There's beer, and then there is THE BEER. After sampling three thousand and twelve micro brews (maybe one or two fewer) as a secret agent of Hops, I have finally come to the conclusion that Red Hook and Rogue, Anchor Steam, New Belgian and a hundred other competitors, all have to move aside on the crowded bartop for Hopalicious from Ale Asylum, a little non descript brewery near the airport in Madison.
Julia and I passed the Asylum on our way to Lake Mendota a couple of years ago to try out a SUP (stand up paddle board). The building and location piqued my curiosity as I passed it and as chance had it later that day we found that THE BEER was on tap at Pasqual's, the southwest cafe we ate at located just down the road from our B &B off of Monroe street.
Sometimes you taste a new brew and think that this is it, this is the masterpiece, a smooth body of hops and citrusy fermentation unlike any other, but at second or third taste it just doesn't stand up, it falls flat, literally, or you find that it leaves a lingering aftertaste that is bitter or too sweet to want to return to. Hopalicious is the perfect combination of full body and striking taste, a sort of simple complexity that tastes like it wants to be perfect every time.
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