For my after dinner stop at Madison Craft Beer week – I had the chance to stop by the Argus again to try some Ale Asylum beer. It was late and had been a long day – so I didn’t have much, but I did try a couple I really liked!

I walked into the Argus with a much different scene than I did when I went to try Left Hand just a night before. It was packed. Clearly this local brewery had some fans, including a crowd of Wisconsin State Assembly Republicans both veteran and freshmen – as always, it’s nice when we can agree, even if it’s just on a nice glass of craft beer. The people there ranged from your average Madison foodie, to folks in their suits that just left work, to the parents of those people. My expectations were high.

I tried the Hopalicious Pale Ale. This one smells great for starters – like nice smooth citrus. It’s a medium weight beer, and they fit just about all the hop flavor into this thing they could without making it too crazy.  Just so you’re not too overwhelmed, there’s a nice hint of citrus flavor.

Next I had the Bedlam! Belgian Style IPA. This one also smelled nice and citrusy, but as expected the texture was smoother and creamier. There were plenty of hops to around in this one; it’s basically a great example of a straight forward Belgian Style IPA. I wouldn’t have this while you’re trying to eat a bunch of food, or if you’re trying to stay awake for more beer, it will fill you up really fast.

This was a great first try at Ale Asylum beer, but really just the tip of the iceberg. The have a full list beer, and have recently started expanding their distribution a little farther north, which will hopefully help me in Titletown. A list of their beers, both regular and seasonal can be found here: http://aleasylum.com/aboutus-info/brewerybeers/.  You can also follow them on Twitter at @Ale_Asylum.  I’d say so far my expectations have been met; Ale Asylum is going to be the number one stop on my list next time I get in to Madison, Wisconsin.