everyone spilled into the barley full event space we made our way down our first isle to sample our favorite beer, ‘Leinenkugel's’. After sampling a light beer, we crazily started just sampling port and stout beers; one of these was a beautiful yet full on peanut butter and chocolate milk “stoutz” from, ‘The Brewing Projekt’. However, this along with the other ales quickly became very heavy on the stomach, so we sought out the nearest water fountain and cheese stand. There were a good number of cheese and food stands around the event and they were easily found as the lines for these were bigger than any brewery that day. The best cheese we sampled was from the ‘Metcalfes’ cheese boards.

As we walked around the stands in a meteorological manner, we picked up as many beer bottle caps as we could for our beer board. The boards we have are in the shape of WI State and the USA. They are awesome at representing the local and national breweries that are available to check out again or for the first time. Back to the beer of the moment, the best beers for both me and my wife was the “breakfast beer” and “17 up” beers, both from ‘Pearl Street Brewing Company’. There were so many different styles and exclusives at this festival which would normally cost you $5 plus per bottle. Therefore, the $50 ticket fee was more than justified this year round.

With the year just beginning so are the festivals, we look forward to checking out more this year but it will have to be great to meet the high standard we witnessed at, The Isthmus Beer & Cheese Festival 2018. 

Beer & Cheese? Yes, please.

What do you need to be a Wisconsinite? Some would say chomping on home grown cheese washed down with a bottle of local beer, while watching a Packers football game. To an extent they would be right, after living here for almost a year this is something that I have not only become accustomed to but love about Wisconsin, as it is rich in home grown flavours and food heritage. With that in mind, it is not strange then to continually host delicious food festivals throughout the year and what better way to start the year than with one of the biggest, Isthmus Beer & Cheese festival is back on Saturday the 20^th of January 2018.

This year it continues to hold its ground by offering samples from over 100, yes 100 breweries from across the nation including many from local companies like, Great Dane/Capitol/Leinenkugels/Lombardi and so many more! The beer serves as a good chaser to the many food options available as well, with dairy companies offering out samples of their finest cheeses. More cheese companies are to be announced at present but so far the list does include Wisconsin’s own ‘Edelweiss Cheese’ and ‘Cesar’s Cheese’. Entertainment is also present from the dueling pianos who are two talented individuals ready to play all your requests.

The price for tickets is $50 without fees and does include a goody bag and unlimited samples from whatever you want. Tickets are on sale and sure to sell out, as they have done in years gone by so check them out and kick off the New Year with a weekend to remember.