I started my career as a summer intern during graduate school in 2006. That summer, I gave my husband Marc an earful about how my colleagues back in Chicago would offer condolences when they heard my client engagement was in Madison, Wisconsin. Clearly they did not know good beer (or about fried cheese curds, for that matter).

I saw beyond the pint sized town and cow décor in Madison and entered the city with big barley hopes of having intimate access to unique craft breweries and a college town brewery culture that was said to rival my personal standard of excellence -– Bloomington, Indiana’s Upland.

Day one in Madison showed its malty muscle as I waded through the ocean-sized sampler at the Great Dane. The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company opened one block off the state capitol square in November 1994 and became the first brewery to operate in the city of Madison after the closing of the Fauerbach Brewery in 1966.

When my sampler came, patrons glared, wondering if anyone else would be joining me and my large wooden paddle of brews. I had never seen such a bevy of brews in a beer platter, which decidedly dwarfed my table for one. That day I learned that at the Great Dane, you can order different numbers of samples and if you generically order The Sampler you will receive at least 10 beers! Be warned or be smitten. I was just happy that my sampler sophistication quotient had jumped a notch –- I’ll be ready next time!

Those first (many) sips of Madison’s Great Dane left enough of a finish for me to bring my husband, Marc back for a visit which we achieved as part of a thoughtful detour en route from a family wedding in Iowa last month. This time, The Sampler arrived without traces of shock or shame.

She Said:

It’s no secret I have a penchant for porters. If I do not exercise restraint at a beer tasting, I will jump to the darkest, deepest beers first, destroying any attempt at tasting purity that comes from starting with the lightest brews and working down to the darkest. So naturally, I wanted the Great Dane’s Black Earth Porter right when we sat in our cozy bar booth. Even the mood of the Great Dane put porter on the mind -– dark mahogany bar, restored brickwork on the walls, and a glimmery golden view of the brewery vats.  The slight chill in the air didn’t help –- a porter sounded perfect with an accompanying cup of the Dane’s West African Chicken Peanut Stew.

But I waited.

Marc and I selected 10 beers to sample from the wall-sized chalkboard of current brews, mostly written in fluorescent chalk with other “always” brews permanently painted on glossed wooden signs. I use a brewery’s lightest beer as a litmus test for its overall brewing quality and creativity. The Great Dane exceeded expectations with its Landmark Lite — emphasis on the landmark. The Landmark Lite offered a dynamic combination of freshness and flavor richness, even for a porter princess on a cold day. It was such an impressive beginning to the sampler experience and in the end, turned out to be one of my all time favorites.

What should impress a beer lover the most about the Great Dane is its consistent quality and creativity across products. It doesn’t have just one or two great brews; it has enough to please the palate at any season, with any food, and in any mood. This is the first brewery where my two favorite beers have sat on opposite ends of the tasting spectrum. I give The Great Dane mega Porter Props and Landmark Love in thanks for a Dane Great experience.  

He Said:

Aimee’s description of this place gives you a sense of what I had been hearing –- incessantly — for the three years between her first trip there and the time I finally had an opportunity to sit down for a sampler and a pint.  Whenever we discussed brewpubs, Aimee would promptly bring up the Great Dane with a look in her eye that is usually reserved for when she talks about kittens or Bill Clinton. 

I was nervous when we walked in. Aimee talked this place up so much -– what would happen if I hated it? I know it would break her Hop-loving heart. Thankfully I didn’t have to deliver any bad news. As soon as I started in on the Sampler, I knew I was in for a great microbrew experience.

Most of the small scale breweries have a difficult time of crossing what I call the hop/malt divide — meaning all the beers will either be hoppy or malty regardless of the style they attempt.  I’m sure you all have been there –- too much hop on the porter, or so mild a hop on an IPA that you wonder if the waitress brought you the wrong glass.  The Great Dane, however, had no trouble crossing this line, and did so repeatedly.

From the ten, I too settled on something I rarely order — the “Irish” red.  This beer had all of the initial sweetness you’d expect from an Irish red, however soon after it departed from a Killian’s into a nice malty middle with just enough hop on the finish to prevent any negative lingering effects of the initial sweetness.  All in all, a great pint and, whenever I end up in Madison again, surely the Dane will be my go-to spot.

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