Despite April Fool’s posts suggesting otherwise, Doughnut Don – the brew collab between Vennture Brew Co. and East Tosa's Cranky Al's – is back.
The 2026 small-batch Doughnut Don lineup releases on Saturday, April 11, at Vennture East, 5519 W. North Ave. in Washington Heights with the taps opening at 11 a.m., and cans and bottles going on sale an hour later.
Folks in the know know that you gotta get there early for this imperial pastry stout with Colombian coffee and vanilla along with Cranky Al’s crullers mashed right into the brew.
Patty Shack will be on site selling food beginning at 11 a.m.
This year, Vennture is spicing things up with a range of specialty Coffee & Cocktail Program drinks, too.
Here are the details on this year’s Doughnut Don lineup, with descriptions from Vennture’s Simon McConico:
Doughnut Don (12-ounce cans) – Imperial Pastry Stout with Cranky Al's crullers, Colombian coffee, and vanilla. The one that started it all, now in its sixth year.
Doughnut Don Maple (12-ounce cans) – The fan-favorite maple variant, back by popular demand.
Barrel Aged Doughnut Don (500ml bottles) – The base stout aged in bourbon barrels. Oak, depth, and complexity – and still somehow all doughnut. Aged in Ray's Wine and Spirits Green River Wheated Bourbon and Twisted Path Rye Barrels
Barrel Aged Doughnut Don Cinnamon Roll (500ml bottles) – This year's wildcard. Bourbon barrel-aged with cinnamon and cream cheese. Aggressively dessert-forward and not sorry about it. Aged in Ray's Wine and Spirits Green River Wheated Bourbon and Twisted Path Rye Barrels
Jeelly Filled (16-ounce cans) – The annual companion release with a following all its own. A Pastry Sour brewed with blueberries and lemonade – tart, fruity, and dangerously easy to drink.
Cocktail & Coffee Program:
Cinnamon Roll Latte – A browned butter cinnamon syrup latte topped with salted cream cheese sweet cream. A nod to the Barrel Aged Doughnut Don Cinnamon Roll in coffee form.
Doughnut Don Old Fashioned – Barrel Aged Doughnut Don syrup, Green River Wheated Bourbon, and Bittercube Black Strap Bitters. A natural extension of the collaboration into the cocktail program.
Blueberry Lemon Gin Slush – A refreshing counterpoint to the stout-heavy beer lineup, echoing the fruit-forward profile of Jeelly Filled.
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. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
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 been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
