If Oktoberfests and even IPAs have become too ho-hum for you these days, MobCraft Beer is hosting a seventh birthday event with a twist.
Virtual Weirdfest 2020, set for Saturday, Aug. 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. with food pairings, music pairings, Mondo Lucha wrestling and, most importantly, weird beers.
At a brewery where the kolsch is called "Oddball" for being out in left field among its sudsy cohort, Weirdfest is perfectly pitched (sorry) for MobCraft, which draws much of its inspiration from crowd-sourced beer ideas.
Weirdfest finds MobCraft unveiling four special brews that "embrace the weird."
They are a Kimchi-inspired variant of Low pHunk Sour Ale called Kimchi pHunk; Machete Melon lager with mango, melon, lime, cucumber and cayenne; a mushroom, tomato and herb Marzen-style lager called Chef Boy R U Drunk?; and Ba$!c Bat, a caramel latte take on MobCraft’s flagship Bat$h!t Crazy, made with caramel, chocolate and coffee.
Each of these beers will be paired with something special from local food partners like Cranky Al’s Donuts, Pop’s Kettle Corn, Chocolate Sommelier and Becher Meats.
"MobCraft embraces the avante garde in our brewing practices. We work with a variety of fruits, vegetables, candy, and other unusual ingredients in recipes all of the time, but Weird Fest is our opportunity to really lean into it," says MobCraft’s Event and Programming Manager, Elise Strupp.
Weird Fest 2020 will replace the Saturday Series slot for the last week of August.
Tickets are $40 and on sale now, and include fest admission at 7 p.m., a mixed four-pack of the weird beers, food pairings, a Weird Fest branded 16-ounce glass, rainbow sunglasses, and a 500ml bottle of Ode Etta Sahti, Finnish-style barrel-aged ale brewed with spruce and juniper.
VIP tickets are $65 and also include early admission at 6 p.m., an additional "feet on feet" pairing of Brettanomyces (500ml bottle), 1/4-pound of Beer Kase, and a 16-ounce draught bottle of Scotch Barrel Aged Existence.
Designated driver tickets are $15 and include general admission to the fest, a Weird Fest branded 16-ounce glass, rainbow sunglasses and a 16-ounce Komboocho Dill Pickle Kombucha.
Although it hardly seems to be in the spirit of the event, you can also choose an "Un-Weird" ticket for $40 and get a four-pack of "normal beers" and a four-pack of Hyperspace IIPA in place of Ode Etta Sahti.
Of course, there are add-ons, too, including extra fest glasses for $7 each, a $7 mystery bag of beer, a 16-ounce bottle of the kombucha for $5 and a guest brewers’ pack for $35 that includes 16-ounce cans of:
- Tank 8’s Feeling the Void Double IPA with Meridian hops, Nelson Sauvin hops and white grape juice
- Explorium’s Strawberry Cheesecake Fruited Berliner Weiss
- Young Bloods’s No, Not That Michael McDonald Fruited Berliner (with pink guava and blood orange)
- Third Space’s Aperol Spritz Fruited Sour
- Oso’s Bring Me The Disco King Barrel Aged Sour Ale (500ml bottle)
- Indeed’s Peach Cobbler Fruit Beer (32-ounce crowler)
For more about Virtual Weird Fest 2020 visit blog.mobcraftbeer.com/weird-fest.
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.
