"What Made Milwaukee Famous...:" Milwaukee Wisconsin

Another dispatch from Milwaukee.  It's been a bit hard to keep updated as of late.  The good news is it's because I've found myself on the road a lot lately.  The bad news... well I've been needing to play catch-up.  As I write this, I am actually miles away from the state of Wisconsin, though I won't say exactly where.

German influence on American beer cannot be understated in the least.  You need only look at the quintessential American beer, the pilsner to truly understand the role German brewing has in the American drinking culture.  The epicenter of that movement?  Milwaukee.  Years later German styles still influence the craft brewing culture in this state.  By way of example: Water Street Brewing Company.

Milwaukee Waterfront District

This brewpub is located on the waterfront district of Milwaukee.  As the new microbrew culture started up in this country, Waterstreet Brewing led the way for Wisconsin becoming it's first brewpub back in 1987. The downtown location itself has the look and feel of an old-world or early American bar. In addition, it is a strange museum dedicated to the art and craft of brewing in Milwaukee.  Thousands of old beer cans line the walls, there are cases of old tap handles and neon and porcelain signs line just about every wall in the bar.   It's almost worth a visit just to browse the walls and cases looking at the moments from the long brewing history of this city.

They have a pretty extensive beer list at any given time.  I sat down and got started with a flight of samplers.  There is quite a lot of them, so I'm going to do my best to keep this brief.

Imperial Stout: This wasn't actually part of the sampler, but I had it as a pint with dinner.  Full bodied, but not as compared with many other beers of this style.  Lots of roasted barley, coffee and chocolate flavors and aromas. There is also a hint of cherry or raspberry flavor peeking out.

Tasters Flight:  First row from left to right: Honey Lager Light,
Mimic Lager, BavarianWiess, Raspberry Wiess.  Back row:
Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Octoberfest and Westphalia Braun.

Honey Lager Light: Okay now on to the taster tray. This is their version of the American light lager and I have to say that it's pretty good for the style.  Light grassy aroma with a refreshing flavor that contains just a hint of fruit sweetness that made me think of honeydew.  Still not a huge fan light lagers but I have to say that I could drink a lot of this and be quite happy.

Mimic Lager: No detectable aroma that I could detect.  And the flavor... well... the best way I could think of describing the flavor is that it tastes like a brewery smells... but in a good way.  Lots of grassy yeasty flavor.  I quite enjoyed this beer.

Bavarian Wiess: This is a traditional German wheat beer.  Has a spicy banana and tropical fruit aroma.  Very creamy mouthfeel with clove and citrus.  Pretty typical for the style.

Rasberry Wiess: This one has a sour raspberry aroma.  Pretty simple flavor profile.  Lots of sour berry flavor.  Those that don't typically like fruit beers might like this one as it edges closer to the drier side of the style.

Pale Ale: This one doesn't have quite the bitterness of other pale ales.  There is a lot of malt flavor off the top with a hint of citrus that usually comes from sweet orange peels.  It ends just slightly bitter.  Not really my favorite, but only because I prefer pale ales that pack a bit more hops in, those that like big malty beers would  [probably like this one a lot.

Amber Ale: This beer reminded me of a brown ale rather than an amber ale.  It has a slight fruity aroma.  It was sweet, malty and fruity off the top of the flavor and ends with some raisin flavor and is very smooth.

Octoberfest: By the time I got to this beer on the tasters flight I started to notice a constant theme: none of their beers really have much an aroma at all.  This one is no different.  Some toasted grains and ends with just a hint of bitterness.

Westphalia Braun: This was a creation from the brewery's apprentice brewer.  It's not bad; a heavy dark beer with a espresso aroma.  The flavor has lots of coffee and chocolate notes with a hint of caramel.

Mead: This also wasn't on the tasters flight, but I couldn't resist a glass.  A good mead is hard to find.  More and more breweries and wineries are experimenting with this ancient elixir more and more, but it's still kind of a rare find.  It's about as simple as booze gets; put honey in water and add yeast.  This one was on the sweeter side of the spectrum.
That's all from Milwaukee.  From here it's up to the fertile brewing fields of Portland, Oregon.  Although it's almost laughable to pick one brewery in that city and write a single blog about it.... well that's what I am going to do.  So laugh away.
Cheers!