By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Nov 05, 2020 at 1:02 PM

While Mother Nature gives us a nice dose of 70s this week, sweater weather is on its way.

It’s true, even if this spell of gorgeous weather continues, Sweater Weather is inevitable: The Fermentorium’s annual Sweater Weather Imperial Milk Stout release and its variants, I mean.

To launch the beers this year, The Fermentorium will host a Blackout Wednesday release event at both its location on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at noon.

In addition to the annual Sweater Weather itself – an Imperial Milk Stout with vanilla – there will also be a trio of new variants, ranging from 9 to 10.5 percent ABV: S'mores, Car Bomb and Ugly Sweater Weather.

Ugly Sweater Weather is dosed with black tea, raisin, currants, figs and spices. This fruitcakey take uses layers of dark crystal malt to add caramel notes, too.

Car Bomb is a knitting together of the base brew, a bit of last year's Sweater Weather that's been aging in bourbon barrels and a dose of Irish cream flavor.

As you'd expect, S'mores is a mash up of Sweater Weather, chocolate, toasted marshmallow and graham cracker flavors, with some nice smoky and graham cracker-y brown malts.

Each variant will be available in 16-ounce four-packs and, because variety is the spice of life, you can also get 16-ounce four-packs with a can of each style.

"We're excited to have three new variants again this year," says The Fermentorium's Maggie Skinner. "Each team member voted on their favorites from a list of flavor profiles but (founder) Kristopher (Volkmann) our brewer, Matt (Aprahamian), finalized the line-up.

"And since they were such a hit last year, we are bringing back the mixed four-packs. They should be available in both taprooms and in the market at select accounts after our Blackout Wednesday release!"

Pre-orders open Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 8 a.m.

Each location will also have a food truck on site during the event, with Heirloom MKE at the East Tosa barrel house from noon until 7 p.m. The food truck at the Cedarburg brewery and taproom on Highway 60 will be announced soon.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

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.