Well Memorial Day is this weekend, and Father’s Day is just around the corner. There is no better way to honor  our country and our dads than by firing up the grill! …And our stores can provide you with all your grilling needs; from meat at Jacobson Bros’ counter (Konig’s in Monroe) and all the toppings, sauces and sides throughout the store.

We have an array of traditional BBQ sauces such  Southern and (a fan favorite) Sweet Onion. These sauces are fantastic to use to top ribs, chicken or steaks. For a more non-traditional flare, try using one of our great fruit spreads or jams as a glaze. Mix our Orange Maramalde with soy sauce and fresh grated ginger to make an Asian-inspired glaze for salmon or shrimp. Or try combining our Red Raspberry Fruit Spread with chopped chipotle peppers for a sweet and spicy glaze on top of chicken breasts.

Hamburgers, brats and hot dogs are always a grilling classic, and we have all of the fixins! Fabulous Clinch Mountain Tomatoes, crisp lettuces, sweet Vidalia onions, and a wide variety of mustards. Top off your burger with a pile of shredded Smoked Pepper Jack or 3-year Aged Cheddar for a little pizazz. If you are looking for a burger alternative, try grilling Portabella mushroom caps stuffed with cheese such as our Fresh Basil Farmer or Blue Ribbon Blue. Drizzle with Brennan’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Barrel Aged Balsamic Vinegar; top with a large slice of tomato.

For our vegetarian friends, skewers stuffed with vegetables are always a good option. Try using mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and onion wedges to get a wide variety of flavors. Brush with Brennan’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and chopped garlic before putting on the grill.

And don’t forget the sides! We have a great selection of chips, dips and salsas to complement your meal.  And of course, there’s Jacobson Brothers’ famous Potato Salad!

Enjoy the summer holidays!

We hope you can join us April 26 – April 28 for Brennan’s 1st Annual Cheese Curd Days!

• We’re giving away a free 1 lb bag of Brennan’s Squeaky, Fresh Curds with a $40 purchase*.
• Free Balloons for Kids!
• Help us choose our next great cheese curd flavor by tasting three new flavors and voting for your favorite
• Sample wine and micro-brews.
• Jacobson Brothers Brat Tasting
• Brat and Hamburger Buns – Buy One Get One Free.
• Prize drawings and more!

So, come to Brennan’s & Get Your Squeak On!

*While supplies last. Excludes gas purchase in Monroe. Mixed curds only. In store purchase only. 1 per customer, per purchase.

We just received our once-a-year shipment of Hale’s Ales Bottle-Conditioned Nut Brown Ale. You may be thinking, ” What’s so exciting about that?” So, here’s the  lowdown on one of my favorite pre-spring seasonals from
Seattle, WA.

What: Brewers put live yeast in the bottle to work a little magic, just like  leprechauns!  The yeast is added just before bottling to provide natural carbonation, rather than carbonating the beer in a tank. The result is a  spritzy, Champagne-like carbonation and sediment on the bottom of the bottle.

How: Some folks like to pour 4/5ths of the beer and drink this “bright beer”. While others like to swirl the dregs on the bottom of the bottle and add it to their glass for enhanced mouthfeel and flavor. I suggest you try it both ways.

Why:  Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, this beer is an excellent match for Irish Cheddar, Shepherd’s Pie, and Corned Beef with Cabbage.

Sounds like a good reason to buy a six-pack and experiment for yourself!

Cheers!

Here are the beers I will be serving to my friends and family to ring in 2013!

With all the different flavors of appetizers my wife will be putting out, I want my guests to enjoy beers that will be lively, crisp, and are able to effortlessly morph from shrimp to chicken as well as “do the shimmy” with cheese and salty snacks. I like to serve them in champagne glasses so my friends can enjoy different flavors in moderation.

First up is Brennan’s Golden Pilsner. This will get your taste buds to rise to stand up and stimulate your appetite. Great with salty snacks and mustardy options.

Beer number two is going to be Scuttlebutt Amber Ale. A bump up in malt character from the Pils, but it still has palate cleansing hop crispness.

Beer number three is a Belgian Beauty…Flying Dog’s Wildeman Farmhouse I.P.A. Such a well-attenuated brew full of tantalizing spicy notes and yeasty Belgian aromas.  This beer does NOT have the typical American hop bite, (due to a secret blend of hops), but rather a tart,  citrus-like finish.

Beer Number four will be a creamy Imperial Dunkelweiss known as Scuttlebutt 10 Below.  Slight milk chocolate flavors and a whiff of banana aroma will end the night on a cheery, beery, dessert note!

Cheers!

Once a year Avery Brewing Co. releases Samael’s the first of their Demonic Series of beers. This is a beer where the apt descriptors are: Intense, treat with great care, bourbon-like aroma along with vanilla and toasted wood. Flavors of plum, raisin, caramel and vanilla. One bottle can easily serve 3-4 as an after dinner cordial.

This year’s version comes in at 15.47% ABV. Be wary of driving for 2-3 days if you polish off the 12 oz. bottle by yourself. Cellarable for 5,8 even 10+ years when kept in a dark, cool location. Thank you Avery Brewing Co. for your passion! Chris

There are some big beer drinking holidays just around the corner:  Chaperoned a Field Trip to Zoo (today),  Memorial Day and Father’s Day. Ok, so many of you may not have heard of the “Just Chaperoned a Field Trip to the Zoo” holiday because there really isn’t one. But anyone who has every gone a field trip with a bus load,  or for that matter one crabby, hot and tried pre-schooler knows that while beer isn’t the answer, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

So, here are my micro picks for whatever comes your way this May and June,  whether it is, “Waited 2 hours to see my kid walk across the stage for 30 seconds to get their diploma”, or ” Just cleaned out my garage and am very thirsty day.”

Avery Rascal Wit (Boulder, CO):  Uber-refreshing. This is my fav style of beer in the summertime. An orange slice is a must for me, but of course optional for you. It is spicy with a lemony acid edge and good flavors of coriander and orange peel with a good bitterness in the finish. Slightly sweet but this is mostly a spice and hops beer. The bonus about this brew is that it is available in cans and bottles, so it can be enjoyed anywhere bottles aren’t welcome.

Millstream Weizenbock (Amana, IA): A heavier wheat beer. Kinda of like a cross between a Wit and a Hefeweizen.  Banana, green apple, clove and pepper spice, yeast, bubblegum, lemon citrus, and caramel make an appearance, and even balance the alcohol toward the middle of the glass. Num.

Scuttletbutt Homeport Blonde Ale (Everett, WA):  This easy, but crisp brew has flavors of bready malt, grass, lemon zest and very mild bitterness. A summertime brew if there ever was one.

Cheers!!

Super fun beer and food pairings will be held at our 8210 Watts Rd, Madison location from 6-8pm on Saturday May 12th.  We will be introducing the brand new “Trés Fem” a Cherry Wheat Ale from Hale’s Ales. Millstream Brewing Co. co-owner Teresa Albert will be in the house sampling their wonderful collection of brews including their newest “Extreme Series” offering. Also, do not miss your chance to purchase a special offering… Uncle Jacob’s Stout, a 17% Bourbon Barrel Aged Beauty that Avery Brewing Company sent to us to in honor of  Craft Beer Week.

Your $5 Admission paid at door will be donated to Gilda’s Club of Madison.

Be here for beer!
Chris

Tailgating Dip and Super Queso Dip with Brats.

Since the Packers aren’t in the Super Bowl this year (don’t get me started), this year’s game will be all about eating great snacks with a few commercials thrown in. I considered putting together a New York or New England menu, but  realized that just because our team’s not playing doensn’t mean we need to eat Chowder. So, I put together a menu that consists of Wisconsin classics with a few healthy options, too. That way you won’t feel guilty about dessert!

Vegetable Crunch Dip with Romaine Scoops

For another hot dip recipe, try our Super Queso Dip made with our Brennan’s Pilsner Jalapeno Cheese Spread. Serve with sliced brats, tortilla chips and fresh veggies.

long van ride with no snacks. I wondered if I would like this dip as much when I wasn’t starving. Turns out I do. You can serve it already in the lettuce leaves or serve with the lettuce on the side. Either way delicious and very fast to make.

Of course, salsa and Guacamole are synomous with football snacks. Rather than a traditional tomato based salsa, I made one with blood oranges and Cara Cara Navel Oranges. So yummy and colorful! The key to this tasty

Cara Cara and Blood Orange Salsa with cut Pretty Belle Navel, Blood Oranges and Cara Caras for color comparison.

recipe is knowing how to segment oranges. After that, it is a snap.

Super Fruit Dip

Finally for the afor mentioned dessert, I made a super easy fruit dip with cream cheese, mascarpone, vanilla and a little sugar.  I paired it with our Florida Strawberries, 900 Series Grapes, Honeygold Pineapple and blueberries. When you dip strawberries in, it tastes like strawberry cheesecake! Coincidently, chocolate brownies also pair well with it. Let your kids make little skewers and dunk them in. At least they’re eating fruit, right!

I hope that you put together a fun menu for game day, try some of these recipes and enjoy watching the ads, and perhaps a bit of football, too!

It’s hard to believe that it has been over a  year since we opened our Oconomowoc store. We were thinking we should do something to celebrate. Since we all had such a great time at our grand opening, we figured why not do it all over again! Please join us at our Oconomowoc location Saturday October 23 for a day of fun-filled events for the entire family, or join us on Sunday October 24 at our Brookfield store to celebrate their newest neighbor to the west.

Saturday October 23 at Oconomowoc store only

Sunday October 24 at Brookfield store only

• Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides from 11:00am-3:00pm
• Activities for Brennan’s littlest customers in the greenhouse including kid’s crafts and giveaways- 11am-3pm
• Free Balloons for the kids
• Free Long Stem Roses to the first 500 customers Saturday & Sunday
• Wine, Beer and Cheese Tastings
• Prize Drawings

Thanks to all for a great year! We hope to see you there!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is THIS Thursday? Wasn’t it just Halloween last week? Though I should have realized because my Halloween candy is somehow all gone. Not that I’m not excited, because Thanksgiving is ultimate foodie holiday– a day filled with food, tradition and no stress about gifts. You can read the Black Friday ads and imagine that you will finish your Christmas shopping in one glorious day. Note, I did say imagine.

Well, anyone who knows me well knows that side dishes are my passion, so Thanksgiving is my dream day. In fact, I’m not sure if there will be room for turkey on my plate! Maybe on my 2nd. If you’re not following us on Facebook, check us out because we are doing a countdown to Thanksgiving with a new side dish recipe everyday or you can visit our recipe page for more ideas.  

Of course, if you are looking beyond side dishes. Jacobson’s is stocked with fresh turkeys. Contact the Jake’s nearest you to reserve your bird. And.. we are fully stocked on fresh baked pies. Choose from Pumpkin, Apple, Cherry, Strawberry Rhubarb and more!

Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving or traveling, wine is a must. Our wine selectors are sampling wines perfect for your holiday feast, including New Zealand’s South Island Pinot Noir, a true crowd pleaser. If beer is your thing, then you are in luck because we are fully stocked on Winter brews including Hales Wee Winter, Scuttlbutt 10 Below and Tommy Knocker Cocoa Porter. Just to name a few. Mix and match a 6-pack with some Brennan’s Amber or Pils and you’ll have something for everyone.

Because this is Wisconsin, you cannot talk about any holiday without mentioning cheese. Besides traditional cheese and sausage platters to snack on when watching the Packers take on the Lions, I add cheese into my mashed potatoes and even to my green bean casserole. If you are looking for a hostess gift our cheese boxes are on display and ready to take or ship!

OK… clearly I could go on forever. I will wrap up and say, “Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving from all of us at Brennan’s!”