​SUDS AND SIDES

by Ben Rodgers

Door County, Wisconsin, is just as rife with art galleries and wineries as it is with kayak tours and shipwrecks. People from across the Midwest come here to escape from everyday life. But underneath the allure of vacation destination, the people that live here year-round are a unique breed. It is home to a well-educated population of free-thinking, talented and laid-back artists.

Sideshow from the Door County Brewing Company does its best to capture the way of life on this peninsula sandwiched between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. This is a beer that bills itself as a something different from what’s under the big tent. This beer and those who make their home year-round in the Door are by nature alone, estranged from the rest of the state.

Daniel Johnston is an outsider artist. A manici- depressive who has been making music since 1978, Johnston’s catalog burgeons with eccentric bits that eventually paint a picture which details his ebbs and flows as a person. Twenty years after its original release, “Fun” is considered by many to be Johnston at his best.

Sideshow hits the lips nothing like a traditional IPA. There is no initial bitter blast. After a few sips a mild floral accent from the hops becomes more evident, and as the string section coming from my turntable melds with Johnston’s lyrics. This song honestly is better suited to a drive along the prairie at dusk. At the time same time, the beer belongs in my hand watching the sunset.

One thing Sideshow has going for it, is the drinkability. As an IPA the Belgian style is definitely at the forefront of the taste. The yeast gives it a hint of bubblegum; yeast and hops work together instead of against you in the form of a bitter hop-bomb.

On “Fun” it’s not a difficult observation that Johnston’s lyrics aren’t going to change course, they are all about the same woman. But the musical stylings have all been unique. “Catie” offers Johnston’s remorseful lyrics behind producer Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers laying down 12-bar blues.

Five songs in, Johnston is hitting the stride he is recognized for. “Happy Time” has a hook that belongs in a nursery rhyme. But his lyrics jump between being about candy and comics in one verse and imprisonment in his own mind the next. It’s a bit of a puzzle.

As Johnston’s lyrics return to a direct message to the woman he loved, and who never responded. My lips return to this pint glass.

“Foxy Girl” is near the end of the A Side and offers a welcome contrast. Some songs have better instrumentals than the rest of the album, and others continue to expose the rattled mind of a lonely man.

One thing I imagine is knowing the Johnston was happy laying these tracks down, regardless of the message behind them. You can tell when a person is smiling, he clearly was during the recording of “Fun.” This beer and this album make me smile.

Much like Sideshow, Johnston’s voice is hard to pin down. He is singing, but not really changing the pitch or tone in his voice. It’s just there with enough inflection to keep you interested. It could crack at any moment. At the same time Sideshow could go either as a Hefeweizen or IPA.

The B Side opens with “Psycho Nightmare” which clearly has the most distortion of anything pressed on this album. Leary, who produced the album, has his fingerprints all over certain tracks, with a Butthole Surfers style that more than clashes with Johnston’s naivety.

Just like that “Silly Love” a song that clocks in at under 1:30 minutes offers a sharp turn back to his own style. “Fun” has its highs and lows, each song incredibly distinct but somehow complementary to the other tracks.

Halfway through my pint, and most of the B Side, the hops are starting to come through more and more, offering a playful interaction with the initial Belgian-style Hefeweizen flavor.

Sideshow won’t become my favorite beer anytime soon, but that doesn’t stop it from being a superior genre-bending brew. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted something completely different and off the beaten path. Which is exactly the reason people visit Door County.

‘Fun’ was originally released on Sept. 13, 1994. This was Johnston’s first major release and his only release from Atlantic Records. He was in a mental institution when it debuted.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Sideshow, Door County-style IPA (Belgian IPA)

Door County Brewing Company, Baileys Harbor, Wis., pop. 1,003

Sporadic availability throughout eastern Wisconsin.