Old Milwaukee: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Okay I promised a new joint this week and here it is.  The thing about the Milwaukee Brewing Company is that it has a kind of weird untold history with me and this blog.  See, this is not actually the first time I've been here.  It's just the first time I've managed to get in, get a seat at the bar and get beer.  Every other time I've been here, this place has been packed full.  I'm talking nowhere at the bar, not tables... hell people were standing three-deep at the bar the last time I was here.

 Maybe it's because it's in the middle of the week, maybe it's because I'm here in summer for a change and the denizens of Wisconsin are enjoying the few months of the year when they can be outside without pieces of them freezing and dropping off... whatever, it was finally empty enough that I could get in and grab a pint or two.

I guess what I am saying is, if you're going to seek out this little watering hole in downtown Milwaukee, go early, go during odd times or be prepared to fight a crowd for bar space.  Be warned, this place seems to have more then it's share of regulars and I'm guessing they don't fight fair.

So I got a tasters flight during my visit here.  They have a pretty extensive beer menu and so they break up their flights between a regular beer flight and a seasonal.  I went for the former, although due to some shortages, a few seasonals made it on.

Outboard: The beweries light beer offering. It has a lemony grassy aroma,  Pretty simple, light slightly lemony but your basic light beer.

Ulao: A belgian whit beer. No aroma to speak of.  Lots of tropical friut spice and kind of a skunky flavor.  I have to say this one wasn't my favorite, the Belgian yeast seemed to put some pretty odd flavors here.

Louie's Demise: This is the flagship beer of the brewery, an amber ale  with a fruity, cherry aroma. It starts slightly sweet and fruity right off the top.  Quickly moves to woody, herbal flavors.  The beer finishes suprisingly dry for its aroma.  As far as amber ales go, this one was very nice and complex.

Polish Moon: A sweet stout with light roasted aroma.  The flavor contains rich chocolate and coffee notes off the top.  There's a slight charcoal bitter flavor that follows but overall a very nice sweet stout.

O-Gii: Something from the seasonal list and something a little different, a tea beer. No aroma to speak of, but I get a huge blast of floral  lavander and herbal notes right off the top.  Finishes appropriatly bitter, the hops compliment the herbal flavors from the tea extremely well.  This monster packs a 9.2% alcohol and it hides it dangerously well.  It's one of those beers you could sit and drink a few of before realzing that you can't stand up anymore.

Hop happy: Pretty standard IPA style.  The aroma contains malt and herbal notes.   Citrus, floral hops hit hard and fast but are somewhat tempered by a high malt bill.

Black Iron: Rather hoppy aroma for a black ale.  The flavor has lots of the coffee and chocolate flavor you would expect from a beer like this.  The brewery claims it lacks the bitter roastiness that you would find in a normal black beer due to the use of dehusked German malt but.... I can't taste it.  It starts sweet and ends with bitter roastiness just like you would expect.

And that's officially it.  I am pretty confident that I have hit all the breweries in the Milwaukee area.  If anyone goes through the archives and finds one I missed, let me know.  Otherwise, mark Milwaukee off the list, been there done that.... for now.