Milwaukee Citrus Happy Grapefruit IPA

Milwaukee Citrus Happy Grapefruit IPA. 6% ABV, 55 IBU, Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI.

Lightly hazed, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: All grapefruit. Big grapefruit. You want grapefruit? Here it is. And, not much else.

In the mouth: Moderate bitterness, and huge grapefruit. Lean bodied, clean malt flavor, cool and easy drinking. And all-out grapefruit. It's a good IPA, and you can drink it.

Single hopped with Centennial hops provides rich, piney, earthy and fruity hop backdrop to the incredible citrus bouquet and flavor from the use of real grapefruit juice.

Bright, juicy and loaded with refreshing citrus flavor. The Citrus Happy Series is a new line of citrus inspired flavored IPA?s that will tickle your taste buds and quench your thirst.
All the IPA?s in this series are based on a compliment to our year round Hop Happy IPA. The recipe is aggressive citrus and hop aromas up front with a light golden malt
backbone to really bring the citrus flavors forward.

Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Resurrection Bourbon Barrel Aged Amber Ale

Milwaukee Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Amber, Louie's Resurrection, ale aged in bourbon barrels. 10.2% ABV. Brewed and bottled by Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Appearance: mostly clear, crimson/amber hue, slim, soon-gone white head.

Aroma: cherry, vanilla, oak, there's whiskey here, there's echoes and whispers of bourbon. Sweet, liquor-y, malty, but not much else.

Taste: Bourbon-y sweetness starts it off, slick and delicious. The whiskey is all, though, there's nothing beneath it. The amber ale that lurks below is completely subsumed by the action of the barrels. There's no interplay at all, no enhancement.
If you want to taste the bourbon, that's happening. Do want complexity, depth? Not going on.

Medium-bodied, long, slick, bourbon-y finish. Again, if all you want is bourbon flavor, maybe you'll like this.

Milwaukee Brewing Outboard Cream Ale

Milwaukee Brewing Outboard Cream Ale. 5.0% Alc. by Vol. "That's local flavor!"

Last of the samples from MKE. Cream Ale is one of my least-liked beer styles. I'll strive to overcome that prejudice in order to discover whether this is a good one or no.

Clear, golden colored, sizable, staying crown of milky froth.

Aroma: Creamy. (Imagine that.) Negligible hop presence. Smooth maltiness. Pleasant enough stuff.

Taste: Open wide and down the hatch. Lands on the palate and spreads along nothing but smooth and creamy malt flavor. No need for anything else with this style. Easy drinking defined. Light-bodied and pleasing all around. Soft finish.
Good name for this one, as I can see this being adequate sustenance for a day on the lake.

So, with my ninth MKE beer down the hatch in total, I've come to realize that they do really well with styles that I would rarely, if ever, personally choose for myself.

And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Milwaukee Brewing O-Gii Double Wit, tea-infused

O-Gii, A monstrously tea-infused wit. Ale brewed with spices and flavored with tea. 9.2% Alc. by Vol.

O.G., as in Original Gangsta? Orginal Gravity? Or, as in Godzilla who seems to be appearing on the label with a giant pint in hand? Or is there some other reason for the odd spelling?

Poured into a big, Wittekerke glass. Hazy, pale yellow with a large white head.

Aroma: Orange and wheat discernible in the nose, not so much the spices. I'm picking up on the tea, though, rather than any kind of coriander, which is the typical witbier spicing.

It's even more evident in the taste. And, in exchange, I'm not getting a lot of else. Wheat texture, yes, some citric notes, light spices, and the premonition of booze to come. Juicy, slightly sweet, and altogether odd. I just don't know what to think of it.

I wonder if the gobbledygook on the can will tell me anything? "Herb-In Legend is our series of adventure brews. Created by our brewer Kurt Mayes, O-Gii is a collaboration with Milwaukee's own Rishi Tea, infusing organic tea character to this wit beer. The name is our nod to the brewing abbreviation OG which defines the potential for alcohol level prior to fermention. Enjoy this monster fusion of balance and aggression."

This was described to me, if I remember right, as unique, being a "double wit." Not true, there have been plenty of double wits, and I'm not especially fond of doubled-up versions of styles that shouldn't be anywhere near so strong. Their strength is in their delicacy, and moving up the booze factor robs them of their special qualities. I've only liked a few of them, and somewhat reluctantly.

I'm just as baffled by this as I was by their tea-infused double IPA. The tea doesn't deliver anything particularly rewarding, and the booze is way higher than it should be, for the body and the flavor. Is it malt liquor? Monster might be right, but more Frankstein's than Godzilla. This doesn't taste like a wit, the tea-infusion just mucks it up and dilutes it, and the high alcohol content does nothing but make me want to knock over some buildings.

Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Demise Amber Ale

Louie's Demise Amber Ale, Milwaukee Brewing Company. 5.5% ABV. And now we have the flagship of the MKE line. Maybe I'll like this one?

Deep amber/nearly red in color, very short head, slims down to nil.

Aroma: rich and malty sweet, tidy hop presence.

Taste: It's a mostly malty affair, hops are here for balance. Stays just short of sweet, with a flavor an equal dose of fruit and grain. Medium-bodied. Long, malty finish. On the whole, wholly unremarkable.

There are words on the can. Let us read them: "Our flagship brand, this medium bodied amber ale starts with a rich malt flourish that kept in perfect balance by a smooth hop finish. This MBC original is similar to a German style alt bier."

So there we have it. It does taste like an alt, at that. And it's beer, and you can drink it. Not bad, but I'm not thrilled. Go back to step one: acknowledge that it is beer, admit that you can drink it. Prepare to not be impressed, and carry on.

Note: early today, I sampled the Booyah Farmhouse Ale and noticed (but did not note in my notes) that it had a copyright date of 2011. This can has a copyright date of 2013. Did I get a 2+ year old sample bottle, or do they just take their time updating the labels?

MKE Booyah Farmhouse Ale

I keep hoping for something I'll like from Milwaukee Brewing. I keep hoping...


On to the next Milwaukee brew, this one a self-described Farmhouse Ale. Makes sense to pour it into a Belgian glass, right? No ABV listed, and as free of gobbledygook as all the rest of their labels.

But before we start, "Booyah"? I don't know if I've heard a dumber name for a beer in recent times. It used to be a marines saying, right? But now it's adopted by the bros and dbags. Not a good sign.

Clear amber appearance, slim head.

Aroma: soft, slightly (ever-so slightly) spicy, Belgian yeast and malt. They're going in the right direction. It at least feels like they know what they're doing.

Taste: light bodied, with stone fruit (apricot, peach) and some citrus notes, sweet malt,and more of the distinctive saison yeast. Ends with more sweetness lingering on the palate than it should. Lower attenuation in this one? It ought to be crisper, cleaner, drier. Bubblegum is starting to show up, or at least a hint of it.

In all, a misguided, but well-meaning, attempt at a saison ("let's call it Farmhouse Ale so we don't scare anyone way.") Perhaps better than Lift Bridge Farm Girl, but not by much.

I just know that I much be calling for a Booyah at the bar any time soon.

MKE (Milwaukee Brewing) Little Bitta White IPA

This new style called "white IPA" has led to some confusing interpretations. This one of the most confused.


Milwaukee Brewing Little Bitta White India Pale Ale. "That's local flavor." 6.5% Alc. by Vol.

Appearance: hazy & yellow, small head.

Aroma: soft, slightly sweet, with very little hop bitterness, if any. Also missing are any of the hallmarks of a witbier. Often, this style is interpreted as a wit with more hops. Is this merely an IPA with wheat? Let's taste it and see…

Taste: smooth, creamy, and lightly hoppy. I can taste the wheat in this, and there's a certain amount of spice, but this is from the hop character, I think. Hop bitterness continues, then a wave of sweetness comes in, from malt. They do a bit of a shuffle, a dance for dominance, and the sweet comes out the conquerer.

This feels like the last "white IPA" I tried, with this blend of a white ale and an IPA being less than the sum of it's parts. I'm not getting the particular spicy, fruity delights of a wit, or the bracing, refreshing, thrilling aspects of an IPA.

Not sure what this is. It's not bad, but not for me. This is a very confused and confusing beer. And calling it an IPA just makes me yearn for a real one.

Milwaukee Brewing Hop Freak Double IPA (infused with tea)

The other day I met a man from Milwaukee Brewing Company, and his name was Mike. After he told me about his beers, and presented me with seven samples, I paused, as often happens, not sure what his name was anymore. (It takes me a bit before I remember people's names. I have to have to hear it at least three times.)
I thought it was Mike, but as I looked at his shirt with the "MKE" logo, I thought…"nah, that can't be right, that would be too convenient." As is often the case, I was right, after all.

So, I had six beers to try, actually, for I'd bought a 6-pack of Hop Happy IPA last year on an excursion to Wisconsin. Now, they're in our market. And I'm going to start this survey of MKE, or MBC, with one of their bigger beers, the Hop Freak double IPA.

Brewed and bottled (or canned) by Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 8.7% Alc. by Vol. 1 pint can.

A scaly green monster lurks on the label, hops at his feet, pint of ale in hand. "Born big & bitter."The logo of "Rishi tea" sits off to the right of the beast. That's one curious thing about this D.I.P.A. Can't seem to remember another tea-infused DIPA. Let's go ahead and drink it:

Lightly hazy, apricot-hued, smallish white head. Enticing enough.

Aroma: Not getting hardly any hop bitterness, but I can smell the tea, alright. The aromatic delights of a big, bold bitter DIPA are largely missing here. Was this intentional? A DIPA without a flowering, engaging aromatic element is not a thing of joy.

Taste: Fruit, citrus, grapefruit, and then the big, bold hop bitterness, which hangs on the palate for a time. Hop bitterness lays long on the palate, but subsides enough for smooth malt to take over for a time. I'm still, though, puzzled about the idea of infusing tea into a beer of this kind, wondering why, and for what purpose.

Maybe the copy on the can will tell me? Here it is: "Herb-In Legend is our series of adventure brews. A collaboration with Milwaukee's own Rishi TEa, this IPA is infused with organic Jasmine, lending it a sweet, floral aroma. Strong citrus notes come from a generous amount of American hops. Hop Freak was born big and bitter but a sizable malt bill adds balance to the beast."

Well, a beast with a name like this should be more unbridled, I should think (and do, actually).The tea-infusion doesn't seem to add anything, instead it seems to dilute it. It certainly drinkable, and even enjoyable, but you keep missing something as it travels down the throat. You keep wondering if it could have been better. Every brewery should strive to bring it's fans one really great double IPA (okay, not every one, I'm not going to demand that of August Schell, for instance), and this is not that one from MKE. Maybe they've got another up their sleeve?

Milwaukee Brewing Hop Happy IPA

Milwaukee Brewing Hop Happy IPA, brewed and bottled by Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not a drop of gobbledygook anywhere on the paper label. No real information, either, other than the legal necessities. Maybe on the 6-pack holder? Nope, nothing but QR codes. A different kind of gobbledygook, an unreadable kind.

Murky amber hued appearance, slim white head.

Aroma: pithy and pungent, plump with pine and citrus, lemon and grapefruit galore. Not my favorite IPA aromatics, but not bad. We'll see.

Taste: Bright hop flavor greets the tongue immediately, backed up with sufficient malt. Bright, and juicy. Medium-bodied, lean and drinkable. Perfectly serviceable. Average and adequate. I can drink it and not feel a thing, nothing to think about, nothing to worry about.

It's okay. That's all. Sigh.

Milwaukee Brewing Flaming Damsel Real Blonde Lager

Here's my second from Milwaukee Brewing Company.

Milwaukee Brewing Company, Flaming Damsel, Real Blonde. So, why is she a red-head? I have to admit I grabbed this based on the lovely label imagery. It's meant to be a high-flying acrobat, I think, but she reminds me not a little of Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl, aka Phoenix from the X-Men. Enough of that, let's crack it open.

Clear and golden, adequate slim white head. Drifts down to nil in no time.

Aroma, grainy, corny…not getting much of what I like. Very lager-y, which I guessed , and is confirmed in the corner of the label. Inoffensive, but uninspiring.

Taste: Mild malt, small hops, low bitterness, but very balanced. Pleasing and quaffable, but not for me. It's a nice enough amber lager (blonde lager, is that a style?) and I wish them well with it.

Milwaukee Brewing Baltic Porter

Another one brought back from dairyland, and my first from this brewery.

Milwaukee Brewing Company, Baltic Porter, Barrel-aged Lager

Murky brown body, considerable floating particles…how'd they get in there, what are they doing? slim head, starts big, gets down to nothing', a dull brown.

Aroma, smoky and oaky. Even-tempered, malty, hints of cocoa.

Taste: Chocolatey, smokey malt, little hints of fruit. Carbonation is brisk, and the flavor is turning slightly sour. I'm not sure what I think of this one. Flavor isn't winning me over, it's lacking…something. I want to like it, I wish I did, really, just not doing anything for me.

I conferred with opinions on BeerAdvocate, and I'm not alone in down-thumbing this one. Hopefully my next experiences with Milwaukee are better.