MONROE - A joining of dairy and beer may seem a bit different to those accustomed to malty hops or a popular draft, but Bullquarian Brewhouse Brewmaster Ethan Kister decided to make a local connection with a cheese factory to produce a new brew.
It's called Bull's Bruin, a sour ale made using Monroe-based Klondike Cheese Company yogurt in the brewing process.
"I knew we wanted to do a sour," Kister said. "This, I think made a better product, and it's local."
Two tubs of the plain but award-winning Odyssey Greek Yogurt were given to Kister after he approached Luke Buholzer, a fourth-generation cheesemaker and vice president of sales for the family-owned Klondike, about the idea for Bull's Bruin.
"I had no idea such a thing could happen," Buholzer said.
Despite disbelief, he supplied the starter tubs to see what would happen. With those, Kister said he was able to complete two batches, or roughly 128 gallons of the sour ale. The beer was debuted to a core audience of beer lovers on Saturday at the 2018 Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival in Madison.
Any lactic bacteria could have been used to make the sour flavor of the beer, Kister said, but the five strains in Odyssey yogurt were especially appealing. Buholzer noted the live bacteria are what gives products like cheese and yogurt "their flavor."
Kister used a brown ale aged with American red oak. He plans to include Bull's Bruin among the other ales at the two-barrel nano-brewery in downtown Monroe within a few weeks. Kister knew sour ale connoisseurs would appreciate the brew, but he acknowledged the taste may take some getting used to for less-experienced drinkers.
"It's still new to people," he said.
The donation by Klondike was appreciated, Kister added. The brewmaster said he would like to work with Klondike in the future, which Buholzer noted was a possibility as well.
"I could have gone to the store and bought any brand, but I liked having the local product, that local connection," Kister said, noting with a laugh he only realized later that the yogurt is sold locally as well.
That connection was important for Buholzer too. As part of a business run by his ancestors and hopefully by those in the family after him, he said the unexpected use of something made at Klondike and distributed in Monroe was a nice touch.
"We're a family that loves beer, so to have something we created be a part of that, it's just a neat idea," Buholzer said.
Kister noted another beer nearly at its end would need to be finished before the sour ale could be tapped at Bullquarian, but it should happen in coming weeks. Buholzer said he looks forward to trying Bull's Bruin soon.
It's called Bull's Bruin, a sour ale made using Monroe-based Klondike Cheese Company yogurt in the brewing process.
"I knew we wanted to do a sour," Kister said. "This, I think made a better product, and it's local."
Two tubs of the plain but award-winning Odyssey Greek Yogurt were given to Kister after he approached Luke Buholzer, a fourth-generation cheesemaker and vice president of sales for the family-owned Klondike, about the idea for Bull's Bruin.
"I had no idea such a thing could happen," Buholzer said.
Despite disbelief, he supplied the starter tubs to see what would happen. With those, Kister said he was able to complete two batches, or roughly 128 gallons of the sour ale. The beer was debuted to a core audience of beer lovers on Saturday at the 2018 Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival in Madison.
Any lactic bacteria could have been used to make the sour flavor of the beer, Kister said, but the five strains in Odyssey yogurt were especially appealing. Buholzer noted the live bacteria are what gives products like cheese and yogurt "their flavor."
Kister used a brown ale aged with American red oak. He plans to include Bull's Bruin among the other ales at the two-barrel nano-brewery in downtown Monroe within a few weeks. Kister knew sour ale connoisseurs would appreciate the brew, but he acknowledged the taste may take some getting used to for less-experienced drinkers.
"It's still new to people," he said.
The donation by Klondike was appreciated, Kister added. The brewmaster said he would like to work with Klondike in the future, which Buholzer noted was a possibility as well.
"I could have gone to the store and bought any brand, but I liked having the local product, that local connection," Kister said, noting with a laugh he only realized later that the yogurt is sold locally as well.
That connection was important for Buholzer too. As part of a business run by his ancestors and hopefully by those in the family after him, he said the unexpected use of something made at Klondike and distributed in Monroe was a nice touch.
"We're a family that loves beer, so to have something we created be a part of that, it's just a neat idea," Buholzer said.
Kister noted another beer nearly at its end would need to be finished before the sour ale could be tapped at Bullquarian, but it should happen in coming weeks. Buholzer said he looks forward to trying Bull's Bruin soon.