Greetings Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the sixth entry in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now No Fibs Allowed Beer Tour 2018: A True Beer City Experience, which took place in the great city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Open up your favorite Midwestern- brewed beer and follow along as I explore Wisconsin’s largest city in search of the best in local suds. Cheers!
Breweries often come up with names that relate in some way to the local area, its history, or its attractions. Many of the naming choices are obvious and some are certainly more ear- catching than others. But then, there are those breweries that select the most basic name possible, often silencing their own creative instincts and going instead for the simplest name possible. Such is the case with Milwaukee Brewing Co, located at 613 S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
A Taste of the City
Milwaukee Brewing is one of the older and more established breweries in the Milwaukee area. It was founded way back in 1997 and through years of steady growth and satisfying product, the brewery has grown to the point where it brews about 13,000 barrels of beer annually.
This brewery’s interior space is somewhat compact and there is no place to sit. You stand, drink, and mingle with the crowd. If you decide to take a tour, like most visitors do, you are presented with a colored wristband and can proceed directly to the bar for your first fill up. The tour takes place in three parts, with guests making their way back to the bar for more beer, between segments, for added drinking pleasure.
Milwaukee Made
Milwaukee Brewing attempts to mix it up with its beer selection and has been known to introduce unusual beer options from time to time. Here is a listing of the beers I tasted, alphabetical by name, followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a 5- point scale:
- Citrus Happy, Grapefruit IPA, 4.25
- Hefeweizen, Hefeweizen ,3.5
- Imperial Cereal, Brown Ale, 3.25
- Mr. Crantastic, Hefeweizen, 3.25
- MKE IPA, American IPA, 4.25
- O-Gii Imperial Wit, Witbier, 4
Overall Average Rating: 3.75 out of 5
I liked the two IPA served here the best of all six beers I tried. There were other interesting ones in the bunch, but the IPA were tops in my book.
Let’s Make Some Noise
Milwaukee Brewing is an entertaining brewery where locals go to talk, drink, and meet new people. A noisy, rambunctious type of place, Milwaukee Brewing is not an attraction to visit if you’re looking for a quiet afternoon on the town. This brewery overflows with happy, talkative drinkers in an atmosphere that is industrial and conducive to social interaction.
My visit to Milwaukee Brewing took place on a Saturday afternoon and included a tour and tasting. The tour is different from other breweries tours in many ways. First, due to the popularity of this brewery, they have to conduct overlapping tours to accommodate guests. Each person receives a uniquely colored wristband for touring purposes and proceeds with their tour guide for the first of three phases of the tour. At the end of phase one, your tour group returns to the bar area for more beer while another tour begins. This continues until the third and final phase of the tour.
Another unique aspect of Milwaukee Brewing is that the tour admission includes all the beer you want, for about 90 minutes. With the high gravity beer, you get one pour, but if you stay for the full duration of the tour, on the 3rd segment, they will add a special mark to your wristband, good for another high gravity beer serving. They also provide a special token good for a serving of Milwaukee Brewing beer at select, local pubs. The abundance of beer makes a tour the obvious choice, as it is clearly an excellent economic value.
Milwaukee Brewing doesn’t have a tap room in the usual sense. The bar serving area is basically a makeshift tap space, situated next to the fermenters. In other words, it’s really an industrial brewery that has carved out a small area for the necessary reason of serving beer to guests. However, I have learned that, in a very short time, Milwaukee Brewing will open a brand new taproom and brewery on Ninth Street, so my spiel about the lack of a tap room and seating will no longer apply in a matter of weeks. I have seen some photos of the new digs and it makes me wish I had timed my visit for a little later in the summer. A return visit will now have to be worked into Great Beer Now’s future beer tour plans.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin has its share of breweries, most of which are named for something relating to the city and its past. Milwaukee Brewing keeps it simple with a title that, while easy to confuse with the Milwaukee Brewers, is impossible to forget nonetheless. It’s a rowdy, fun place and it definitely belongs on your short list of Milwaukee breweries deserving of your time. So pay a visit to Milwaukee Brewing the next time you’re in the area. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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