While in Milwaukee again, I was up in Milwaukee to see my friends from Milwaukee Brewing. The name of the beer is called Dark Matter. If you have read my earlier beer blog on their Pull Chain, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into the beer.
This Double IPA has a golden to amber color with a white head. There is not a smell to the beer. It is hard to smell in while on the brewery tour. It has a sweet silky citrus taste without aftertaste. It is extremely drinkable beer for being a big beer.
In closing, I do not know if this is one I had back in the fall but this Double IPA is amazing. I really enjoyed the one in the fall and I loved this one too. It was hard to smell the beer in the brewery so if there is a smell I am sorry I did not pick it up. I love the taste of the hops and the balance of the malty backbone. This was a smooth Double IPA. Uinta Detour Double IPA is my favorite but I have to say this one sets the standards for me for some double IPA’s in the Midwest Breweries. I wish this was in bottle or cans. I hope they do it in the future. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
While in Milwaukee again, I went back up to Milwaukee to visit my friends from Milwaukee Brewing Company. I wanted to meet Kurt and try some beers I can not get down in Chicago. Kurt is a very nice guy. I have to say he has to be the nicest brewer I have ever met. Believe me, I have met several ones. I hope to have a beer with him really soon. If you read my earlier beer blog on their Pull Chain, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into beer.
Dark Matter has a jet black color with a brown to tan head on it. The smell is a chocolate to toffee to the beer. It is hard to smell while on a brewery tour. The taste is a chocolate malty sweet with light carbonation. The aftertaste is a smooth burn down the throat. This is true to German style but took to the next level. It is pretty drinkable beer.
In closing, this was experimental beer. I have to say it was very smooth, rich, and with full body flavor. I love the smell, taste, and the aftertaste. This beer does not drink like a 10.5% ABV beer. I am glad I was up in Milwaukee to try this beer. I do not know if I have ever saw Imperial Schwarzbier. I have had normal Schwarzbier and I love this German beer style. I hope they get a response to this beer and they put it into cans in the future. I recommend you trying this beer and their brewery tour. It is one of the best ones in Milwaukee. I believe I learn something new the last two times I went on it. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to sample out Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. Breckenridge Brewery started in 1990 became the third brewery to open in Colorado by Richard Squire. They are being sold in thirty-two states right now. This is a great brewery and they make several different beers. Let us get into the beer.
This everyday porter has a jet black color with a semi white head on it. There is a vanilla, toffee, and chocolate smell to the beer. The taste is a sweet chocolate and vanilla with a medium dry vanilla bean aftertaste. This is a pretty drinkable beer.
Deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and Madagascar grows the perfect ingredient for an extraordinary Porter brewed in Colorado. Breckenridge Brewery’s Vanilla Porter. An ale that has all the chocolate and roasted nut flavor of a classic Porter, with an enigmatic surprise thrown in for good measure.
Beer Style:
Herb and spice beer
Flavor:
Smooth Roasted Chocolate with a Creamy Vanilla Finish
Yeast:
Top Fermenting Ale Yeast
Malts:
Two Row Pale, Caramel, Bonlander, Black, Roasted Barley
Closing out, this vanilla porter is by far one of my favorite beers in this beer style. There is a few craft breweries that are starting to put out vanilla porters. Breckenridge Brewery came up with it first to do something different in the craft beer world. Now, there are a few craft breweries that are starting to put out some vanilla porters. This beer is smooth and drinkable with a ton of flavor. I recommend this beer anytime but it needs to be in the winter time. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to get into another beer from Revolution Brewing and the beer is called Mad Cow Milk Stout. If you read my earlier blog on their Anti-Hero IPA, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read the first part of that beer blog post. Let us get into the beer.
Revolution Brewing Mad Cow Milk Stout has a jet black color without a head on it. The smell is chocolate to toffee to the beer. The taste is a creamy chocolate beer without an aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.
In closing, I really enjoyed this beer and this is my favorite brew from Revolution Brewing. I love their Anti-Hero IPA also from this brewery. It is smooth and silky beer. It is extremely drinkable and that could get some people in trouble. I highly recommend this beer, however, this is not my favorite milk stout I have ever had. Mad Cow is my top five for Milk Stout.
Here is my top five Milk Stouts:
Lancaster Brewing Milk Stout
Milwaukee Brewing Polish Moon Milk Stout
Revolution Brewing Mad Cow Milk Stout
Maui Brewing Milk Stout (Brewpub only)
Left Hand Milk Stout
These are all really good milk stouts and just because I put it third does not make it a bad beer. I really enjoyed drinking them all. Now some of these beers, I can not get in my market like Maui Brewing and Lancaster Brewing. Left Hand is a great brew. I just feel the rest of the breweries took their recipe and made it better. Left Hand Milk Stout is still the same old brew and they did not change it. I recommend you trying all these beers. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
When in Milwaukee, this beer I had at a restaurant near our hotel and my phone was dead. I had some notes just sitting by my computer for a few weeks while I was trying to caught up on my posts. I am sorry to the brewery and my readers that it is taking me this long to put this post up. Lake Louie Brewing was founded in 1999 by Tom Porter. Lake Louie brought land in the city of Arena, Wisconsin from Tom’s Uncle Louie, which is where they came up with the name of the brewery. In January 2012, they signed an agreement to see their beers being sold throughout the state of Wisconsin. Let us get into the beer.
Lake Louie Coon Rock Cream Ale has a clear golden color without a head on the beer. The smell is a little different. It has a smell of fresh air or no smell at all. I am from Chicago so that could be the Wisconsin area. LOL! It has a weird taste that I could not figure out but has a crisp hoppy finish. It has a sweet carbonation almost like a pilsner. It is extremely drinkable beer.
A Pre-Prohibition Cream Ale, using flaked corn for a very creamy and full-bodied beer. Lightly hopped with traditional varieties that would have been grown in Wisconsin a hundred years ago. The ultimate “Lawn Mower beer.” ABV 5.7% IBU 16
Closing, this is a really good beer and this beer tells me anything about the rest of their beers. I believe the rest of their beers are really good too. I will be making another trip up to Wisconsin in the winter and I will be looking up their other beers. This beer is so true to the Wisconsin beers as a Lawn Mower Beer. It is a beer you can drink all day. This is a very good beer and I highly recommend this beer to any mass-produced beer or a craft beer drinker looking for a great session beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to sample some Central Satin Solstice Imperial Stout. If you read my earlier blog on their Imperial India Pale Ale, you know the history of this small great brewery. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer post. Let us get into this awesome imperial stout.
It has a black color without a head on the beer. The smell is a chocolate, toffee to some coffee to the beer. The taste is between chocolate to slight coffee notes. This beer is very drinkable and dangerous because of the ABV.
Here is a description from the beer bottle:
The smooth creamy stout and a cracking fireplace are the perfect answer to a wintery evening in Wisconsin. The rich coffee flavor compliments the “warm fuzzy feeling” you get from the abundant alcohol. Enjoy in moderation.
Here is a description from their website (www.centralwaterws.com):
SATIN SOLSTICE IMPERIAL STOUT This smooth, creamy stout and a crackling fireplace are the perfect answer to a wintery evening in Wisconsin. Enjoy in moderation.
Closing out, this is one of my favorite imperial stouts on the market. It comes at a really good price for a six-pack bottles at $9.99 at most stores. It is at the same price as the rest of their everyday beers. It is even more a value to everyone asides the brewery. Most breweries charge more their imperial stout. I love how easy this stout is to drink with the nice chocolate, with a little coffee and toffee. This is an awesome stout and I highly recommend this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to take a look at the flagship beer, which is Louie’s Demise Amber ale, from Milwaukee Brewing Company. If you read my earlier blog on their Pull Chain, you know about this brewery. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into the beer.
This amber ale has a nice clear amber color with a semi white head on the beer. The smell is a little malty to it. It has a sweet malty carbonation taste without an aftertaste. This is easy drinking beer.
Here is a descriation from their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
Our flagship brand; this medium bodied amber ale starts with a rich malt flourish that’s kept in
perfect balance by a smooth hop finish. This MBC original is similar to a German style malt beers.
Jim McCabe (owner and founder) started as a homebrewer, brewing beer with his original partner in a farmhouse in Cedarburg. On the wall was a picture from the 19th century of several men drinking from dimple glasses, every time they would drink they would toast to these men. After looking into it, they found out they were at a distant relative’s wake. That distant relative was Louie, they decided that all this time they had been toasting to Louie’s Demise.
The next question they asked was how did Great Great Uncle Louie? Our friend Bruce was able to supply us with some of the answers we were looking for.
Sheboygan, 1886, Great Great Uncle Louie was cracked over the head with a glass and killed. For several years we speculated with our friends; why was Louie killed? Turns out, Louie had it coming, it was over a woman! He was picking a fight with another bar patron over his beautiful wife. After a scuffle moved outside, Louie was sent on his way bruised up. But, near closing time, he had returned. The fight escalated, and the man whacked Louie over his head with a glass. Legend has it, an onlooker pried the beer from Louie’s dying hands and toasted his lustful life.
After Bruce gave us the lowdown, he reluctantly told us it was his great great uncle that killed Louie.
I have been brewing the Louie’s recipe for 15 years now. Brewing this beer is like wearing a favorite shirt or old hat; it’s reliable and comfortable. I look forward to the rich and complex malt aromas that are released during the mash, you might also catch some caramel and earthy notes. A portion of the malt bill is honey malt from Garnbrinus Malting Co. It adds that sour and honey aroma to the ale. Since the malt is really the highlight of this brew we kept it simple on the hops and the yeast. The yeast strain we use produces a subtle dried fruit flavor. We changed the yeast strain about 12 years ago to cut down on the BU’s and the malt bill has changed very slightly since we started brewing it.
Here is a video from Youtube (www.youtube.com) and their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
In the end, there are not too many amber ales that I can say I enjoy drinking day to day. This is one of my favorite beer from this brewery just like their Hoppy Happy India Pale Ale. There is not too Amber Ales I love in my market. For the ones, I had in my lifetime it is high on my list. I love malty and how easy it is to drink. This is great example of American Amber Ale and I recommend you trying this beer. Go get some and let me know what you think of it. Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this fall beer blog, we are going to take a look at Sasquash Porter Ale from Milwaukee Brewing. If you read my earlier blog on their Pull Chain, you are pretty much up to speed on this underrated craft brewery from Milwaukee. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer post. Let us get into this beer.
This porter has a nice jet black color with a semi white head on it. The smell is a heavy sweet potato. The taste is a little toffee and chocolate with some yam to pumpkin. The aftertaste is dry. There is no other way to explain it. It is kind of drinkable beer.
Here is a desecration from their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
This recipe was created by our Brewer Kurt. Along with 400 pounds of pumpkin and 300 sweet potato he used a variety of specialty malts to keep your taste buds on an adventurous ride with each sip. You’ll find the roasty flavors are well-balanced with pumpkin which gives it a very smooth character. Kurt also added pumpkin spice to this Porter to give it that amazing aroma and finish.
Although Wisconsin is not known for Sasquatch sightings like the North West, we do have one very famous incident.
In October 1968 a group of six hunters were out near Deltox Marsh in Waupaca County, although they saw the creature from different view points, they all agreed, it was tall, muscular and covered in short dark brown hair. What stopped them from shooting was how human-like the creature seemed.
That same November, the group of hunters plus 6 more were hunting for deer near Deltox Marsh. Lined up for a deer drive, one saw the creature and one by one the dozen men came to a halt. When the creature ran back into the woods, the hunters waited for him to return to the marsh, but it did not.
Sasquash started as a homebrew. I really wanted to create something that wasn’t like the other pumpkin beers on the market. Sasquash has a big, malty body that backs up all the spices.
This year we used about 700 pounds of pumpkin and sweet potato and adding them to the wort has to be my favorite part of this brew. Along with the obvious pumpkin smells, we’ll also get the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg aromas from the spices. We added those spices because we really wanted it to taste like a pumpkin pie.
I love drinking this beer with spice cake, pumpkin pie and chocolate chip cookies.
Here is a video from Youtube (www.youtube.com) and their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
In closing, this beer put a smile on my face from the smell to the aftertaste. I love the smell of yams and the taste of chocolate cover pumpkin with a touch of ginger and cinnamon with a dry punch for the finish. I love this beer and I cannot get enough of this beer. Most people cannot drink this beer all day but I can. I am always finding something new each sip from this pumpkin porter. There is a limited amount of cases here in Chicago area so make sure you get a six-pack. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to check out Central Waters Mudpuppy Porter. I realize I have not written up a review on this porter. If you read my earlier blog on their Imperial IPA, you know a little something on this small brewery from Wisconsin. If you have not, please read the first part of that beer blog. Let us get into this beer.
This porter has a nice dark brown to black color with a semi head on it. There is a slight coffee to chocolate smell notes from the beer. The taste is chocolate to a little toffee notes with a dry coco aftertaste. This porter is pretty drinkable and that is even in the summertime.
Here is a description from the beer bottle and their website (www.centralwaters.com):
MUD PUPPY PORTER
A robust, yet surprisingly refreshing porter, Mud Puppy is a favorite of dark beer lovers. Characterized by a thick, rocky head and luscious chocolate-like nose, the malty profile is balanced by liberal hopping for its style
In closing, I love this porter. This porter is pretty much always in my refrigerator. There is a nice balance in this porter. It is an extremely drinkable porter. There is not too many drinkable porters on the market. You can drink this beer in the hottest summer days. It has a nice chocolate to some coffee notes. The aftertaste wants you to go back for more in a good way. There is nothing else to say about this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to take a look at another beer from the Milwaukee Brewing Company. The beer is their Love Rock Vienna Style Lager. If you read my earlier on their Pull Chain Pale, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not read that blog, please read the first part of that blog. Let us get into the beer.
It has a hazel golden color without a head on the beer. There is really no smell to it. It has a slight malty with shunky taste with a nice crisp finish. It is extremely drinkable beer.
Here is a descriation from their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
Love Rock is a Vienna Style Lager. This type of lager beer has a subtle malt sweetness, balanced by the earthy tones of noble German Hallertauer hops.
The Rock is a story unique to Milwaukee and our freshwater coast. As part of the drinking water system for the city, the system draws from a big pipe in the Lake. The “intake” was marked by a big structure that was prominent off the Bradford Beach shoreline. Because of the privacy (in plain view!)the Rock was a popular lookout point for ambitious suitors. In the exciting free love days of the early ’70′s, a few ambitious Milwaukeeans paddled out to the Rock and memorialized the sentiment of the time.
The original version of Love Rock known as “Winter Lager” happens to be the second batch of beer brewer at our second street location, it was brewed on November 27th 2007. We have made a few adjustments to the recipe over the years, just to the body and to the color. The Love Rock is Milwaukee Brewing’s first year round production lager. The cold, long fermentation process that helps create such a smooth flavor. This recipe is pretty straight forward with the malts and two hop varieties. The Vienna style malt adds a nice toasty quality without overwhelming the beer. Our yeast guy tells us that this lager strain happens to be quite old. Many of the the major breweries in Milwaukee did, and still do, use this yeast. Love Rock is a refreshing and simple beer.
Here is a video from youtube (www.youtube.com) and their website (www.mkebrewing.com):
In closing, I enjoy pretty much all beers from this brewery. This is not my favorite beer from this brewery but it is still a pretty good beer. If you enjoy craft lagers, you will need to check this beer out. I really enjoyed this beer but I will enjoy it if I cannot find something else. Go get some and let me know what you think of this craft lager. Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
DJ Weiser 