The 6 best things I drank at Great Taste of the Midwest, from old fashioned seltzer to more New Glarus wizardry

Madison, Wisconsin is always a great drinking town. But for two days in August, it rivals Munich during Oktoberfest.

That's when the Great Taste of the Midwest, America's second-longest running craft beer festival, takes over swaths of the city before the fall belongs to Badger games. Technically, that's limited to a five-hour stretch at Olin-Turville Park, a lovely space with a clear view of downtown from a southwestern shore of Lake Mendota. But the event, thrown by the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild, also stretches into the Friday before, occupying taps across the isthmus with hard-to-find beers.

It's incredible.

As a veteran of many beer fests, I can plainly state no other matches the scope and breadth of the Great Taste of the Midwest. 2024 alone offered approximately 1,400 beers from breweries across the country, including standouts like 4 Hands, New Glarus, Revolution, Bells, Lagunitas and more. It also came with a hand held guide too large to fit into any of the pockets on my shorts and an app whose beer list it took roughly 30 seconds to scroll all the way through.

This year's fest was, per usual, the gold standard of craft beer all-you-can-drink festivals. And thus, I invite you on a journey with me to figure out what exactly my notes said after five hours of sampling and five-star ratings that may or may not worked on a sliding scale as the day wore on.

While acknowledging there was simply too much offered to try even 10 percent of the offerings, these are the best things I drank at the Great Taste of the Midwest.

Surly: Oktoberfest (on the firkin)

Marzens are my favorite type of beer and we're right at the start of malt season, so this is my element. I had plenty of great Oktoberfests at the Great Taste -- Karben4, Bells and Big Grove, unsurprisingly, all came through in spades. My favorite, however, was this special edition, extra-effort-to-pour variation from a big Minnesota brewery arguably best known for its pale ales.

Here's what I wrote in the Great Taste app after sampling it:

It's rich, but still light. There's limited carbonation but it remains very much on par with great old school German marzens. It delivers a lot of low key malty flavor, finishing dry enough to keep me coming back -- I could get through a two-liter boot of this, no problem.

Eagle Park: Tiki Dave's Strawberry Banana Colada

This is effectively a placeholder for everything Eagle Park poured to Madison. The Milwaukee-based brewer crushed it with their lineup, including a hard seltzer that invoked nostalgic tones of Ghostbuster-themed juice boxes. For me, however, the highlight was Tiki Dave's whole deal. From my notes:

It's sweet and very tasty. The fruit comes through in big, tropical waves. Add a little blended ice and you'd be able to convince yourself you're getting a proper beach cocktail. There's very little sense there's alcohol here, even at six percent ABV.

Third Space: Happy Place Midwest Pale Ale

This is a bit of a cheat, Third Space has been around for a while and I went real basic at their stand. Happy Place is available on tap lists across Wisconsin. But maybe I'd missed it, because I always knew it as an "OK" beer, but wound up very impressed with the batch I tried at the Great Taste.

Happy Place is hoppy, but not bitter. It's a fireworks show of fruit -- citrus, cherries, etc -- against the backdrop of mellow malt and and smooth hops. Here's what I wrote about it Saturday:

My goodness, this is just about perfect. It's got tons of flavor, creates soft sips with nothing bitter. It's clean and dense at the same time, delivering heaps of different juicy flavors across the pale ale landscape.

Duesterbeck's Brewing Company: Bees Be Crazy

Hefeweizens sit on a fine-tipped edge. Too soft and they taste like a stale light beer. Too heavy and there's an almost sweaty feel to it. But the best ones hit you with light banana notes and clove flavor in a refreshing package. That's where Duesterbeck's lands, even adding a little honey to sweeten the pot and create a memorable, re-drinkable beer.

From my notes:

Great banana clove flavor. It's a perfect change of pace beer. Refreshing and easy to drink, with enough distinct tastes weaved into each other to create a beautiful braid [Editor's note: This was, uh, probably later in the day after several samples. Still, it was good].

Hop Butcher for the World: Brandy Old Fashioned Seltzer

So much about this sounds like nonsense. Starting with the brewery's name or the idea a Chicago brewer is taking on a quintessential Wisconsin cocktail. But I love a good brandy old fashioned -- thanks, 14 years of living in Madison! -- and we had one seltzer-heavy member of our group who sought this out. It was immediately worthwhile and, at 10 percent ABV, slightly troubling. Not that you could tell from each sip.

Here's what I wrote in my Great Taste app:

Oh, [expletive], this is dangerous. It's sweet and bubbly and a little like soda water despite being 20 proof. It's not quite as good as the cocktail that inspired it, but it's close -- and it takes a fraction of the effort. For the drinker, at least.

New Glarus Brewing Co.: Zwickel

Man, I love a good zwickel -- an underrepresented crisp German style lager that's a flagship offering from St. Louis' Urban Chestnut Brewing. It's no surprise New Glarus, which is good at everything, excels with this latest foray outside its comfort zone. Really, you can throw a dart at New Glarus' tap list and find a five-star beer no matter where it lands -- and this fall means it's Staghorn season.

Anyway, here are my Zwickel notes:

Oh, hot damn. This is crisp and malty. It's everything I want from a German beer. Flavors are explosive but fleeting, snapping off with each sip and creating a delicious, crushable beer.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: The 6 best things I drank at Great Taste of the Midwest, from old fashioned seltzer to more New Glarus wizardry