’Tis Dining Month, the tastiest time of year! This means we’re dishing up fun and fascinating food content throughout October. Dig in, Milwaukee! OnMilwaukee Dining Month is served up by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino and Wollersheim Winery & Distillery.
Lowlands Group continues its series of autumn saison brews with the launch of a new beer made in collaboration with 1840 Brewing Company.
Lowlander Fall Saisonwas brewed with flaked rye and Special B malt for heftier body, a beautiful amber hue and palate and nose containing black pepper, cinnamon and Belgian yeast as well as pumpkin spice, caramel and apple cider. It's got a dry but sweet finish, according to the brewer's notes.
The beer is the latest in the Lowlands Brewing Collaborative Seasonal Saison Series which began in April 2017 and which aims to create low-ABV traditional Belgian-style brews.
So far, the restaurant group – which owns Cafe Hollander, Centraal Grand Cafe and Tappery, Cafe Benelux and Buckatabon Tavern and Supper Club – has partnered with Door County Brewing Company, Hacienda Beer Company, Perennial Artisan Ales and Whiner Beer Company in the series.
Lowlands and 1840 Brewing also partnered on Maria’s Gap Year Tripel last winter and also carries 1840 brews at its restaurants.
“We would always go to different Lowlands Group Grand Cafés because I really appreciated their bier selection.” said Kyle Vetter, owner and brewer at 1840. “When we started 1840 Brewing Company and were focused on creating classic-style Belgian Bier, we always had this dream to someday sell to Lowlands. They get it. They know how to sell bier and they know how to sell our type of bier.
"When the conversation to revive the seasonal saison series came up, we raised our hands and said that we would love to do that.”
The beer is available on tap at all Lowlands restaurants except Buckatabon.
“As we sat down with Kyle and tasted his biers, it was really clear that they have taken a deep dive into what belgian bier means, and they care for the bier in the appropriate way, and the product speaks for itself. I was blown away at our first tasting.” said Eric Wagner, co-founder/owner, Lowlands Group.
“When we look at partnering with a new brewery, the most important thing is that we like to brew with our friends. That is true of 1840 and all of the breweries we have worked with in the past, but I think this one is particularly special because we’ve really gotten to get to know Kyle and spend a lot of time with him and his team, so this collaboration has been a lot deeper.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
