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My brewery tour led me next to the recently vacated Ale Asylum location, where Madison’s newest brewery Karben4 has, in six short weeks of life, swept in and stirred up quite the commotion. Noted “Most Impressive” at a recent beer festival, and heartily pumping out 15 barrels a week, Karben4 is making waves. Delicious, malty waves.
My first impression of Karben4 was that their beer isn’t easily categorized. Ryan Koga, Karben4’s sole brewer, likes it that way. He calls Lady Luck an Irish Red, but that’s not really what he had in mind when he brewed it. His goal was to recreate the experience you get from drinking a Cabernet; the result is sexy, emotional, deep in color and in taste, but not overbearing. This one does not belong in the same bucket as Killian’s.
Ryan’s Session Ale – UnderCover – is routinely criticized for its lack of session ale qualities. A session ale is meant to be drinkable and light in ABV. This crisp, golden ale is Ryan’s take on the friendly lager, but the taste is still too strong for non-beer lovers. I watched with a smile as a beer skeptic ended up ordering water after giving it a try. Great beer isn’t for everyone.
NightCall is Ryan’s take on a porter. I could go on and on about this smoky delight, but I am so enthralled with Ryan’s lively descriptions that I’m going to let him take this one. “This is the porter that other dark beers hang a poster of on their own bedroom wall… this brew provides a subtle smoke profile that simultaneously creates new fans of dark beer and tames the beast inside the bold-beer aficionado.” Really, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
With six years of experience working at Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co and a few brewery consulting jobs under his belt, Ryan was prepared and enthusiastic to get his own operation started. With the help of his brother and two close friends, they got it up and running with remarkable speed. Just two months after Ale Asylum vacated the space, Karben4 opened their doors. The tasting room is simple, elegant, and – my favorite part – it features original artwork that expresses the feel of each of their six flagship beers.
It’s hard not to share Ryan’s enthusiasm. On one short tour of the facility, I learned all about the bottling line that is getting geared up for use later this year, tried the newest batch of SamuRyePA straight out of the barrel, sniffed the discarded hops on the ground, and heard the detailed plan to optimize the space to make room for more barrels. With solid beer and contagious enthusiasm, I think they’ll need all the expansion room they can get. Now that I’ve been here, there’s nowhere I’d rather spend my happy hours. Welcome to Madison, guys. We’re glad you’re here.
