Vintage Brewing Company, Madison WI

28 September 2024

My original plan had been to revisit The Grumpy Troll in Mt Horeb WI today, but according to Google they were likely to be stupidly busy with up to an hour wait for a place to sit. So I looked around and found this little place not far from my hotel that Google said would not be very busy. That was correct. I wonder why …

In truth, the beer and food were pretty good; it was just the location, the decor, and the service that left something to be desired. They have a good-sized tap list, though, and I started with a flight of 5 (left to right):

Mosasaur – IPA, 6.9% – This is one of their year-round brews and it was “one of the top 3 Wisconsin IPAs at the 2017 Wisconsin IPA Fest.” They “make gratuitous use of Mosaic hops” in this one — hence the name — and it was actually my favorite of the flight! I’d definitely have more of it should I ever find myself here again. (But still, “gratuitous use” ?!? I guess they have a sense of humor!)

Scaredy Cat – Oatmeal Stout, 6.3% – This one has some medals under its belt as well, most notably a Gold from the 2016 World Beer Cup. As Oatmeal Stouts go, it’s very, very good and hard to distinguish from the best that I’ve ever had.

Hibiscus Saison – Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale, 6.3% – And now we’re venturing into the “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” territory. For my taste, this was much too heavy on the Hibiscus and I didn’t feel it mixed well with the Saison.

Bob’s Yer Dunkel – Munich-Style Dark Lager, 6.1% – To be perfectly honest, I do like a Dunkel but got this one mainly for the name! It was good. Not great, but good.

Vapour Trail – Hazy IPA, 7.4% – The bartender recommended this one; I should have known better than to try something with “pillowy soft” in the description, but I wasn’t paying attention (and probably would have tried it anyway). It was OK, but as far as IPAs go, I far, far preferred the Mosasaur.

I was hungry but not terribly hungry so I went with the Sausage and Pepperoni Flatbread. It was very tasty even though by the time the cheese cooled off it started tasting like one of those grocery-store “cardboard pizzas.” It was probably meant as more of an appetizer, and if shared by two or three people would be really great. As it was, it was the perfect amount of food for me and I don’t regret it one bit.

I finished up with a pint of their Oktoberfest – 5.6%. It wasn’t a true German Oktoberfest, but it was better than a lot of American versions I’ve had and you couldn’t go wrong with Vintage’s version.

Vintage wouldn’t be my first choice if I’m back in town, but it wasn’t a bad choice and it’s always fun to try places I haven’t been to before. Still, I’ll make sure not to be near Madison on a weekend the next time so that The Grumpy Troll can be a relaxing destination 🙂