| rev:text
| - I specifically visited Mt. Horeb because I did a search for brewpubs and came across the Grumpy Troll. I was not disappointed.
The decor was fairly typical for a brewpub. Clean with wood accents and the requisite brewing equipment view. It is a little on the small side compared to the big corporate brewpubs, but there is nothing wrong with that. I liked the cozy feel and it makes sense considering the size of the town that the Grumpy Troll is hiding in.
So we came for the beer and we tried everything that they had. We started drinking pints, but later found out from the manager that they offer samplers as well. ($1 / 5oz) The waitress had failed to mention that to us. It was a good thing because I am not sure I could have made it through all of the beers otherwise. The selection was broad enough to keep a beer lover like me satisfied all night long.
Maggie (cask conditioned)
flowery, fruity... hard to describe, but delicious! Served at the perfect slightly cool temperature.
Maggie: The normally tapped version of the Maggie was also very good. This beer is a stand out among the beers offered at the Grumpy Troll. We liked this so much that we took a growler home for the night. (But be careful, the local laws won't let them sell a growler after 9PM We were practically rushed out the door at 8:59 with ours.)
Curly: dark and slightly smokey. Very pleasant tasting. My wife liked this one more than I did.
Trailside Wheat: smells great - like bananas. Good fruity flavor, but could stand to be a bit more flavorful.
Saison: good initial aroma, but very watery tasting. Kinda sour as it warms. I have had other examples of this style of beer and liked them very much, so I was very disappointed. I would not get this again.
Dry Irish Stout: creamy, deliciously dark and chocolatey.
Spetsnaz: good, dark - like burnt chocolate, but in a good way. A little more sour than the Irish stout, but good in a different way.
BIPA: bitter, citrousy like a bitter grapefruit. Not unpleasant, but not very impressive when compared to the Maggie.
Freedom IPA: nicely bitter, but I couldn't help comparing it to the Maggie that I had earlier and it just didn't stand out.
Eric the Red: good flavor without and extremes - just right. Not too anything. Nicely balanced, easy drinking beer.
Captain Fred: kinda stinky aroma. Not a horrible taste, but I just don't like this style of beer very much.
Slow Eddie: very mild jalepeno flavor. I am not a big fan of this style, but I thought I would try it to make sure.
In between all that beer we ate a little food too.
Wisconsin Cheddar Curds: yummy! Nice batter based coating rather than the usual crumb based breading. Good cheddar flavor. The accompanying honey mustard dipping sauce was just right.
Troll's Beer & Cheese soup: not quite as flavorful as other beer/cheese soups I've had. A little watery.
Brat: tasted good, but nothing special. I was in Wisconsin, so I felt like I had to have one.
Walleye: this was a decently sized portion of well cooked fish. The Grump chips were fun. Sautéed green bean were a nice side dish too.
The one thing that bugged me about this place is that it was very "family" friendly. There were too many kids. At one point my wife and I changed tables when a table of 10 was set up next to us with 6 kids. Come on people, it's a brewpub, not a Chuck E Cheese! I mentioned this to the manager, but he was proud of the kid friendliness of his establishment. I guess there are just not enough people like me to keep him in business.
Overall I would go back again. In fact, we went back again the following night for a few more beers. We also left with several large bottles of their beer to enjoy once we got back to Illinois. I don't know when we will make it back, but if you are in Mt. Horeb, be sure to tip a pint at the Grumpy Troll.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)