Brew guru: Blonde looks good with wings

September 18th, 2008
From the Green Bay Press Gazette

It's 10:30. You've been at the bar for about two hours, and the ballgame or darts or whatever is great. You're staying. Maybe for a while. But that stupid salad you had at 6 seems really far away. You're hungry, and you're heading for the promised land, the place where the possibilities are so many and so good that they must be bundled in sampler baskets. The appetizer menu — all the bounties of the modern food service industry, all deep fried.

But wait, prospector! Not all is as it seems. Is a cheese curd really better battered and fried? OK, yes, it is, but is it really a cheese curd in the first place, or a rubbery cube of cheap cheddar? That salsa, a perfect garnish for the stale chips, will let you down as sure as the Milwaukee Brewers. Mini tacos are not as good as big ones.

No, it's time to go to the app menu's No. 1 draft choice: the Buffalo wing. It's not without its risks — a bad wing is cold, greasy and bland, masked in flavorless burn. But a good one is a harmonic nexus of tangy, savory and heat that can make a good night transcendent. It's a delicate alchemy, which makes it cosmically correct that so many wings are washed down with beer —when done well, an exercise in balance in its own right.

• This week's brew: Bison Blonde

• Style: Blonde lager

• Brewed by: Buffalo Water Beer Co., found at the corner of Buffalo and Water streets, Milwaukee

• Web site: www.buffalowater.com

• Availability: For now, it'll take a trip to a Woodman's Food Market — the shortest drive is probably to 2400 Dousman St. — or to Milwaukee to get it on tap.

• Taste: This is a blonde its crafters say was inspired by and is best washing down a spicy chicken wing, so imagine the kind of beer you'd most like paired with a Buffalo wing. Light body? Check. Mild hop? Check. Light carbonation? Check. Buffalo Water founder Craig Peterson refers to "poundability," in all capital letters, in the packaging and Web notes for Bison Blonde, and that's definitely what he's got. The flavor hits the mark but comes across as secondary to its other characteristics.

• Backwash: The Brew Guru must admit he snickered at the first glimpse of this six-pack. If you're not familiar with the brewery's geographic origins, "Buffalo Water Bison Blonde" might evoke a Rust Belt city's tap water or a bladderful from a big, sweaty animal — neither of which seems like a good idea in a pint glass. But after some due diligence and a few Buffalo wings, this beer delivers — crisp, tasty and, yes, poundable. Hot wings optional.

• Rating: THREE AND HALF MUGS (out of four)

Drinkin' beer — it's a tough job, but someone has to do it, especially in Titletown. If you have a brew you'd like our mysterious Brew Guru to pop a top on, drop a line to weekend@greenbaypressgazette.com.