Cheers to Third Space Brewing, 1505 W. St. Paul Ave., for bringing back a gold medal from the Great American Beer Festival.
On Saturday, the young brewery took gold in rye beer category for its Unite the Clans Scottish Style Rye Ale.
“It is extremely exciting and humbling to receive such a prestigious award for our beer,” said co-founder Andy Gehl. “We hope it will shine a spotlight on what we are doing here at Third Space Brewing.”
Winners were chosen out of 7,923 competition entries from 2,217 breweries in 50 states plus Washington, D.C., according to the Brewers Association, which sponsors the annual event. One Barrel Brewing in Madison took bronze for its Behemoth beer in the Barley Wine-Style Ale category.
A new brew for Milwaukee
Minnesota’s Lift Bridge Brewing beers are populating retail shelves in Milwaukee, which is a big deal to Brad Glynn, a Milwaukee native and one of the brewery’s co-founders.
The first thing everyone asks Glynn about is his sports alliance: Packers or Vikings?
The question is logical considering Lift Bridge Brewing is in Stillwater, Minn., which borders Wisconsin near Hudson.
The answer is more emotional. Glynn keeps a Packers schedule in his pocket, and his Milwaukee series season tickets in a safe place. He moved to Vikings territory when his father, who worked for Schlitz, was transferred.
Which is one reason he’s excited to have his beer in hometown. The new distribution marks the first time the brewery has expanded in five years.
Look for Hop Dish IPA and the top-selling Farm Girl Saison. The brewery also makes seasonal brews like Fireside Flannel, a brown ale with notes of hazelnuts, and limited releases such as Commander, an English style barleywine.
And root beer. Lift Bridge makes root beer.
Here’s where to find more beer:
Wednesday: Gathering Place Brewing, 811 E. Vienna Ave., hosts the Drink Brew City tap takeover from 6 to 10 p.m. Trivia begins at 7 p.m., according to the event page on Facebook.
Friday: Pretty bold move introducing a new beer on Friday the 13th. Matthew Hofmann, head brewer at St. Francis Brewery, will tap TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World as We Know It), a barrel-aged brew made with sweet potatoes, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, pecans and a 10.5 ABV. See the St. Francis Brewery Facebook page.
Friday: MobCraft sets up at the NARI Home & Remodeling Show at 6 p.m. to teach interested beer lovers how to make their own brews. The NARI show runs through the weekend at the Wisconsin Expo Center at State Fair Park. Admission is $8 in advance; $10 at the door.
Saturday: Draft and Vessel, 4417 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood, celebrates its third anniversary with Dogfishhead Oak Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout, Founders KBS and more starting at 6 p.m., according to the event page on Facebook.
Oct. 18: Be ready to shout “more cowbell” during the Sparkly Eyes release at Black Husky, 909 E. Locust Ave., starting at 5 p.m. If you don’t know the cowbell connection, check with Tim or Toni Eichinger about the cowbell story. If you do know, be prepared with a re-enactment of the “Saturday Night Live” “More Cowbell” skit and a sparkly outfit.
Oct. 19: Benno’s, 7413 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, hosts the My Turn Michael kickoff party for Lakefront Brewery’s new brew in the My Turn series — a stout made with spiced black tea. The party runs from 5 to 8 p.m.
Oct. 25:Ray’s Growler Gallery, 8930 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa, hosts a Ghoulish Takeover with seasonal brews from 3 Floyds, Lakefront, Indeed and more at 5 p.m. Among the treats, $1 of each sale of Crack the Skye will help fund Hope the Day, an organization offering support for individuals and families dealing with mental illness and suicide prevention.